“GOD OF MANY VOICES”
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A sermon preached at the Readings: |
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“We hear them declaring
the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11)
I bought a DVD on e-bay the other day -
it was a Spanish film I wanted to see and it was a bargain.
I knew the sound track was in Spanish -
but that was OK because it had subtitles -
the bit I’d missed was that the subtitles were in Dutch.
My Spanish is nearly non-existent and my Dutch is much worse -
so my cheap purchase turned out not such a bargain,
and I fear as they say, that I lost the plot…..
No such
problems on the day of Pentecost,
apparently -
no Parthian or Cappadocian
subtitles offered or needed -
all was Babel fish clear to everyone.
So what
really happened that day?
Was the miracle in how the words were produced,
or in how they were heard?
Or in some other way altogether?
Quite simply we don’t know how it
happened,
but we do know what the story signifies -
it means that whoever you are and wherever you come from,
the Gospel is accessible to you, -
that somehow the love of God and power of the Spirit
is not and cannot be constrained by national, tribal or linguistic boundaries.
Apparently the new Rough Guide to the UK out this
week describes the British
as "overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex- and celebrity-obsessed TV
addicts",
and says that no other country is as "insular, self-important and
irritating".
Well there is nothing like a compliment or two to cheer you up -
But: are the British insular?
Our Government certainly seems alarmingly willing
to deport foreign nationals who are manifestly in huge need.
There have been two cases in the headlines this week -
one involving the Filipino man
in Swindon,
the other Kudzayi Zinzombe and her
Zimbabwean family here in Exeter -
if anyone would like to help follow up the Zimbabwe case,
I hope we could talk over coffee afterwards.
The
Kingdom of God is thankfully very different from the United Kingdom -
it is ruled by one who speaks every language and speaks to every condition -
God is a God who speaks to Jew and Gentile, to Muslim and Christian,
to Slave and Free, to Black and White, to Straight and Gay, to Rich and Poor,
to Young and Old, to Zimbabwean to Filipino,
even to the overweight, alcopop-swilling,
sex- and celebrity-obsessed TV addicted English….
Today we
reflect on the Pentecost story,
but we also think about the start of Christian
Aid Week.
God is a
God of many voices and many languages.
He speaks
to us in many ways, -
and often he speaks especially through the cries of the poor.
The
question is, do we hear the many languages of God
calling out to us in the voices of the poor?
The Government of Burma seems oblivious to the cries of
the poor -
and has been roundly condemned across the world -
How could a government put winning a constitutional referendum
and shoring up its own power and influence over the cry of the poor?
How indeed could any group or individual
put personal convenience before the starving and the dying?
It is a
good question -
one we might all ask ourselves before we fill in our Christian Aid envelopes
today.
First let us remove the plank from our own eye,
first see and hear and respond to the God’s poor -
then is the time to criticize the Burmese government and the UK Border Agency.
So today
we celebrate Pentecost and we start Christian Aid Week -
we also celebrate the baptism of Samuel,
in whose honour we have read part of the story
of his illustrious namesake in the OT.
Once
again this is a story about God speaking to all his people.
Once
again, the question is: Do we hear, do we listen?
In the OT
story, Samuel says, “Speak Lord, they servant heareth”
How easy in our prayers and spirituality to say
“Hear lord, thy servant speaketh”
People often say - “I tried to ring you, but I got your
answer machine -
I don’t like talking to those things” - and of course it can seem a bit odd,
just having a one way conversation,
in which you just have to set off and do it all yourself
and then sign off hoping what you said was OK.
Yet how
often are our prayers like that?
How often, instead of entering into a dialogue,
we simply deliver a monologue and then sign off, without listening for a
reply??
It is good to have David and Nancy with us from Paris
today -
I am reminded of some graffiti daubed on a Paris wall in the 1968 -
I guess a political slogan but with potentially more general application
“Les murs ont des Oreilles. Vos Oreilles ont des murs”
which I make out as “Walls have ears -
Your ears have walls”
Do we listen out for God’s word, or do we wall up our ears?
