Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Definition of Success: Ezekiel 2:1-6


July 8, 2012; Trinity 6; Texts: Ps 123; Ezekiel 2:1-6; 2 Cor 12:1-10; Mark 6:1-13; Title: A Definition of Success; Rev. Tim Beck 

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

What is the definition of a prophet? The Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel, what were they called to do? Given a revelation from God, they replied, “Thus says the Lord.” That word, at times was for a specific event in the prophet’s day, or about something that already happened. Sometimes God’s word announced a future event, far away in time. Sometimes more than one event in time was included in the same message. Most often the theme of their message was “repent and believe in the gospel.”  The prophet’s ancient words are for God’s people of every age, because it is God’s word, eternal. Our question is how it applies now, how we are to receive it, how we are to be shaped by it.
          There is a related question, do we have prophets today? Not if that means an ongoing, progressive revelation. Scripture has been written. The Old Testament prophets spoke of the coming Christ. He was born, died, rose and ascended and is coming again.  The divinely inspired apostles taught all Jesus taught them. And Jesus is the full revelation. Yet the role of the prophet continues in the church, given to the Apostles and then to declare the apostolic faith, given to the pastoral office for the sake of the church… to declare God’s Word as it is written. Pastors are to declare the Word and teach how we receive it and are shaped by it. And all who receive the apostolic faith share the same because God’s Word is given to the whole church, to the priesthood of believers.
          There is a goal in all this – faith in the Word. And where there is faith there is the salvation of which we may all speak according to our vocations. But we are often reluctant to speak. For example, every called pastor, me included, is at times afraid to say what needs said, knowing what is likely to happen. Look what happened to Jesus who never stuck his foot in his mouth. So what about your foot? You’ve had opportunities to witness of our Lord, the Christ. Did you keep your lips shut thinking, “maybe the pastor will say it?” Or, “I pray that guy reads a Gideon Bible in a hotel room.” Do you think “I’m not a Moses, an Amos, a Jeremiah or a Jonah?” And by    the way, each of these prophets didn’t want to speak for God. They objected to that divine call, making excuses, as we may object to living as a Christian in our personal vocations.
          Today we consider Ezekiel; he was a priest, called to be a prophet, after he became a captive of war and was dragged off to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar took captive Judah deep into Babylon in 597 B.C., for one reason. God’s people refused to listen to God’s word, to repent and believe; so the Lord sent Babylon as a divine 2 x 4 against Judah’s hard head, for repentance sake. Ezekiel was surrounded by the same folks, who despite the exile still kept their old hearts. So he was reluctant to speak, knowing what would come his way. Then our Lord told Ezekiel what he needed to hear. That word opened his mouth, and it can open our mouths too, because it tells us who we are and what faith shall receive. Let me put it this way, do you want to be a success, a success before God, before the Eternal One, before the Almighty, before the King of Kings?
          Then we ought to consider what God calls success. What’s his definition? It’s not what the world of the flesh calls success. We live in the world, under the pressures of a culture, influenced by its values; tempted and troubled by what the world wants to make of us because we want the same from the world. For example, we like popularity. We like to be liked and thought special. We’re even glad if the dog wags it tail when we come home. How early did it matter whom you sat next to on the school bus, junior high, fourth grade, first grade, kindergarten?  What made someone popular?  And did you conform to worldly values to get to sit next to the popular person on the bus, the one who had 42 crayons in her box, not just the 12 pack?  As you know ungodly values happen in kindergarten. And how do you conform to un-godly values to be liked? - repent -
          For another example, is success fame? Even if no one here danced with the stars, does it matter how people esteem you? We’d like to be given the best table in the restaurant, the special treatment, and have a full house at our funeral.  We equate that with a life that matters; being honored and admired. So we create everything from Cub Scout badges to Moose Lodge ceremonies. We create rigid hierarchies in the butterfly collectors club and in civil war re-enacting more people want to put on a general’s uniform than a private’s. There are so many ways we try to validate ourselves.  I’m not against having fun, rewarding children, getting promotions at work, wearing uniforms or preserving a historical memory or living in the world. The issue is how do we validate ourselves before God?  That’s a vital question for each person, and for the life of the church.
          We might live in the world, but if we succumb to the world’s way, to a self-centered way of measuring success, what then? For one, we’ll think if the rich, famous and powerful go to a church, that one must be God’s church. And if they don’t go to any church, why should we? Or, we’ll sell out Scripture to one business program after another masquerading under religious jargon if it promises to fill the pews. Or we’ll not risk offending our neighbor by saying things they need to hear, of repentance and faith, about not their honor but Christ’s. And have you noticed that all of the world’s ways of success are those of the law, something you do? How quickly does that become a burden, needing the 42 crayon pack to be thought OK, and the 68 pack to be special? Thank God the gospel is contrary to the world’s values, although believing it creates situations like these: God said to Ezekiel…you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.  The Apostle Paul said therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. Our Lord Jesus said “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”
