God, free me of god
Last week, being my first week back from my time in the USA, was a pretty busy week. I did not really write my sermon, but on Sunday wrote out some wee notes. That is why I did not post anything. To be honest, this week is looking pretty busy with two funerals and my daughters 30th birthday party in Auckland on Saturday. I will write a theme, but don't get too hopeful for sermon notes.
These are pretty rough notes, so the actual sermon may be a little different. You can listen to that here.
Gate
Pa – Year B 29th Sunday in
Ordinary Time,
Readings:
Psalm Psalm
104:1-9, 24,
35c
First Reading:
Job
38:1-7, 34-41
Second Reading:
Hebrews
5:1-10
Gospel:
Mark
10:35-45
What I want to
say:
to explore the invitation from Job to pray Meister Ekhart’s prayer
– “God free me of god”
What I want to happen:
what ideas about God do we need to be freed of?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Poor old James and John
They thought they understood what was happening
they thought they understood what God
was doing in this person Jesus
Messiah
-
healed many
-
teacher – words
of life
-
shown power over
natural world and world of spirits
-
now off to
Jerusalem
è clearly God was with him
è when God was with you, you were blessed with success
-
God is moral and
just God and rewards those who follow God
-
also moral and
just
-
long life and
many descendants
-
wealth
-
hoping power
they are brothers
first loyalty was to each other
do what any set of brothers should do
seek out best opportunities for their
family name
-
to be at Jesus
left and right side
-
place of power
and wealth
-
if only they had
taken more notice of Job
2. Job
much of OT works on theology
God is moral and just
God will reward the moral and just
with long life, many sons, health and wealth
God will punish those not moral and
just
è wealthy seen as rewarded by God
è poor and sick as punished
along comes Job
explore the story
problem
all of these statements could not be
true
God is moral and just
God rewards the moral and just
Job is moral and just
-
Job wants his day
in court
-
friends tell him
he has sinned greatly
then God turns up and asks this very
simple question
“who says that that is the way the
universe operates?
who says those are the rules by which
I have to operate?”
how freeing is that?
we can’t understand God
God is beyond our rules
God is beyond our theology
I can’t control God
I can’t dictate how God will be God
I am not God.
3. Ransomed
talk about this in terms of Anselm’s
unhelpful theology
4. What do we need to be freed of?
Meister Ekhart’s prayer – “God free me
of god”
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