Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Texts:
Jeremiah 11:18-20;
James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a;
Mark 9:30-37.

Jonathan Edwards preached a rousing sermon in his Northamption, Massachusetts congregation in 1741. Edwards was a Calvinist revival preacher, skilled in calling sinners to repentance. His sermon was so successful he took it on the road to Enfield, Connecticut.

That sermon became so famous that it is still remembered. And in some circles it’s still invoked today as a powerful message to the faithful. The sermon was titled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

Edwards was driven by his concern that the end times were upon them. Various natural disasters had convinced him that people should waste no time preparing to meet their Maker. And presuming that most people were guilty of something unsavory, Edwards let it be known that God had plenty on them, and a painful and fiery ordeal was unavoidable. Unless they repented and confessed their sins.

You can order your own copy of Edwards’ sermon, or find it online. As October approaches it fits well in to the genre of horror. It will take you about an hour to read it, depending on how speedy you are.

Imagine being in the pew that day. Edwards was a good orator. He held his audience spellbound with his biblical knowledge and dramatic delivery.

In the mind of Jonathan Edwards, his mission was clear and urgent. To instill in people a terror of God. To scare the people back onto the straight and narrow path for what remained of their lives. He preached many other sermons on a variety of biblical texts, but this one stands out as one of his most memorable.

There are plenty of biblical texts that call for fearing God. They are found in both the Old and New Testaments. Yet it is not unusual to hear the term “Old Testament God” associated with a fearsome God. As if God somehow goes through a paradigm shift in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament and is suddenly gracious.

To be sure the prophet Jeremiah called for God’s retribution upon his enemies. For the record he’d been the target of an assassination attempt and was pretty ticked off about it. Even though he survived unscathed, he wanted the perpetrators punished.

The book of Jeremiah is well known for its fierce rhetoric. There’s a reason why another word for a rant is a jeremiad. He and Jonathan Edwards had a lot in common that way.

Even so, it’s worth noting that Jeremiah didn’t take matters into his own hands. We’re hearing his prayer to God. The prophet left it up to God to carry out the appropriate punishment. Whether or not Jeremiah ever got satisfaction in this matter is unknown. Perhaps all he really needed was to make his complaint.

A similar complaint is lodged in Psalm 54 against unnamed opponents. Again a claim is filed in God’s heavenly court. “Render evil to those who spy on my; in your faithfulness, destroy them.” Ouch.

Is God perfectly willing to answer to such human complaints? Is God angry, vindictive, and glad to torture people? Is terror of God the same as fearing God? Or is that our projection upon God? Embedded in this is the question raised in the gospel today.

In what way is God great? How was Jesus great? And if we are God’s servants, what does greatness look like in our lives?

This question was under consideration by the disciples as they walked on the road to Galilee. Jesus had just disclosed the manner of his death a second time. It hadn’t been received enthusiastically the first time. And it’s no better here. The disciples didn’t even want to ask what he meant.

On the road later, with Jesus presumably out of earshot, the disciples argued about who was the greatest. The question is not as clear as we assume. It can also be heard as “What is greatness?”

Jesus understood the implications of the argument. It had everything to do with his coming death by way of human violence. There were two possible ways to greatness for Jesus. To be the conquering Messiah who restores the monarchy of Israel, or to be the crucified and risen Son of Man.

And how did Jesus respond to the disciples in their confusion and fear? As one whose greatness is in subduing sinners? Or as one who tenderly embraces the small child, and says, in effect, this child and I are empowered in the same way – by the love in which we are enfolded.

That day the disciples learned exactly how great God is. And that they were not sinners in the hands of an angry God. Instead they were disciples in the hands of a vulnerable God.

It was a big lesson. They would still not fully comprehend Jesus’s meaning until they saw the agony of the messiah on the cross, and felt the peace of his presence after the empty tomb.

And we too, still need to take in this teaching and learn the true meaning of greatness.

As for terror. Even James who has a lot to say about sin and sinners concludes that God’s arms are open and ready to embrace all who come near. For it seems that God’s gravity is irresistible.

Amen.