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Knew Him Not
Jeremiah 31:7-14; John 1:1-18
A lot of people don't like it, but Saturday Night Live has done as much
to alter the way English has been spoken in North America for the last
25 years as any other venue. One of the show's most annoying - and pervasive
- grammatical innovations has been from the skit 'WayneÕs World' in which
two teenagers reel off an unlikely positive statement, only to pause and
look at one another and loudly say, "...Not!" It's when the useage ends
up being utilized in commercials that the annoying factor reaches its
height. Negatives at the end of declarative sentences is an unusual word
order for English, but not totally unheard of, especially in poetry where
grammatical rules always have had less sway. We heard one of the most
poetic a few moments ago in the reading of the majestic First Chapter
of the Gospel according to John. "The Word was in the world, and though
the world was made by him, the world knew him not. He came unto his own,
but his own received him not" (vv 10-11).
Believe it or not, Saturday Night Live has just the right tone and timing.
Those original listeners to John's Gospel could well have heard the description
of their beloved Jesus, "...and the world knew him...(pregnant pause)...not!"
Oh, the pain and shame that must have come over them: there are a lot
of people who don't even bother to think about Jesus, let alone know who
he is and love him. That much hasn't changed. Most people don't even think
about Jesus; fewer talk about Jesus.
Language has come into disrepute for many of us in the last century, the
century of propaganda and the Big Lie. Words are cheap and often are not
connected to the reality they signify. Promise you the world, but promises
are real only if the words become flesh. We don't want words anymore;
we want action, physical deeds which prove that the words you say mean
what you say.
Still we can't get away from words. Despite our love for 'action films,'
the most passionate devotees belong to those who watch the soaps in the
afternoon's - programs which are almost bereft of action and are saturated
with words and more words. Yet when John's Gospel was read, had the listeners
heard any of the others? We can't assume they did. They would have known
nothing about the Nativity in Bethlehem, have heard no parables and no
Sermon on the Mount. Just the Word, which was in the beginning, and became
Flesh and dwelt among us.
Spiritually we are all Semites and the best of who we are derives from
our Jewish roots. The Jews revered the written word, for in the beginning
how did God create the world, except by speaking, "Let there be light"?
No manual, no instructions or directions, just a word.
A legend of the rabbis has the people of Israel waiting at the foot of
Mount Sinai with bated breath for God to utter the Ten Commandments. The
first word - "I am eyeh" - begins with appropriately the first letter
of the Hebrew alphabet "aleph." Aleph is a glottal stop: it has no sound
on its own and gets its sound from a following vowel. So when God began
to speak, the first sound was humanly unhearable. It was the Word of God,
unutterable, beyond our imitation, of the very essence of the God who
created the heavens and the earth. It drove the people of Israel into
a frenzy of fear. The Word was with God and the Word was God.
The current issue of National Geographic has a marvelous article on Tibet,
perhaps the most sacred society on earth. There is a photo of some pilgrims
in a monastery who wishing to accrue the spiritual benefits of the Tibetan
scriptures without actually reading them are pictured crawling underneath
a table laden with stacks of the sacred books.
There is immense reverence for the divine word and its unspeakable power,
but no need to convert the words into actions, events, and realities.
No need to speak the words. No need to put on the flesh. And the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Our words are more than mere sounds: they are what links us to God. Our
words at their best are the spirit, the breath of God.
Of course, not all of our words are so endowed. When our words become
"profane" - the correct opposite of "holy" - that is, plain, ordinary,
and definitely not "holy" or special, our divinity slips away in the spent
breezes of our breath. Jesus as the Word created in us a new kind of life
in which the power of God did not depend upon our family tree or accumulated
wealth, acquired power, education, or even the degree of our sinlessness.
Jesus demonstrated not only with actions, but first of all with his speech,
his words, that you and I can be more than plain, ordinary human beings
with nothing special to say. We are endowed with the breath of God which
transforms our ordinary, profane words and deeds into something extraordinary.
It does still matter how and what we speak. Our words are the vehicles
for our accents, our tone of voice and emotion, our sincerity and our
sense of confidence and authority. When I want to express my love and
respect for someone, personally I do not resort to much hugging and kissing
and touching. Actions are cheap. Instead, I have a much more powerful
and enduring way to assure another of my love: the sincerity and careful
use of my words. My words are seldom poetic, but I trust, I pray my words
mean something.
Remember that incantation a magician uses when he wants his trick to happen:
"Abracadabra." It is, in fact, originally Hebrew and Aramaic. "I create
as I speak." When you say a word, you are creating something new and full
of breath and life. When you are creating you a are breathing with the
breath of God who said a word and there was light and life. Your word
can do virtually the same thing in the souls of those to whom you speak.
Abracadabra, I create as I speak.
Now that Jesus has made it 2000 years, let's you and I speak about him
more to ourselves and to others. Let's talk about how we can't understand
him and how we do. Don't let it be said anymore that "his people knew
him not."
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to
become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
Preached by Robert Kitchen
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan
January 2, 2000
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