God
speaks in many ways and many tongues -
Why do we
miss the voice?
§
Maybe
because we are too selfish -
like the man with the hearing aid who turns it off
when he thinks someone may ask him to do something
§
Maybe
because we are too busy and pre-occupied with ourselves
to give attention to anyone else
§
Maybe
because we are too narrow minded
and simply don’t look for or expect God in any but the traditional places -
God is filed away under “Sunday”
and his presence in politics, in our work or our personal life,
is not expected or considered.
One way
or another, God speaks, but we only hear Eli.
And yet
of course God is there in every place., speaking and
wishing to be heard…
You remember how, in George Bernard Shaw’s “St Joan”.
The Dauphin asks Joan how God speaks to her.
She replies that he speaks through the bells.
The Dauphin says that is not fair –
"Oh, your voices, your voices. Why don't the voices come to me?
I am king, not you."
And Joan replies: "They do come to you; but you do not hear them.
You have not sat in the field in the evening listening for them.
When the angelus rings you cross yourself and have done with it;
but if you prayed from your heart,
and listened to the thrilling of the bells in the air
after they stop ringing,
you would hear the voices as well as I do."
Today we
rejoice in Samuel’s baptism.
Infant
baptism reminds us that God loves us, calls us by name,
long before we know him - from our earliest youth.
He spoke to Samuel of old, and we know that in this ceremony
he is already speaking to our Samuel.
Our hope and prayer is that our Samuel will also hear
and know God’s voice and respond.
Rob and Sarah - you have been
given a great gift here -
bring
him up well that he may learn what God wants him to do,
and
do it well.
And as we
baptise Samuel, let us all remember our baptism, our call.
How many times must a man look up
Before he sees the sky
Yes and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry
Yes and how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
Bob Dylan, "Blowin' in the Wind,"
Let us pray this Pentecost
that the Wind of the Spirit may blow through us and fill us with God’s power
Let us pray this Christian Aid
Week
that we may hear the many tongued voice of God in the cry of the poor
Let us pray on this Baptismal Day
that we may so support Samuel in his life that he may hear and respond to God’s
Word.
And as we welcome Samuel,
Let each of us recall our own
baptism,
Our own call,
And may each of us, like Samuel of
old, say -
“Here I am Lord” - send me
Order of Service
Sunday 11th May 2008
Pentecost/Start of Christian Aid Week
10.30 am Sunday Service led by Rev Andrew Sails
with the baptism of Samuel Gleave
Introit “Litany to the Holy Spirit” -
Peter Hurford
Hymn 281 “Come down O love divine”
Prayer
Baptism of Samuel Thomas Gleave
The Declaration (Methodist
Worship Book p.88)
The Request for Baptism (p.89)
Minister: Rob
and Sarah, having heard these
things, how do you respond to the offer of God's grace?
Parents: We thank
God, and ask that our child be baptized.
Thanksgiving
over the water (p.90)
The Affirmation
of Faith (p.91)
Minister: Do you turn away from evil & all that
denies God?
Parents
& Godparents: By the grace of
God, I do.
Minister: Do you turn to God, trusting in Jesus Christ
as Lord and Saviour, and in the Holy Spirit as Helper and Guide?
Parents & Godparents: By the grace of God, I do.
(The congregation stands)
Minister: We say together:
People: We
believe in God the Father,
who made the world.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his Son,
who redeemed humankind.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God.
(The congregation sits)
The Baptism (p.92)
Minister: What name have you given this child?
Parents: Samuel Thomas
Minister: Samuel
Thomas,
for you Jesus Christ came
into the world;
for you he lived and showed God's love;
for you he suffered death on the Cross; for you he triumphed over death, rising
to newness of life;
for you he prays at God's right hand: all this for you, before you could know
anything of it.
In your Baptism, the word of Scripture is fulfilled:
‘We love, because God first loved us.’
