God Is . . . Wisdom
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Seminary Worship Service, September 9, 1997
Readings: Psalm 19; Proverbs 1:20–33; James 3:1; Mark 8:31–36
Text: “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Mark 8:33b)
God Is . . . Coming
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, University Worship Service, November 27, 2005
Scripture: Isaiah 64:1–9; Mark 13:24–37
Text: “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down” (Isaiah 64:1a)
God Is . . . Death
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Seminary Worship Service, April 25, 2007
Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 3
Text: “A time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2)
God Is . . . Creator (aka Narnia’s Aslan, Earth’s Darwin, and Heaven’s God)
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Boston University Worship Service, June 21, 2009
Readings: Psalm 8; Job 38:1–7; John 1:1–5
Text: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4a)
God Is . . . Waiting
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Seminary Worship Service, December 10, 2014
Readings: Isaiah 40:1–11; Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13; 2 Peter 3:8–15a; Mark 1:1–8
Text: “Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things” (2 Peter 3:14)
A Prayer before Each Sermon
(written by Rev. Dr. Andrew Dutney)
[silently]
Lord Jesus Christ,
Although my words will undoubtedly humiliate you,
Please accept them all the same;
And through the humiliation of preaching
May we be encountered by you
Who bore the humiliation of incarnation
And the cross
For our sake and the world’s.
[spoken]
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
God Is . . . Holy Mystery
Readings
[Job’s friend said:]
See, God will not reject a blameless person, nor take the hand of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy.
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.
Then Job answered:
Indeed I know that this is so; but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it, when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond understanding, and marvellous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
He snatches away; who can stop him? Who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
God will not turn back his anger; the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him.
How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him?
Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
For he crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause;
he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness.
If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
Job 8:20—9:20
Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Revelation 19:11–21
Meditation
We always do well to reflect on our place before God and our conduct toward each other. When we consider that God is Love, we understand that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves. When we ponder God as Goodness, we know we should strive for excellence in character and faithfulness of witness. When we meditate on God as Creator, we should rejoice in the wonder of life, even as life’s ambiguity leads us to strengthen our determination to create new life with each step that we take in the world. What, then, should we be and do in light of the fact that God is Holy Mystery?
God is holiness, surely, means that we should recognize the majesty of God in sacred praise and holy obedience; we should know that God does not look lightly upon the injustice and cruelty of our human societies; we should sense ourselves called to realize the divine kingdom and do the divine will on earth and in our lives. God is mystery, surely, means that we should trust the divine will even when we cannot understand its purpose. It means that the words and images we use to praise God and reflect on the divine nature will always be inadequate to their object, so that we must approach worship and theology alike in humility, always ready to discover further reaches of the unfathomable