Sermon prepared for
by Pastor Gregory S. Kaurin
Text: Genesis 1:1-5, Psalms
29, & Mark 1:6-11
Sermon:
Vociferous Salutations
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Two
of my favorite words are “vociferous salutations.” I enjoy them almost as much as “buoyant
zeal.” We’ll talk about “buoyant zeal”
another time, but today let’s talk about God’s vociferous salutations.
Vociferous
means vocal, outspoken, loud and obvious.
Salutations can mean all kinds of things. If I start a letter by writing, “greetings
and salutations” it’s just a kind of high-brow way of saying, “Howdy!” It comes from the Latin greeting. You would say, “Salve” [SAL–weh] to a friend, or “salvete” [sal–WEH–teh] to a group of people, kind of like saying, “Howdy,
y’alls!”
But
salve literally meant, “health.” “I wish you health.” That’s why some people make the toast, “Salu,” or “Salüt.” “To your
health.”
And
it also became a gesture; a salute is actually a wish of health. In funerals, I am always moved by the slow,
purposeful salute that fellow veterans make to the casket as it goes by. What does it mean to wish health on someone
who has already died?
Finally,
you can find salve in the Bible. After Peter walked on the water toward Jesus,
but then began to sink in the waves, he cried out to Jesus, “Salve me!” [SAL-veh meh!] “Save me!”
Or, “Let me keep my health; let me stay alive!”
So,
a salutation is a greeting, and a wish for life, health and salvation all
rolled up into one word. With that in
mind, today I wish you the greatest and most vociferous salutations. –And I bring to you God’s vociferous
salutations, his vocal, loud and obvious words of greeting, health, life and
eternal salvation.
VOCIFEROUS: vocal, loud & obvious
I’d
like to take each of these points, one-by-one.
I said these greetings from God are vocal, loud and obvious. You might think that I’m nuts to say that God
is vocal, loud and obvious. You know
that he’s all these things in the Bible.
At creation, like our call to worship at the start of this service, God
said, “Let there be…” and there was. At
least in the Bible, God is very vocal.
We
talk about the Word of God. What are
words; what do we use them for? We use
words to express what’s on our mind, to get what’s in here, out there. Maybe God isn’t usually vocal in the sense of
using vocal chords, but it is very similar.
The
easiest definition of the Word of God that I can think of is this: the Word of
God is the Will of God, expressed. The
Word of God happens when his will and desire gets expressed, physically. God wanted, he willed, for there to be light,
there was light. Light is a word of God. It is his will expressed. And just look at the sun and its intense light. God’s words are obviously powerful, loud. Even when they are as quiet as a mountain, we
will often say that a mountain is “powerful” because of its size. It is a powerful word of God, but even when
they are as small and simple (but just as clear) as crocuses and daffodils bursting
through a crust of snow. These are all words
of God. You don’t need ears to hear most
of God’s words. They are the words of
life and creation.
In
fact, you… are a word of God. He willed
you to exist, and here you are, in the flesh, one of God’s beloved words. I bet you don’t often think of that when you
look in the mirror, but it’s true; you are a word of God.
God
willed, he has always wanted, a relationship with us, and what God wants, will
happen, in the flesh. That’s why his
Word, which existed since the beginning of time, God’s greatest Word and Will became
flesh in Jesus Christ. Jesus was the greatest
Will of God, expressed in the flesh.
Most
of us are tempted to say that God has never spoken to us with vocal, loud or
obvious words like in the Bible. At
Jesus’ baptism, it seemed extremely obvious.
The skies didn’t just “open.” The
Greek word, schizo, meant that the
skies were “ripped” open, and this big Godly voice announced that this was his
beloved Son, in whom he delighted. It
seems so obvious. And yet, the other
gospels tell us that—while some people heard this voice, and saw the Spirit in
the dove’s form—others were saying that they only heard thunder. Was it so obvious, then?
It
all depends on who you are, and how you listen.
Some people will dismiss anything; they will rationalize
everything. You are called to have
different ears. God has been, and is,
speaking to you loud and clear—through all kinds of words. In worship, at this fount, through this
water, and at this table he is saying, “I forgive you. I claim you.”
Even
at the worst times, when you’re sure that you’re alone, don’t be so quick to
shrug off a nice word or two that someone says to you, don’t be so quick to
dismiss the way your dog greets you at the door, because—especially at times
like that—these are God’s words. Word of
God are all the words that confront us, forgive, and accept us, physically
embrace us, or give us sloppy dog kisses or kitten rubs. —These are all God’s words.
Hindsight
helps, but as Christians, we might learn and start practicing, and trusting
that we hear more than what’s in front of us.
We hear God.
Look
around you, at creation, at people, your kids or loved ones, your church, (sometimes
even at special congregational meetings), even in your mirror. God is vociferous. His words are physical, loud and
obvious. One of those obvious words is
that he loves you. If he didn’t, you
wouldn’t exist.
SALUTATIONS: greetings, health, life, & salvation
God
gives you vociferous salutations; he gives you words of greeting, health, life
and salvation.
God
has been greeting you since the dawn of time.
Take each new morning in as God’s hello.
In fact, I’d encourage all of you to say hello back to him. Each morning, I mumble a mornin’ to my wife. —I’m even nicer about it after a cup of
coffee or two. I’ve been trying
something new of late: to take just a few simple seconds to say good morning to
God, before I even lift my head. I’m
getting into the habit of welcoming him into my day right from the
start—because it’s pretty obvious that he’s already done much more than that
for me: I woke up! He has greeted me
with his salutations; I need to do the same.
I find that I’m even a little nicer to my wife after I’ve said good
morning to God.
God’s
salutations also include the wish of health and life, spiritual and physical
healing, through doctors and medicine, and through miracles. And there have been plenty of miracles going
on in this church in the past couple of years.
(You don’t have to be Pentecostal to have God’s miracles happen to you,
I promise.)
At
Messiah, we’ve seen cancerous tumors disappear.
We’ve seen people survive illnesses and injuries that should’ve killed
them. Some of our members have seen
angels and loved ones in heaven.
And
I don’t buy the definition that miracles necessarily have to be “supernatural.” Some are and some aren’t. The Bible calls miracles signs. They are signs of God’s will. Miracles are like signs because their job is
not just to heal or smooth out life for us.
Their real job is just like a sign, to point to God and our eternal life
with him when there will be no more cancer, because of his promise for eternal
health. There will be no more sorrow or
death.
And
that brings us to the last point. God’s salutations
also hold his words of salvation. He
wants you to experience his salvation, your salvation, now in this life.
We
are now in the season of Epiphany. As
Pastor Steve mentioned last week in this service, Epiphany celebrates those
times in Jesus’ life when God was clearly present: the star of
Epiphany
is a season for us to begin recognizing that we are also words of God in the
world. We are meant to say things for
him. We are meant to point out to others
where we see him at work in our lives and in the world.
You
experience his salutations, small moments of salvation every time you have a
touch of God’s generosity—but you will also experience him when you practice generosity. You experience small moments of salvation any
time he answers your prayers—but you can also experience him in the prayer itself, and in worship. He has promised to speak through us as we
practice all the disciplines of our faith.
We are words of God, and we have each been commissioned to speak these
words.
God
isn’t as quiet and invisible as we often think he is. His work is out here in the world, his words
are as loud as the light that shines in our eyes, as physical as every
heartbeat in our chests and in our actions and words, in every miracle, every
sunrise, and all life. These are all
God’s words. These—and the fact that you
woke up and the sun came up today—these are all God’s vociferous salutations.
Vociferous
salutations be with you all.
[And
also with you.]
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