Samuel Thomas, I baptize you in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
By
Baptism, God has received you into the Church.
Samuel
Thomas, I sign you with the
cross,
the sign of Christ.
Julia Fry: Samuel
Thomas, receive this
light, for you belong to Christ, the Light of the world.
Christ is your Light and your Way.
People: May
you grow and live in the faith of Christ.
Amen
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord look on you with kindness
and give you peace. Amen.
The Baptismal
promises (p.94)
Minister: Rob
and Sarah, I ask you now to respond to God’s love and grace to your child by
making these promises:
Will you love this your child committing
yourselves to care for him in body, mind and spirit?
Parents: With
God's help we will.
Minister: Will
you, therefore, ensure that he is
nurtured in the faith and life of the Christian community?
Parents: With
God's help we will.
Minister: Will you set
before him a Christian example,
that through your prayers, words and deeds, he may learn the way of Christ?
Parents: With God's help we will.
Minister: Wendy and John, will you help Sarah
and Rob
to nurture Samuel in
the Christian faith?
Godparents:
With God's help we will.
Minister: Members
of the body of Christ, we rejoice that this our brother has been baptized. Will you so maintain the Church's life of
worship and service that he may
grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord?
People: With God's help we will.
Minister: Let
us pray
People: Generous God,
touch us again
with the fire of your Spirit
and renew in us all
the grace of our Baptism;
that we may profess the one true faith
and live in love and unity
with all who are baptized into Christ.
Amen.
Hymn
“Lord, look upon this little child”
Lord, look upon this little child
Before he knows you're there;
May Samuel know your loving touch,
Enfolded in your care.
Your church on earth, O Lord, affirms
By clear baptismal sign
What you from heaven made manifest
By merciful design.
By merciful design and love
Through Saviour Jesus' birth,
You succour every one that's born
To serve you here on earth.
Give strength to Rob and Sarah, Lord
Together to provide
A Christian home, where faithfulness
And patient love abide.
Thus may all children brought to you
Be nurtured in your way,
And so in goodness and in truth
Your Spirit's fruit display.
[HAP 586 - Derek R Farrow, adapted]
The Peace
Leader: Let us share the peace
Adults: The
peace of the Lord be with you
Children: And also with you
Leader: Go
in peace
(Young people leave for their own sessions)
Reading: 1
Samuel 3:1-10 (p.274)
Anthem: “I will sing with the Spirit” - John Rutter
Reading: Acts 2:1-13 (p.1093) read by Margaret Gleave
Hymn 523 “Hushed was the evening hymn”
Sermon “God of many voices”
Hymn “I the Lord of sea and sky”
Prayers of
Intercession and Lord’s Prayer
Act of
Commitment for Christian Aid Week
Leader: We are the voice that speaks up for the
voiceless.
All: Many voices joining
their unheard cries.
Leader: One voice speaking out the truth
can change a community.
All: Many voices
speaking out the truth in unity
can change the world.
Leader: One person giving generously can change a
life.
All: Many people giving
sacrificially can change the world.
Leader: One voice lifted up in prayer moves the
Father’s heart.
All: We are many
voices, echoing that prayer
for justice, for freedom and for transformation.
Leader: Let us pray together, giving our voices
to the voiceless, and lifting them to intercede for change in our world.
All: God of the rushing
wind,
sweep through my indifference.
God of the fiery
flames,
ignite my compassion.
God of the many
voices,
open my mouth to speak out against injustice.
That through your
Spirit
and my actions
this world may be transformed. Amen.
Collection and
Dedication of Offerings
Please make your contribution to Church
Funds in the usual way. You are also
invited to contribute to Christian Aid - the special envelopes can be put in
the collection basket this week or next.
Church Anniversary gift envelopes may also be placed in the collection
this week or next. Thanks you.
Hymn 269 “Love
Divine” (Tune: Blaenwern)
Blessing
Organ: Toccata (from Symphonie
V) - Widor