Do Not Wander Away to Myths

Scripture Lessons: Jeremiah 31: 27-37 and 2 Timothy 3: 14 – 4: 5 Sermon Title: Do Not Wander Away to Myths Preached on 10/20/19 Always, but especially today, we give thanks to God for Scripture. Scripture holds a central place in our Presbyterian tradition. Many Presbyterian churches are designed like ours, with the pulpit in the center. That illustrates, not that the preacher is of central importance, but that the Word of God is. That’s why I stand here, front and center. It’s not so that everyone can see or hear me, but so that you and I know the place that God’s Word must have in our lives. It must be the focal point and the foundation, bringing light to shadow and clarity to all our confusion. To stand in this pulpit or to touch that old pulpit Bible that I’ve just read from is really something wonderful, then. It reminds me that for generations and generations, the words of Scripture have been cherished and passed down, translated and debated. When I touched the worn pages of that newly restored Bible that rested in the pulpit of our Sanctuary so that generations of believers would hear the Word of God, it’s as though I’m touching something sacred. In that old pulpit Bible, a symbol of our faith has been preserved, so I’m exceedingly grateful to the family who supported the effort to have it restored and the History Committee who sent it off, as well as the woman who knit together again it’s binding by hand. However, it’s not enough for us as Christians to preserve the book. It’s not enough to put it under a glass case where it will be kept safe, well maintained for future generations to admire. All of that is wonderful of course, but Scripture is not meant for a museum. Under a glass case or up on a bookcase is not where we are commanded to keep the Word of God, for as we read from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah in the King James Version: I will put my law in their inward parts And write it in their hearts; Have you ever thought about what that means? A wonderful author named Richard Rohr retells a story about Joan of Arc. After defending her home country of France from English domination, she had to stand trial for defying her culture’s harsh standards of gender. Representatives of the Church tried her for heresy, for in addition to her unladylike behavior of commanding an army, she said that it was God himself who called her to do it. That didn’t sit well with the Religious Authorities of the time. The Gospel rarely does, and so they couldn’t believe that God would ever command a young woman to do anything besides cook or sew. “What makes you that it was God speaking to you?” they asked. “I heard Him speak in my mind and felt Him lead me in my heart,” she said. Giving little credence to her emotions or the voices inside her head, they accused her of falling victim to the power of her own imagination. Yet, Joan of Arc brilliantly responded, “How else would God speak to me?” Maybe you’ve had that same feeling of being led by an inner voice, a sense that the divine was leading you somewhere. Only how do you determine which voice is God’s and which isn’t? That’s why Scripture must reside in our hearts. That’s why His Commandments must fill our inward parts. All the time we are asked to make choices. All the time decisions must be made, and some trust the feeling in their gut, others the little voice inside their head; still others rely on numbers, metrics, data, but why not use the account of the Great Heroes of our faith, why not listen again to the old stories of God at work in the world to gain an understanding of how God is still at work in our lives today. 2nd Timothy warns us against turning away from the truth and wandering away to myths. We can only begin to grasp what is truth and what is myth by knowing the words of Scripture so well that we know the sound of God’s voice and the quality of His character. Otherwise, we’re set at sea like a ship without a rudder or an anchor, victims to the whims of the most constant and manipulative advertisements the world has ever seen. Has it happened to you yet, that you ordered something online, and magically, you find yourself presented with similar products? I recently ordered some fancy, $8.00 shoelaces. Yes, I know that you can buy two pairs of shoelaces at Walmart for $2.00, but they don’t make those in colors that will match all my outfits. I ordered two pairs of these shoelaces from a website called whiskers.com. Ever since then I’ve seen their advertisements everywhere. They’re on my phone and on my computer. It’s like someone’s been watching me and knows what I’ll be tempted to buy. That’s because someone is. Of course, the news is even worse. We know now that once you read an article on-line, you’ll be presented with other articles that you might like. This is convenient and good so long as you’re happy and settled with the world view that you currently have and don’t want to be disturbed with a different opinion. Constantly today the salesmen of products and propaganda are knocking down our door, infiltrating our life, trying to tell us what to buy and even how to think. Considering the aggressive cacophony of myths in our daily lives, how can we know who to listen to? How can we decide whose advice to take? Which version of the truth is really the truth? Sorting through the confusion is easy when we remember the words of Scripture: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. We have to know the Word, you see. Consider our Call to Worship that was from the Psalms, that God’s law makes us wiser than our enemies, or again, Jeremiah, where the Lord looks forward to the day when: I will put my law in their inward parts And write it in their hearts; To have Scripture in our hearts is crucial, because all around us are myths. All around us and even in our own heads are voices that will lead us towards death and destruction. An author once wrote that “We accept the love we think we deserve.” He’s right. And we also listen to the voices we think have it right, we take the advice of those who speak with confidence, even though they often speak without wisdom. Therefore, we must be careful, because myths can ring true, even when they are empty. There may be a voice that you hear, like that of Orson Welles: We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone. Illusion? That’s a myth. Let me tell you why. I was standing in line at the Starbucks at the hospital last week with our Music Director, Dr. Jeffrey Meeks. A Journey song came on: He’s tearin’ you apart Every, every day And Jeffrey started singing Cause he’s lovin; touchin’ another. And when it got to the next part, all the na, na, nu, na, na’s, another guy right behind us jumps right in and starts singing with him. He was with his teenage daughter, and while they were crooning in harmony, she and I had the same embarrassed looks on our faces. Regardless, remember these strangers in line singing together and know that while it’s easy to go into the hospital and to think that no one cares that you’re there, you’re not alone. Don’t believe that you are for a second. Hear the Word of the Lord: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. Do you know those words? Are they written on your heart? You’ll be scattered by the wind if they’re not. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. Don’t you know it’s already happening? So many mistake the words inside their head that tear them apart, for the Word of the Lord. So many mistake the bullies in the hall or on the internet for sound doctrine. So many listen to what people say and think that they must speak for God but listen to what God has to say: You are mine, my beloved, and with you I am well pleased. Too often we imagine Scripture as full of the harsh words that tell us what not to do. We assume that within those pages we will hear that we’re all wrong or undeserving. If that’s what you think, then take it down from the shelf to read it, that you might come to know the God who called a woman named Joan to lean an army and was incarnate in a man named Jesus, who gave His life out of love for you. If we don’t know, with some certainty, that we have God’s approval, then we will spend our entire lives trying to earn the world’s, which we will never get. Do not wander away to myths. Do not believe what they say. Instead, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, that “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Amen.