Here is the sermon from yesterday. I want to have you all note something, I sort of customized it for each of the churches in our charge, so there is a Weedman section and a Farmer City section, but I Am including both, I hope reading this is helpful, and please post comments, questions, reflections, I hope we can all learn from each other more about what Christ is doing in our lives. Farmer City and Weedman UMCs September 22, 2013 Matthew 13:45-45 What is Communion: Signposts, Guides, and Reminders Please join me in a time of prayer: Loving God guide our thoughts and words today, You are the Potter we are the clay, in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen. For the next three weeks we are going to talk about different aspects of communion, which along with baptism is the most universal ritual in Christianity. The communion ritual we do each month can help us grow closer to Christ, can help people begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, can transform our lives and help transform the world. However communion is also complex, confusing, divisive sometimes; a ritual with lay upon layer of meaning and understanding and what those layers mean from person to person can be different, and certainly from one denomination or congregation to another. So today we are going to talk about symbols. This sermon is about symbols and how they can point towards God’s love. I am starting this series on communion with a sermon about symbols because at its root however communion is a symbol something we do to remind us of God’s love shown to us through Jesus. Communion and so many others symbols point us to God and how much God loves us. When we take communion it is not about bread and grape juice, rather communion is a symbol of God’s love and Christ’s Good News for us and the world. Symbols are hard however, often we don’t know what they mean and they can vary from culture to culture even person to person. However symbols have been a tool to teach Followers of Jesus from the very beginning, even Jesus used symbols to teach, so today we are going to look at what symbols are, how Jesus used them, and how they can still teach us today. Our worship space today is full of symbols and they can all be a reminder of how much Jesus’ loves us, if we know what they mean, so we are going to talk about a few of them today. First off what is a symbol? In this question and in much we talk about today I am drawing from a great little book I got in seminary called How to Read a Church. A symbol is anything that stands for something else. Now believe me linguists, anthropologist, sociologists, and others take that much further, but I think that would just muddy the waters so let’s just stick with a symbol stands for something else. Symbols are particularly helpful in our relationship with Christ in three ways: First, symbols can help us remember something that is very complex and hard to describe. For example, words can’t describe God because God is greater than anything in this realm of existence, but a symbol can help us remember an aspect of God much more effectively than long paragraphs written on page or a computer screen. Second, symbols can speak across languages and cultures. There are 2 billion Christ Followers in the world, roughly, and guess what we don’t all speak the same language, but a symbol like a cross, a candle, stained glass, can help us understand each other even when we don’t have the same mother language. Finally, symbols can touch us in ways that words can’t. For me the visual symbols of the Christian faith, like the eternal flames in some churches I attended as a teen, spoke to me in ways beyond words on a page and helped me understand God’s love in a deeper way. It’s like the old saying a picture, or in this case symbol, can speak a thousand words. Jesus knew the power of symbols. The symbols of Jesus’ day haven’t all lasted down to the present, but some have. In our short parable for today we see Jesus using one thing to symbolize another. Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Reign of God (they are three ways of pretty much saying the same thing depending on how you want to translate the Greek) more than almost anything else. This concept of a society in this world and the next world where people followed God more fully was vital to understanding Jesus and Jesus’ mission, and so Jesus tried to help people understand the kingdom and how important it was. So in this parable Jesus uses a symbol, a pearl, to stand for something else, the Kingdom of Heaven. Why a pearl, we need to understand this symbol, to do that we need to think like the people of Jesus’ day would think. Pearls are valuable; a string of matched natural pears is a very, very expensive piece of jewelry. In Jesus’ day a pearl was even more valuable in his society than it is today. In Jesus world people didn’t have the ways we do today to make artificial pearls, they didn’t have trade routes to the pacific islands where many fine pearls are found, a pearl then was rare and absolutely something only the richest people could afford. In our world today we talk about diamonds being the most expensive things we can think of, in Jesus’ world a pearl would take that place. So as soon as Jesus said the word pearl, compared the kingdom of heaven to a pearl, people knew he was saying that the Kingdom was important and worth much. Then Jesus says that the merchant joyfully gave up everything for just this one pearl. Symbolically saying that we should be willing and will be joyful if we give up everything we own to be part of Christ’s Kingdom. In this short story we see Jesus using symbols to get a message across, Jesus is using a pearl so symbolize just how amazing and life changing the Kingdom is. Jesus used symbols constantly in his preaching. Jesus calls himself a Good