Jesus - the Word of God

Sometimes the simplest of ideas make you stop and think.  They can be most moving.  It was the simplest of ideas and it hadn’t occurred to me before.

I teach on the course that our churches run – we have a new name – the Congregaional Institute of Practical Theology.   We have an introductory course for anyone and everyone, called the Gift Course.  Then we do a Foundation Degree in Practical Theology and finally an honours degree top up as well.   That meant last week I did effectively two weekends back to back.  It was great the Karen Waldock was with us from the Wednesday evening to the Friday when I was teaching three sessions with Karen.

Then over the weekend there were about 40 of us, tutors and students, with 10 people from churches all over the country starting the FdA in Practical Theology   I teach the first of their modules and so spent the whole weekend in their company – I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did!

What I was exploring and then shared in preaching at the final service of the weekend is something that I am more and more passionate about.

I believe it is really important that we work out how it is that we read the Bible.  And the thing more than anything else for me that unlocks the bible is a very simple idea.

We are Christians, for us reading the Bible we are on the lookout for the way Jesus is right at the centre of the Bible.  Especially when it comes to the struggle we have at times reading the Old Testament the key is to read it through the eyes of Jesus.  Some will remember a series we did quite some while back now – The Idiots’ Guide to the Old Testament.

We used a time cone – saw Jesus at the centre and then in reading the Old Testament we must always see it through the eyes of Jesus.

With all sorts of other things going on – it’s exhilierating, and exhausting in equal measure.  But so important to do.

The weekend over I went to have lunch with my predecessor here at Highbury, Eric Burton, and meet up with Cherry and Graham and their son Mark.  Eric and the family all send their love to everyone – it was lovely to share with Eric for the afternoon.  Great to catch a glimpse of that little prayer book Eric keeps and to know of his prayers for us.

Coming back from such a weekend is always a bit like coming back down to earth with a bump.  Into the pattern of things.  And a busy week.

Tuesday lunch time was the lunch meeting we have as Church Leaders in Cheltenham – bringing together ministres representing different denominations and networks of churches.

On Tuesday it was good to welcome someone from the Police who is the Christian Police Association representative in the Gloucestershire constabulary.  He was talking about the growing role of chaplaincy in the police locally – at a time of reduced numbers in the police and increased work loads all the support services are recorded – except for the chaplaincy.  It is being developed to provide a completely confidential listening ear.  Interesting to see.  And a call for us to pray for the police as they go through a difficult time at the moment of changed patterns of working and significantly reduced levels of policing.   All very much for our prayers.

Tudor Griffiths who is the Rector of Cheltenham was leading the meeting and he it was who shared with us the simple idea that in the opening prayers somehow spoke very much to me.

I found it very moving  And I felt I simply wanted to share the idea this morning.

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Book of Psalms.

It is one of those highly crafted psalms that is Hebrew Poetry at its finest.  The Good News Bible doesn’t really do the craftsmanship of the Psalm justice.   Neither for that matter does my NRSV.  The Authorised Version on the table in front of the Communion  Table does.

The Psalm is divided into 22 sections of 8 verses.  Although the verse divisions don’t appear in the original Hebrew, that’s exactly how the original Hebrew is divided up.

There are 22 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet.

The first section is made up of 8 couplets, each of which starts with the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, Aleph, A. The second section is made up of 8 couplets each of which starts with the second letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, Bet, B.  And so on right the way through the Hebrew Alphabet.

it is one of a number of acrostic poems in the book of Psalms.

That in itself suggests something.

Maybe it’s an ABC with a teaching message to press home.

Maybe it’s an all encompassing Psalm that includes everything from A to Z.

No matter, it has a clear structure.

Look carefully at those 8 couplets and you will find that in almost every one of those 8 couplets is a reference to a single thing – thought the writer of the Psalm actually uses different words to describe it.

The single thing is the Word of God, or the Law of God, or the Commandments of God,  or the Precepts of God.

Let’s read it through in the NRSV …

You have dealt well with your servant,

   O Lord, according to your word.

66 Teach me good judgement and knowledge,

   for I believe in your commandments.

67 Before I was humbled I went astray,

   but now I keep your word.

68 You are good and do good;

   teach me your statutes.

69 The arrogant smear me with lies,

   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.

70 Their hearts are fat and gross,

   but I delight in your law.

71 It is good for me that I was humbled,

   so that I might learn your statutes.

72 The law of your mouth is better to me

   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Look out now for the word or phrase in each couplet that refers to the Word of God or the Law of God.

You have dealt well with your servant,

   O Lord, according to your word.

66 Teach me good judgement and knowledge,

   for I believe in your commandments.

67 Before I was humbled I went astray,

   but now I keep your word.

68 You are good and do good;

   teach me your statutes.

69 The arrogant smear me with lies,

   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.

70 Their hearts are fat and gross,

   but I delight in your law.

71 It is good for me that I was humbled,

   so that I might learn your statutes.

72 The law of your mouth is better to me

   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

The poet has a book of synonyms, a Hebrew equivalent of Roget’s thesaurus.  You can do the exercise in any section of Psalm 119 and you have this wonderful celebration of what the Word of God means for us.  In its own right it is great.  But as Christian readers we put Jesus at the centre of the Bible, we see the Bible through the eyes of Jesus.

More than that when we come to the New  Testament Jesus is described as the Word of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Let’s come back to the Psalm – and see how it is transformed from being an interesting reflection on the Word of God, to a wonderful celebration that is at the same time thought-provoking of Jesus himself.

In the place of that phrase or word that refers to God’s word let’s put Jesus.

It is a wonderful reminder that Jesus is the one who has dealt kindly with us.

Jesus is the one who provides us with good judgements and knowledge.

Jesus is the one who lifts us up when we are humbled, who brings us back when we go astray.

Jesus has about him a goodness – it is that goodness that we seek to suffuse our lives and pour through us.

Sometimes we come up against the arrogance of those who spread deceit athings that hurt – it is at that point so important for us with our  whole heart to focus on Jesus.

Sometimes things can overwhelm us and it feels as if everything around us is out of sorts and gross … at those moments how good to find in Jesus all we need.

It is perverse – sometimes it can be good to have a humbling experience because that takes us back to our reliance on Jesus.

Indeed, Jesus is better than all the riches of the world

Just try it with these verses – try it with other sections of Psalm 119 – and something very moving happens.

You have dealt well with your servant,

   O Lord, according to Jesus.

66 Teach me good judgement and knowledge,

   for I believe in Jesus.

67 Before I was humbled I went astray,

   but now I keep Jesus.

68 You are good and do good;

   teach me Jesus.

69 The arrogant smear me with lies,

   but with my whole heart I keep Jesus.

70 Their hearts are fat and gross,

   but I delight in Jesus.

71 It is good for me that I was humbled,

   so that I might learn Jesus.

72 Jesus  is better to me

   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

As in a moment we gather around the Table of our Lord to share in the Lord’s Supper how, maybe we can use this as our meditation – and seek in all things Jesus.