You Are No Parliament!  
Scripture: Fifth Sunday After Pentecost (Kingdomtide), 2009 B Sermon: Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. AMEN. We read from the prophet Ezekiel this morning a wonderful drama of fear and of power! Ezekiel is in the midst of having a vision, and he is so overwhelmed by what he sees—the Throne in Heaven, the legions of angels, the glory of Almighty God—that he grows weak in the knees and collapses. Then God thunders down to Ezekiel: “O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you!” But Ezekiel can’t even do that. It’s too much. Too overwhelming. He finds himself so frozen in place by this vision of God that he is unable even to stand up and listen. He’s like a deer in headlights, dazzled to the point of death. But as soon as God commands him to stand, a spirit enters into Ezekiel and sets him up on his feet! And the prophet, astonished, finds himself listening to the Word of God. Now, many Christians have pointed to this passage of Scripture as a remarkably vivid illustration of the preaching task. Preachers are called upon to speak the Word of God—which is kind of like being told to hold back the tide with a Dixie cup. There’s no way we can do it. There’s no way anyone can do it. Not on our own. The only way for the Word of God to be preached and to work within a congregation is for God to send His Spirit into the preacher, into the hearers, into the entire assembly, so that it is, in fact, God doing the preaching, God doing the hearing, God being the Word and the Spirit within and amongst us. That’s the only way for the Church to truly be the Church—it has to be the work of God. Now, this can make some preachers quite arrogant indeed. We start to think that anything we say is God-breathed and Heaven-sanctioned, as if we were the Christ. In truth, the preachers should be terrified—the way that Ezekiel is terrified. Here God has given to Ezekiel this mighty task, this impossible mission, the weight of an unimaginable office; and Ezekiel can’t even stand upright unless God does it for him. Ezekiel knows that it must be God’s Word, not his own, that is brought to the Israelites, and he knows that this must be done by God working through him. Anything short of that would be a betrayal of his office, and of his God. That right there is the power and the terror of preaching, my friends. As soon as we think that the sacraments, or the service, or the sermon is about us, we’ve already failed. This flipside of this, however, is that when we as Christians put our trust in God—when we pray that He send His Spirit, preach His Word, spread His promises and heal His people—when we say, “Not our word, Lord, but Yours,” and trust that God’s Word never returns empty—then we can rejoice and take heart that even though we fail God, God never fails us. It’s not about us, and what we do. It never was. It’s all about Christ, and what Christ always does. Thanks be to God. That said—let us not think that this passage from Ezekiel applies only to preachers. Oh, no. It applies to each and every office that God has given to us for the worldly and spiritual benefit of His Creation. Offices like policeman or fireman. Offices like teacher, librarian, cook, clerk, doctor, nurse, mother, father, grandparent, child, soldier, judge, citizen and neighbor. Every good office given to us for justice and good order, for learning, healing, and feeding, is ordained by God—from the lowliest hotdog vendor to the loftiest king—and every one of these offices does God’s work in this world. Think about that. When you change your child’s diaper in faith, you are doing God’s work. When you slave away tediously at your job, in the sure promise that you are doing good work in this world, God is hard at work in and through you. When a student learns, when a teacher instructs, when a parent parents—when a worker labors, a mason builds, or a butcher slaughters—you are doing God’s work in this world. You are serving God’s children, God’s will, and God’s Word. And as soon as you think that it’s all about you, you have already failed. These offices are too great for us. They are too big, too terrifying. Who could be trusted to instruct the next generation of humanity in the classroom? Who could be assigned the task of raising children of God as babies in the household? Who is even worthy to change the cloths of the altar guild on the Table where we share in God’s own Body and Blood? No one. No one except God working through you. If we think that our jobs, our duties, even our families, are all about us, we’ve already failed. But when it is revealed that God loves what we do, and that God works through us in doing it—that healing and mercy and grace abound—then we rejoice that God will never fail us, that all things truly are in God’s own hands, and that in time God will set this world aright. As a fellow pastor used to encourage me before each service: “Don’t worry. Even if your sermon stinks, there’s still Communion.” * * * Now, brothers and sisters, we have gathered on this weekend when we celebrate Independence Day—the birth of the American nation upon the earth. And the war to establish said independence from the might of the British Empire is often called a Revolution—as if what was done in 1776 was something radical, new, or innovative. But if indeed it was a Revolution, it was a very conservative one. You see, the Founding Fathers did not believe that they were doing something new. In fact, as far as they were concerned, they were not rebels at all, but patriots. The arguments for American Independence were couched not in terms of new ideas, but in terms of ancient ones—arguments from the English Constitution. Though not a single written document, the English Constitution was understood to be a body of natural human rights given by God to all free men. These rights were laid down in royal treaties, as well as in works of theology and philosophy. But perhaps most importantly, these rights often had to be guarded by force. Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray for the Church, for the world, and for all people in need… We pray for those who spread Your Word In voice, in deed, in life That where the Gospel’s yet unheard You bring out peace from strife Ezekiel was terrified When You did bid him speak But Your Spirit deep inside Did lift him to his feet Preach Your Word and not our own Our wills to Yours equate Jesus Christ, for us atone O Lord—Your mercy’s great Bless’d is he who knows no lord Or law save God above And bless’d the state that draws the sword Reluctantly, for love Lord, do guide our government To guard the just and weak While we await Your heaven-sent To bring the peace we seek Countries rise and countries fall Have mercy on our state Until that day when You are all O Lord—Your mercy’s great Ten score year and thirty-three Our forebears wrote abroad: “Rebellion against tyranny’s Obedience to God!” Christ, Who from the shackle frees The Christian out of love Insure to us our liberties Descending as the Dove Pour these gifts on ev’ry soul Regardless of his state Make us in Your image whole O Lord—Your mercy’s great Lord, we pray especially for those we now name before You: for the wondrous healings of Doug, Justin, Bernice, and Bill; for the charity of this community, that it may continue by Your grace; for 125 years of prosperous civil government; for Clarence, Leo, and Jacob; for all doctors, nurses, and caregivers; for those who pray; for those who give of their time and ability; and for all children undergoing medical care. Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray Trusting in Your mercy to light and guard their way. AMEN. | 
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