Sermon for June 9, 1996

Pastor Gunnar L. Anderson

"God in a Box"

Moses said to all Israel, 'You shall
therefore lay up these words of mine
in your heart and in your soul; and
you shall bind them as a sign upon
your hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between your eyes. And you
shall teach them to your children,
talking of them when you are sitting
in your house, and when you lie down,
and when you rise. And you shall write
them upon the doorposts of our house
and upon your gates ...

"A visible reminder of God's word was to be attached to the wrist, between the eyes, and on the doorpost of the home." these reminders were little boxes, I think called phylacteries. And inside these boxes attached to the hand, the head, and the home would be pieces of paper with verses of scripture scrawled upon them - literally, it seems, "God in a Box!"

And I recall a Bible study series that we used here at the church many years ago. It's probably still sitting upstairs somewhere in a pile or on a shelf. It was called, God in a Box, because inside the box were audio cassette tapes on which were recorded the Bible study material. And I remember sitting around a table with likely some of you, listening. And every once in a while the voice on the tape would say, "Now turn off the tape, and reflect."

Well, let's reflect. "God in a Box?" Can we do that? Can we keep God so? Can we bind god up like that? but don't we try?

Don't we try to keep God in the box of what we want. As long as God and God's word are telling us what we want to hear, it's okay. But as soon as God expects more of us and challenges us to go further than we think we can - to give more of ourselves, our time, our talent, and our treasure; as soon as we are asked to actually imitate Christ, follow Jesus and take up our cross; as soon as soon as we are guided not to judge but to be reconciled to our brother or sister, to forgive seventy times seven or always, to love our neighbor knowing that our neighbor is anyone, anyone in need, then we are not so sure. Then we like God better in a box!

During the years of wilderness wandering, the Hebrews carried their scriptures in a large chest called the Ark of the Covenant. "It was so sacred it was like having God in a box." Later they built a bigger box called the Temple. And we have our church buildings! These too can become like boxes inside which we try to contain God!

It seems that many folks think of religion as something done only at a certain time and place: in the church, on Sunday morning. We push God off main stage into the corners of life. "It's all right to believe in God but keep Him in the religion box. "Don't," as I have read, "let God into the school, the factory, the board room or the bedroom."

On the contrary, Moses, this morning, commands us to make our faith in God integral to every aspect of life! "The box on the wrist was to remind the Hebrews that all they did was to be in accordance with God's word. The box between the eyes was to enable the Hebrews to view everything through the lens of God's will, since the eyes are a window to the mind, heart, and soul. The box on the door was to remind them that the home was the primary site" ... for teaching the faith.

They were to teach God's word to their children as they were pursuing their everyday activities: "when you are sitting ... and when you are walking ... when you lie down, and when you rise."

"Lay up" God's word "in your heart and in your soul," Moses says, "lay up." And there is great value in laying, in storing up God's word for the future needs of your life:

"Again Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,'" ..."We love because God first loved us," ... "as you wish people to do to you, do so to them," ... "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful," ... "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." ... "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus," ... "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good," ... "Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited," ... "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

And then lay up in your heart these words from this day: "For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by God's grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood" ... "'Not every one who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." We are to be more than passing acquaintances with Jesus. We are to be close friends, and close friends will do almost anything for the other. Jesus has for us. We can for Him! "Store the gospel in your heart that it may direct all your doings."

"God in a Box!" This morning's lesson raises an issue that seems critical in the church today: how does my religion, my faith relate to my every day life? Some say that one of the reasons why mainline church membership is declining is that people can't make this connection. William Diehl, a Lutheran, has written a book called The Monday Connection, and he reports that, believers in God "have rightly concluded that beliefs are impotent unless they influence our values, ethics, thoughts, and behaviors." Such folks, he says, "don't want merely to talk about God; they want to experience God," and live God!

A man spotted an ad in the paper for "Christian Car Care." Was this a family name, or were these church people in the business? "After three or four dealings with them," the man writes, "I have concluded that they did indeed supply Christian care. They were very reasonable, exceedingly honest and trustworthy. They witnessed positively to their Lord in the course of their daily work.

I opened the Courier News this week to find a profile of Lottie Alexander, an active member of Calvary Baptist Church, Plainfield, who says, "We do a lot for latch-key children ... We provide counseling tutoring ... utilizing arts and crafts and fitness to keep the children motivated." She also chairs the young adolescent girl's group at the church. "We focus," she says, "on building self-esteem and becoming good citizens of the community ... alleviating violence and stopping teen pregnancy and drug use. What you believe influences what you do!

This afternoon our homeless guests arrive once again on our doorstep. And this ministry always makes me feel that the church is involved, that individuals, that I am involved with what we ought to be doing! Faith active in love!

"The box on the wrist was to remind the Hebrews that all they did was to be in accordance with God's word. The box between the eyes was to enable the Hebrews to view everything through the lens of God's will ... The box on the door was to remind them that the home was the primary site" ... for teaching the faith.

AMEN

Copyright © 1997 Gunnar L. Anderson. All Rights Reserved.

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