Monday’s Meditation suggested that although elementary students have no classes at Christmastime, school is in session for followers of Jesus. The Christmas narratives are not merely traditional words, they are divinely inspired for our benefit. For example, the Christmas story provides a tutorial on how God speaks to his people.
In the opening of Matthew and Luke’s gospels the God of the heavens pulls out all the stops on the heavenly pipe organ and announces his kind intention by nearly every means possible. If the subject is “how to hear God’s voice,” get out your highlighters and take note of the many ways he speaks. I count at least nine:
God speaks through angels: Angels spoke to Mary, Joseph, Zechariah and the shepherds. Our very word angel comes from the Greek, ángelos, meaning messenger. While the birth of Jesus was certainly unique in history, God’s use of angels is anything but unique--they exist carry his messages and do his work. Are you open to the possibility of of angelic visitation today? (see Hebrews 13:2)
God speaks through dreams: God spoke to Joseph almost exclusively through dreams. What’s more, Joseph took these dreams seriously and made life-altering choices based on them. Would you marry a woman or move to a foreign country based on your dreams? Joseph did! In fact, we are in the habit of referring to "our dreams," but what if they are God’s?
God speaks through nature: Three pagan wise men were among those who bowed in worship before the infant Jesus. They were literally moved to action because of what they observed in nature. Who would pack up their treasures and travel over deserts based on the sights in the sky? People who heard the voice of God, that’s who.
God speaks through the scripture: Matthew takes great care to point out the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in his nativity story. The stars may have guided the wise men to Israel, but the words of the prophet Micah gave them the final steps to take. Even Mary’s spontaneous song of praise in Luke chapter two is based upon words recorded in the Old Testament nearly a thousand years before. In our day many people study the Bible, but how many hear his voice in it?
God speaks through worship: When Zechariah encountered the angel Gabriel, he was fulfilling the office of priest by burning incense in the temple. That’s worship! So is the song sung by the “heavenly host” that night to the shepherds in the hillsides of Bethlehem. Included in the Christmas story is the revelation that worship is a two-way street: We offer praise and thanksgiving, and he speaks to us. When’s the last time you heard the voice of God in worship?
God speaks through governments: The opening words of Luke’s second chapter mention the decree by Caesar August that all the world be taxed. Grumbling taxpayers everywhere did not hear anything other than the greed of Rome, but behind the mechanics of politics and taxation God was moving people from one city to the next in order to set his plan in motion. So the next time you read about a new tax, be sure to listen for God’s voice!
God speaks through the Holy Spirit: Two “nobodies” named Simeon and Anna received a most unusual invitation to celebrate the birth of King Jesus--they had a hunch. Except in this case it wasn’t actually a hunch, it was the voice of the Holy Spirit. Luke’s account makes clear that these two obscure temple-dwellers heard the still small voice of the Spirit, down the to time and place where the young parents of Jesus would come to the Temple to dedicate the baby Jesus. What if our lives--even specific days--could be guided like that? Scripture reveals they can.
God speaks through prophetic utterance: When Zechariah opened his mouth after nine months of silence, he prophesied! When Mary met Elizabeth the courtyard of a simple house became the gathering of saints, and both women spoke the words of God. The Christmas narrative is telling us that when God is at work, God’s people will speak inspired words of life. That should change the way we listen to one another, don’t you think?
And still one more: God speaks through Jesus: The Christ Child is the Word become flesh. John’s prologue reveals the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The opening of the book of Hebrews reveals that although God speaks in many times and in many ways, his ultimate word to us is a person: Jesus. The angels told the shepherds, “This shall be a sign for you: you will find a baby . . .” All of God’s words are contained in him. They were then. They are still.
So while we endure well-meaning Christmas carols and relentless cheerful music in retail stores, the question remains: will you hear God speak?
Great thoughts, Ray. The Word is full of example after example of God speaking to His people in the most unlikely ways. My biggest problem is silencing my own voice to give Him room to speak.
ReplyDeleteThe Orthodox Christians believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to the lay community, and thus holds the leadership in check. I notice that your listing does not mention, say, church leadership or laity either for that matter among those who hear from the Holy Spirit; except obliquely by mentioning prophetic utterances, which I suppose encompasses this. And you neglect the weight of (horrible word!) tradition, those who have heard from Him before. If we reckon that He has said something before (say, to those who established one version of the Scriptural Canon over another one, then we are still reckoning that He is speaking if we accept that one version of the Canon over another one).
