[Mcgregorpage] McGregorPage 526, Pentecost 20, October 22, 2006

[rmcgregoralbq at aol.com]

Pentecost 20, October 22, 2006

Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45

We Know God

“Ask ye what great thing I know  ...  Jesus Christ, the crucified.”  
Johann Schwedler inspired the church to sing its greatest gift, the 
precious knowledge of God.  The Psalmist knows that above the awe 
inspiring forces of nature there is one who inspires the ultimate awe.  
All the suffering of Job is set aside, all the protestations, when he 
encounters the one who set the earth on its foundations.  The author of 
the letter to the Hebrews proclaims Jesus the access to God not just 
for the few but for all who call on his name, not just for a stunning 
moment but for the daily service of the worshiping community.  And 
finally, James and John, stare into the fathomless revelation, 
confronted by God who not only strides the heavens but empties himself 
in humble submission to his own creation.

In our race to do, we forget what we know.  We forget the great thing 
that we know and then fail to do great things.  If there is one single 
defect to the present age that will bring down the future, it is that 
we know no great thing.  We, as a civilization, have no shared 
knowledge of greatness. Franklin D. Roosevelt knew a great thing.  He 
knew Teddy Roosevelt.  He knew a role model for president.  He knew a 
future for this country and loved that future.  This knowledge was 
informed by his faith.  With this knowledge he transcended paralysis.  
With this knowledge he lifted our nation out of despair.  With this 
knowledge he led us to world dominance, and it is (or was) a better 
world for it. Was he smarter than the rest?  Was he more skillful than 
the rest?  Did he work harder than the rest?  Was he more worthy than 
the rest?  His failings are well known. I think he excelled his peers 
in that he knew a greatness beyond himself.

The good news is not that we know a God who will make us great but that 
we know a God who is great.  Read the Psalm again.  Expand on it images 
using modern knowledge of nature: “Who moves the continents into their 
places and presses their edges into the sea...”

A little girl in Sunday School wrote this note to God:
Dear God,
Who draws the lines around the countries?

Like a child, our knowledge of God causes us to marvel at all that is 
beyond us.  Practically everything is beyond us!  What are we to the 
universe?  Yet, we can know the creator of the universe and in knowing 
are not be terrified but inspired.  The Psalmist knows the overwhelming 
forces of nature and is not terrified but inspired.  Job gets his 
meeting with God and is not killed but restored.  In Jesus, our fear of 
being crushed from above is transformed into the assurance of being 
saved from above.  The fear of living below is replaced by the 
experience of God below, below the heavens, below the human power 
structure, even below the whip.  We are no longer afraid of below but 
inspired.  Ask ye what great thing I know?  I know God above and below.

May these thoughts strengthen you.

An Open Letter to Fellow Pastors
>From Roland McGregor, United Methodist Pastor
 (an e-mail service)

[See Web Page address below for a Children’s Message coordinated with 
these lections.]

http://www.webspawner.com/users/ChildPage/

Multiple Sermon Starter Essays are available at
http://www.webspawner.com/users/McGregorPage/

The MCGREGORPAGE is available free to your email inbox
To subscribe, write the word SUBSCRIBE in the Subject line and send it 
to mcgregorpage-request at intenex.net.

To unsubscribe, write the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line and send 
it to mcgregorpage-request at intenex.net.

You may contact the author at RMcGregorAlbq at AOL.COM.


      --Copyright 2006, Roland McGregor, all rights reserved—
You have permission to share this material with any individual provided 
that you include the source with e-mail address.



________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL.  Most comprehensive set of free safety and 
security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from 
across the web, free AOL Mail and more.