Shepherd, a symbol for his love for people, Jesus talks about yeast, lights on a hill, lamps to talk about how something small like an individual’s faith can make a worldwide difference, finally Jesus says when he has the last supper with his followers, the bread is his body, and wine is his blood, meaning that communion is a symbol reminding us of Christ’s love for us and sacrifice for us. Jesus used symbols for the reasons above, they speak to people. Jesus also used symbols for another reason, most of those Jesus preached to couldn’t read or write. They didn’t need Jesus to write something in a book because it wouldn’t help them, they needed a symbol that a person didn’t need to read, a symbol that could remind them how much God loved them. To this day for those who can’t read either due to age, disability, or lack of education a symbol of Christ might be the most effective way to teach and remind them of God’s love for them in Jesus. Even if we can read and write, which many of us here today can, symbols can still speak to us, speak to us in ways deeper than words often, and our sanctuary here is full of them. (Weedman Section of the sermon) Here at Weedman we have many symbols around us to remind us of God’s love. The light hanging here in the front is an eternal flame, a reminder that God’s Holy Spirit is with us no matter what, a sign that God loves us always. The wooden altar table here in front, is meant to symbolize the fact that Christ invites everyone to follow him and join him at the “heavenly banquet” yet another of Jesus’ symbols of God’s love for us. The candles on our altar are also symbols. The their light reminds us that God’s loving Holy Spirit is with us as we worship, but when take have the acolytes take the light symbolically out at the end of the service it reminds us we are to share God’s love out in the world in the ways we speak and live our lives. Here on the pulpit you can see the letters IHS, a reference to Jesus’ name in Greek, a reminder to me and anyone who preaches here that it’s about Jesus, not us when we speak. Our windows are full of symbols. The window to your right of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is a symbol. Jesus compared himself to a shepherd (particularly in the Gospel of John) as a symbol of how Jesus wants guide us and keep us safe. Just as sheep need a shepherd a leader to guide them to what they need, Jesus is our guide to a life worth living through loving God above all else, and loving other people. Another of our windows shows Jesus knocking on the door, referring to scripture and a symbol of Jesus seeking us out and wanting to be in a relationship with us and everyone in the world. Finally there is one last symbol I want to talk about today, the stained glass itself. Stained glass has long been seen as a symbol of God working through human beings. Particularly starting in the Middle Ages people often symbolized the love of God as pure light. Humans cannot be the pure light of God, but God’s light can shine through us when we live as God guides us and share God’s love with others. So some people said that stained glass was like God’s light shining through humans, not pure, but still able to point people to the source of the light to God. One abbot in a monastery in France, named Sugar, really was captivated by the idea of stained glass as a symbol for how God’s love can shine through humans, so the abbot built a church with more stained glass than had ever been attempted before, people liked it, and in some ways churches have been following his example ever since. Even the glass we have that we might think of as just pretty can be a symbol for God’s love and God’s love in our lives. (Farmer City Section) This sanctuary of our church is covered with symbols to remind us of how much God loves us, and how that love was shown through Jesus Christ; I will offer you several examples. In the window behind you there is a ship’s anchor, something that might seem to have nothing to do with God or Jesus. However an anchor was a symbol of safety and hope, if sailors (even in ancient times) could get their anchor secure they could avoid being driven on the rocks in a storm. So Christians early adopted the anchor as a sign of hope and security, so that when the storms of life come if we are anchored in God through Christ we can ride out the storm and face whatever might come. Also in that window you see a pelican, maybe even a stranger symbol to find in a church. People used to believe that a pelican would shed its blood to feed and save its chicks. Since Christians believe that Jesus shed his blood to help us, for hundreds of years people have put pelicans in churches to remind them of Christ’s love for us and willingness to sacrifice even his blood and life to save us. In another window in our church, and up here in front, we see grapes and vines. These are also important symbols, one of the juice we use for communion, two a reminder that Jesus says he was the vine and we are the branches, meaning that if we are connected to Jesus we will grow and bear good fruit, good lives and actions for God. Finally grapes are a sign of life. In Jesus’ day wine wasn’t a luxury, wine and vinegar from wine were vital to even poor people as a source of calories (a source that didn’t spoil easily) but also to be mixed with water to kill the germs in water and make water safe to drink. In a real sense grapes were life to people in Jesus’ day, and so grapes can remind us that Jesus is life to us today. In two windows of our church we see a dove with an olive branch the dove symbolizing peace, and God’s Holy Spirit which is always with us, and the olive branch also symbolizing peace and blessing, since like grapes in Jesus’ world olives and olive oil were part of the daily diet and needed for people to live. The carvings in the