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St. Charles' Episcopal Church - Saint Charles, IL
The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany - Epiphany 4 -- Year B
Sunday February 1, 2009
Deuteronomy 18:15-20 - Psalm 111 - 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 - Mark 1:21-28

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

There is a theme that runs through all our readings this week. It is a theme we have seen played out this week in a different way in our state house as well. The theme is authority; where does it come from and what are its proper limits. The fall of Rod Blagojevich is a cautionary tale of the dangers of assumed authority in the limited world of politics. Our readings today speak of a yet more broad authority of deeper power. The risk of mishandling that authority is far more dangerous than mere impeachment.

The book of Deuteronomy is written as the last words of Moses to the Hebrew people before the invasion of the Promised Land. It is a land Moses will not be entering and so there is a gravity to the words. The book lays out how the land of Israel will be different from the countries around it; how the people will be different from the people that surround them. In the section we heard this morning Moses is telling the people that God will continue to honor the covenant that God made with them. The people cried out in fear at the mountain of Horeb and begged that they never have to see God face to face, that God provide them with an intermediary, a prophet, a human face for God. It is a promise God would eventually take to it's farthest conclusion, in the sending of Jesus Christ to live among us, the incarnate word. This is a little passage, but there is much to chew on. Notice that God tells the Hebrews, through Moses, that the prophets to come will be raised up from among them. Though Moses was a Jew, of sorts, he came from the outside. Though born of a slave, he was not a slave and came to the Hebrews to rescue them. The next prophets will come from the Hebrews, be raised up out of them. In an irony not missed on Anglicans, God is telling the Hebrews that if they want to hear the word of God they will need to listen to each other. And working together they will need to discern who is speaking the word of God and who isn't. And lest they think they are getting off easy, Moses reminds them that woe be to the one who hears the word of God and does not obey, and woe be also to the one who speaks the words of his own heart and passes them off as the word of God. Moses is telling the people he has led through the desert for forty years that though they are about to enter the Promised Land, the road ahead will be far more difficult. They will need to listen to each other with open minds and discerning ears, words we could well take to heart in the Episcopal Church today.

In the section of Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians that we heard today, we hear Paul expounding on this same theme, but adding a new twist. One of the things we often try to wring out of the Bible is an absolute answer, something we can apply without interpretation. I believe that is a lazy persons pipe dream. What Paul is telling us, and Moses too, is that the word of God demands our participation; our engagement. The Bible is not a book of answers, it is a book of questions that we can use to guide us to the right answers. Though what it contains is absolute truth, the answers it draws out of us are different for different people. The example that Paul uses to stress this point to the people of Corinth, is his discourse on the eating of food that was used in the sacrifice to foreign gods or idols. In Corinth, a cosmopolitan city, there were many different religions and many different gods. Food donated to various temples would often be sold back to the market as a means of support for the temple, and so how could one know if the food was ritually clean or not. Paul's answer is not absolute one way or the other, but takes into account all the people involved. There is a definite answer, but it does change depending on the people involved. The people involved must engage themselves in the process of discerning God's will for them. It is not easy. It is hard work. It is the same work that lies before us in our day as well. It is the very real hard work of living out our faith day by day. Of listening in our hearts for the still small voice of God behind the cacophony of our own inner ramblings, and speaking out that word when the need arises, while at the same time listening with open ears and hearts to the voice of others as we discern the voice of God amid the words of the other. We cannot afford to either accept or reject anything at face value. They must be engage and discerned, for that is what we asked for. And that is what God so lovingly provides. Isn't it interesting that the demons will know Christ instantly, while the rest of us are only amazed and wonder if it might be true. Never be afraid to wonder. And never be afraid to ask questions. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Amen.