Sermon for 19 Pentecost Yr B, 15/10/2006
Based on Heb 4:12-16
By Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of The Good Samaritan Society’s
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta
“Words, words, words”
Words, words, words. Words are powerful. The older and wiser we grow, we know the old adage is not true that: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names and words shall never hurt me.” Psychologists today tell us that one way parents destroy self-esteem and confidence in their children is by running them down and criticizing them. When we think about situations in our lives where we have been run down, we can likely remember how negative and hurtful that was for us.
A torrent of words pours from the (mass media) and from every political platform and every soap box. Words move people to buy, sell, hate, and love. They can depress, distort, discourage, and deceive, poisoning the very springs of life. That’s why we need to be so careful about what we hear and what we say.
But words can also create new thoughts and arouse courage, faith, and love. Such words are a great power for good. An unexpected word of kindness can change a life and set it on its feet again. A proverb says, “Good advice may fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.”1.
Today, the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us how powerful the word of God actually is. The writer chooses several words to highlight the power of God’s word.
The first word chosen to describe God’s word is living. It is not like some books that have their day in the sun, but then fade away and die. It is not like some books which are so esoteric that they appeal only to a handful of scholars. It is not like some books that have become totally irrelevant to our contemporary situation—having nothing to say to modern people. No, the word of God is living because it is able to address the deepest needs of every human being, in every time and place. The word of God never becomes a relic of antiquity because there is something in it for everyone—whether we’re rich or poor, a genius or suffering from a learning disability, young or old, a scientist or an artist, unemployed, working, a student or retired—whoever we are or whatever our situation, the word of God speaks to us every day, if we but have the ears to hear it. It is living because it never becomes out-dated or irrelevant.
The second word used by the writer to describe God’s word is active. This word takes us back to the story of creation—where, we remember, God spoke the word and, out of that speaking, the universe came into being. The word of God itself is thus full of life-giving power when it creates. It is active in all the events of history. In this sense, the word is equally as much in verb form as it is in noun form. Most significantly, the active word of God is made known in Jesus, the Word Incarnate, who also participated in the act of creating the universe and redeeming it, as it is so eloquently communicated in the opening chapter of the Fourth Gospel.
It is effective since it works in and through people’s lives. When God sent the prophet Isaiah out to proclaim the word; God reassured Isaiah that: “”so is it with my word…it will not return to me empty without accomplishing my purpose and succeeding in the task for which I sent it.” (Isa 55:11, R.E.B.) It is not enough to read, hear, and study God’s word; it must also be lived and practiced every day. Its activeness and effectiveness give us energy, motivation, and determination in order to live out God’s word.
The writer goes on to describe God’s word in the following metaphor: it is “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This metaphor of a sharp sword is found elsewhere in the Bible too. For example, in Isaiah 49:2, God makes the Servant’s mouth “like a sharp sword.” In the book of Revelation 1:16 and 2:12, Christ is described as having a sharp, two-edged sword coming from his mouth.
The sharpness of God’s word is able to cut into and reveal every single aspect of our being. In its sharpness, it is like an x-ray or cat-scan—able to show us even the most secret, hidden and remote parts of our lives. Its two-edged sharpness is also like the scalpel, used with great precision and care in the hands of a surgeon. It is able to cut out and remove that which makes us ill and might even destroy us.
God’s word, in all of its two-edged sharpness, can and does perform radical surgery upon us. Our emotions and thoughts, our actions and words, everything is laid bare and naked before God. It shatters our illusions, confronts us with our fears, judges us when we become too judgemental of others, reminds us of the consequences of our sins, gives us guidance and grace to deal with matters which we would rather forget or avoid. It also renews, recreates, empowers, and enlightens us—thus making it possible to accomplish great things with faith, hope, and love. The following story shows us how God’s word is able to accomplish this process which leads people to confession, forgiveness and a changed life.
The student chaplain entered the room with trepidation. It wasn’t just that she was inexperienced in dealing with people facing open-heart surgery, nor that she was younger than the man in the bed. It was also that he was a seminary professor at a well-known school, and she was awed by his reputation. What could she possibly say to this man?
So, the visit went in a light, rather chatty fashion, the man in the bed taking the lead. The family was gathered around, seemingly relaxed and more than willing to let him avoid whatever fears might be in his mind.
But as it happens when we are open to the movement of God in whatever circumstances permit, she found herself asking him, “I’m glad you are feeling so confident about the surgeon and his technique. But what is the state of your soul? How do you stand with God?”
An uneasy silence descended immediately. The bedsprings did not squeak, the chairs did not sigh, none of the family moved. The professor looked away for a long moment, then asked his family to give him some privacy with the chaplain.
For nearly an hour they talked, and the professor, rich in years, spun out the story of his life—his loves, his mistakes, his fears and his hopes, all piled, as it were, around his bed. At last he looked up and said, “Will you pronounce a Word of God, Chaplain?” And she replied, “As you have confessed, God has listened. Before you knew what you needed, Jesus died for you. You are loved. You are forgiven. Be at peace.”
Oh yes. The surgery went well. The scalpel, too, was sharp enough.2.
May God’s Holy Spirit open our ears, eyes, hearts, minds and lives to God’s word. May the power of God’s word address our every need, that our faith would be strengthened as we put God’s word into action in our daily lives. Amen.
1. Albert Stauderman, Let Me Illustrate (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1983), p. 173.
2. Emphasis, Sept-Oct 1994, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co., Inc.), p. 42.