wood of our church are also full of symbols. Here in the front we see at the top a stylized version of the Greek letters Chi and Rho. Chi and Rho make up the first two letters of Christ in Greek, and for more than 1000 years these two letters have symbolized Jesus and they are placed high in our church to remind us that Jesus needs to be the top priority in our lives. Also on this wood carving we see the Greek letters Alpha and Omega. As you may know in the Greek alphabet Alpha is the first letter, and Omega is the last letter, just as “a” is the first letter in our English alphabet, and “z” is the last letter. The letters Alpha and Omega refer to passages in the bible where we are reminded that God is the beginning and the end of everything. God is eternal and so we can put our trust in God in a way we cannot put trust in anything else. The wooden altar table here in front, is as symbol as well, to symbolize the fact that Christ invites everyone to follow him and join him at the “heavenly banquet” yet another symbol of God’s love for us. The candles on our altar are also symbols. The their light reminds us that God’s loving Holy Spirit is with us as we worship, but also that we are to take this light out into the world when leave worship but sharing God’s love in our words and actions. Finally there is one last symbol I want to talk about today, the stained glass itself, stained glass isn’t just for decoration it is symbolic as well. Stained glass has been seen as a symbol of God working through human beings. Particularly starting in the Middle Ages people often symbolized and talked about the love of God as pure light. Humans cannot be the pure light of God, but God’s light can shine through us when we live as God guides us and share God’s love with others. So some people said that stained glass was like God’s light shining through humans, not pure, but still able to point people to the source of the light to God. One abbot in a monastery in France, named Sugar, really was captivated by the idea of stained glass as a symbol for how God’s love can shine through humans, so the abbot built a church with more stained glass than had ever been attempted before, people liked it, and in some ways churches have been following his example ever since. Even the glass we have that we might think of as just pretty can be a symbol for God’s love and God’s love in our lives. So great, we’ve had a lesson in symbols, and we can see that Jesus used symbols to teach, what can we take with us today from this message? I want to offer a few things. First symbols mean something. We can’t paint a picture of God or describe God in a way that does God justice; we could talk for ever and not say all that God is. So we use symbols to try and understand God and God’s love. These symbols, like communion need to be treated with reverence and understanding. This is not so say we need to be serious all the time around them, the symbols here in this church fill me with joy and hope because they remind me that God loves us all, even me. However I do also treat the symbols with reverence and respect because I want to treat God as the most important relationship in my life, not just some throwaway aspect of my life. When we take communion, baptize someone, say the Lord’s prayer we are doing something important, we are remembering with Joy God’s love so we can smile even laugh as we do it, but we also need to remember that these rituals are signs of God so we should treat them with respect as well. Two final things about symbols and how they can help us grow and share Jesus: I encourage you to find a Christian symbol that means something to you and keep it with you, maybe even on your person each day. I wear a cross almost every day because I personally want that reminder of Jesus with me. It’s easy, even for a pastor to forget what’s important in life, if I see my cross or feel it around my neck; I am reminded dozens of times a day that Jesus is most important to me. I think having a symbol on our person or in our homes that reminds us of God’s love through Jesus each day can help us feel closer to God, I know it helps me. Secondly, a symbol in your home or on your person is a tool to share Christ with others. Many years ago when I lived in Chicago I had a good friend who was non-religious. One night as we ate dinner at my apartment she saw the cross on my wall and asked me why I would want to hang an miniature instrument of torture on my wall since that is what a cross was used for. In that moment I had to think, I had always kept a cross around because it reminded me of God and Jesus, but what did is symbolize for me, how did I understand it? I talked about how yes the cross was used for cruelty, but Jesus’ willingness to face such cruelty for me and everyone else meant something to me, so yes in a sense a cross is a sad symbol but in a bigger way it’s a sign of how much God loves us. A symbol might be a way to share God with someone. Crosses, shirts, tattoos, symbols in our homes, yards or gardens, might be a way we can share Jesus with someone. They might be an opportunity for someone who is curious to know more about Jesus. So, I think having a symbol we are ready to talk about can be helpful. We never know when we might talk about God or get asked a question about our faith, and I have the feeling that perhaps some of the best sharing of God’s love I’ve ever done is in some of those moments when I didn’t expect to. So, look for the symbols of God’s love in your life. It doesn’t have to be a traditional symbol it might be a personal symbol that works for you. Celebrate those symbols, have them help you grow in your faith and share your faith. May the symbols be a blessing to us, Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:44:24 +0000
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