ReplyDelete.. In my dark time of losing my faith, It was "leadership" who could not stomach an ernest questioning of their incoherencies from someone, who, I suppose, they thought was mere "laity" that caused such distress for me. Not that they could not stomach the question; but that they had not answers, when it was their job to have answers. And they offered reproof instead. And this was a vineyard church.
At any rate, the Holy Spirit, I believe, speaks to many - in both leadership and not; and through these, speaks to the Church at large.
I recall reading in a book by Merlin Carothers (back in the seventies, he wrote a series of books on praise) about a situation they found themselves in after a nasty church split. After the split, which caused a lot of pain to a lot of people, they were ernestly seeking God. The leadership - which included both "professional" Christians and lay leaders -- found that they had good results by allowing **any** member of the leadership team to put a hold on **any** thing that they were not ready to sign on to. None of this "majority vote" business. They found many times that if even one out of (I forget how many) of their leadership team had the slightest bit of apprehension about something, that it served them well to wait on the matter. They would so often find something revealed that would not have been had they simply acted on majority impulse. What all of this illuminates is that He speaks through both the witness of the group as well as the individual who says: "wait a minute ..this thing is not fully clear."
If we consider our own individual lives and and how waiting on the Holy Spirit has been beneficial when we have the smallest of things keeping us from perfect peace, we can see that they were simply acting out the corporate version of this.
Hi Stew: It's so true--we all need to find ways to hear his voice. I'm not sure it's a matter of quieting our voice so much as training our ears. And I have hope that each one of us can learn to do it!
ReplyDeleteHello Charles: You're correct: I didn't take into account the church fathers, or laity, or leadership. I tried simply to stay with what I saw in the scripture. That is, I took my cue from the text. I'm sorry to hear that your experiences with church leadership were negative, The only connection I see to church leadership in these narratives is that Zechariah had difficulty believing the angel's message, while others--the laity I suppose--embraced his voice. It was not my intent, however to talk about church leaders or laity, but rather about our need to hear God's voice in all his tonalities.
I love how the Gospels show God taking the initiative, directing events, and speaking in so many ways. I never knew there were so many. Thanks for laying this all out so nicely here. I'm glad that God is still speaking to us today.
ReplyDeleteI love how the Gospels show God taking the initiative, directing events, and speaking in so many ways. I never knew there were so many. Thanks for laying this all out so nicely here. I'm glad that God is still speaking to us today.
ReplyDeleteThe Orthodox Christians believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to the lay community, and thus holds the leadership in check. I notice that your listing does not mention, say, church leadership or laity either for that matter among those who hear from the Holy Spirit; except obliquely by mentioning prophetic utterances, which I suppose encompasses this. And you neglect the weight of (horrible word!) tradition, those who have heard from Him before. If we reckon that He has said something before (say, to those who established one version of the Scriptural Canon over another one, then we are still reckoning that He is speaking if we accept that one version of the Canon over another one).
ReplyDelete.. In my dark time of losing my faith, It was "leadership" who could not stomach an ernest questioning of their incoherencies from someone, who, I suppose, they thought was mere "laity" that caused such distress for me. Not that they could not stomach the question; but that they had not answers, when it was their job to have answers. And they offered reproof instead. And this was a vineyard church.
At any rate, the Holy Spirit, I believe, speaks to many - in both leadership and not; and through these, speaks to the Church at large.
I recall reading in a book by Merlin Carothers (back in the seventies, he wrote a series of books on praise) about a situation they found themselves in after a nasty church split. After the split, which caused a lot of pain to a lot of people, they were ernestly seeking God. The leadership - which included both "professional" Christians and lay leaders -- found that they had good results by allowing **any** member of the leadership team to put a hold on **any** thing that they were not ready to sign on to. None of this "majority vote" business. They found many times that if even one out of (I forget how many) of their leadership team had the slightest bit of apprehension about something, that it served them well to wait on the matter. They would so often find something revealed that would not have been had they simply acted on majority impulse. What all of this illuminates is that He speaks through both the witness of the group as well as the individual who says: "wait a minute ..this thing is not fully clear."
If we consider our own individual lives and and how waiting on the Holy Spirit has been beneficial when we have the smallest of things keeping us from perfect peace, we can see that they were simply acting out the corporate version of this.