          Too bad faith, faith in Christ, isn’t often admired in the world. Nevertheless, Jesus wasn’t ruined because his hometown rejected Him. That was but a step along the road to redeeming the world. Paul wasn’t broken by sufferings caused by proclaiming Christ. On the contrary, he finds his resulting weakness the very place where God reveals His faithfulness. Ezekiel preached God’s message, and those who listened were saved.  So too God didn’t require the prophets and apostles to spend their lives fighting for a big house, new cars, trips to Europe and the very best extended care policy for the end of life. They looked to what is eternal in the heavens, to where the Lord bids us look. They looked to what truly matters, and found contentment. So we look to the gospel; and with Paul see things so differently that we can boast about our weaknesses and troubles.
          Further, in Christ we succeed in our varied vocations, as father, mother, son, laborer, accountant, boss, friend, neighbor, pastor… by a life of faith. How so? Faith receives that Jesus declares us righteous, a success by God’s standard. And faith then looks to Christ to strengthen us in our every need. The plumber under the house in the crawl space, righteous in Christ, is free to pray for a solution when there isn’t space to move his hands to make parts fit.   And when they do fit, he gives thanks to God. So we don’t measure success in the same way as what the world values most; and even if it outwardly looks like the world’s definition, it won’t be. Even if a Christian’s business is fortune 500, her acting Broadway demanded, his ball throwing Super bowl sending... that’s not how he or she measures success. Our success has nothing to do with earning God’s approval, so that he likes you. Nor is it about the world’s approval. In fact, it’s not about you at all. God measures success by saving us. It’s about Him for you.  For you He preserved Ezekiel’s life when Babylonian armies blood-soaked Jerusalem.  For you the Lord brought Ezekiel safely to the river Chebar after walking chained with other captives through the terrible desert heat and cold. For Ezekiel and you He called Ezekiel to speak, sending the Holy Spirit to give the right words and strength to do it.  Even if no one listened, even if no one thought well of Ezekiel, he spoke. And if you read on in Ezekiel and see some of the totally weird things God asked Him to do, there’s only one conclusion. Ezekiel succeeds by faithfulness to the word the Lord. And the responsibility for the success of that word belongs not to Ezekiel, but to God.
          The Triune God takes upon Himself the responsibility to save, just as the Triune God takes upon Himself the measurement of our success. What’s the best example of God’s way of doing things? Consider the success of God’s Son made man. God became man and humbled Himself; and then was called mad, demonized, a bastard, a blasphemer, immoral, etc. By worldly standards Jesus of Nazareth was an utter failure. He lived in back-waters and never went to important places, like Rome. He didn’t own anything, except a seamless robe. He had no home, no wife, no children, no normalcy, no place to lay his head. Surrounded by grasping crowds, they fled when he was arrested by jealous men. Without cause He was beaten, mocked, and died as a criminal. Yet God’s foolishness is our success, the glory of God revealed on a cross. There Jesus received the Father’s approval, and gave the same approval to you in Holy Baptism. There is nothing more for you to do to be regarded by God as His beloved, adopted child. We but receive His enduring love, believing He did it all for us.
          Contrary to the world’s definition, the Triune God made you a success… when Jesus died for sinners.  Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. So Ezekiel proclaimed the same (repentance and faith) and some believed. So we speak of our Lord because He named us as His † having reconciled us by the cross, by the symbol of worldly failure but the sign of God’s approval. (That’s why our churches have images of Christ crucified, the last thing our sinful inclinations want, so that we see the Father’s definition of success.) And in Jesus’ success is the secret of fulfilling our calling, our vocation as a Christian. He gives us the power of open mouths... that receive His very body and blood. His grace is the answer to our every weakness, because He who washed us in water with the Word is stronger than the grave. So we live as God’s own, asking Him that the faith He creates in us by the Word bears the fruit of love and good works.  Then mindful of Christ, we rejoice to serve our neighbor for Christ’s sake. That’s what shapes the way we see our jobs, our family, life in the world.
          Now, how do you measure success? Will you think less of yourself if you don’t have a sporty car? Will you think less of Christ when your neighbor says you believe a superstition? Will you think on Christ crucified as the source of all good for you? And as a fringe benefit, consider how in Christ the burden of earning the world’s approval falls away. You succeeded before God through the death of Jesus Christ, so you don’t require the world’s popularity, fame and honor to be content. You don’t need to live beyond your means, to dress a certain way, to be a rat in       the rat race, to conform to what earns God’s wrath.  Before God, there’s no need to earn brownie points. The Father named you as His in Baptism, forgiven, justified, His beloved child. For this end He sent the prophets and apostles, calling men into the proclamation office so that through hearing, the Holy Spirit applies the Word to your life - for a reason - to free you from the world’s bonds, freed to be His for righteousness and life.
          So Ezekiel looked forward to the promised Christ, overcoming his fear to speak. He knew success depended on God, as does ours. So the Word of grace opens our mouths too because it informs us who we are and what we shall become and that some will believe. Jesus is the final and ultimate prophet. He puts His word in our ears and into our hearts, and it comes out of our mouths.  He who enters our mouths to commune with us will strengthen you for eternal life; for God measures success by saving us. It’s all about Him for you.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord

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