Symphony of Praise Matthew 14:13-21/Romans 8:35-39 Doug Floyd Apostles Anglican July 31, 2011 Almighty Creator, it is you

who made The land and the sea The world cannot comprehend in song bright and melodious, Even though the grass and trees should sing, All your wonders, O true Lord! The Father created the world by a miracle, It is difficult to express its measure. Letters cannot contain it, letters cannot comprehend it. Jesus created for the hosts of Christendom With miracles when he came: Resurrection through his nature for them. He who made the wonder of the world, Will save us, has saved us. It is not too great a toil to praise the Trinity. Clear and high in the perfect assembly, Let us praise above the nine orders of angels The sublime and blessed Trinity. Purely, humbly, and in skilful verse, I should love to give praise to the Trinity, According to the greatness of his power. God has required of the host in this world Who are his, that they should at all times, All together, fear the Trinity. The one who has power, wisdom and dominion Above heavens, below heaven, completely; It is not too great a toil to praise the Son of Mary. Those lines were inscribed in the margins of a metrical version of the gospel sometime in the early 10th century. A Welsh monk was transcribing this metrical gospel, and as he did, he composed his own metrical song of praise to God. It is as though the rhythm of the gospel gets inside him, comes out from him. He creates using the same form and writing in Latin, Welsh and Irish. His is giving voice to Gods praise by creating. The ancient

Celts believed that we were attuning all our senses to our God. Our sense of hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and touching are all in submission to Christ. By His Spirit He is teaching us to behold His goodness and respond to His goodness with all that we are. This training took the particular form of poetry among the Welsh. For over a thousand years the Welsh have maintained an unbroken poetic tradition of praise to God in poetry. They continue to write and praise God in and through all things. These Celts are joining in song with all creation to praise the Lord. The last line of Psalm 150, Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Think about that for a moment. Everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Think of the wind, the breath moving across this vast creation. Wheat fields blowing. Tree leaves flickering in wind and light. Think of the constant rhythm of the ocean. Or the gentle ripple of a creek. Think of the voices of Gods people singing out in harmony. Think about your own breathing. Breath indicates life, movement, respiration. We breathe continuously. Mostly unaware of it. Our diaphragm contracts, the rib cage expands, air enters our body. It is filtered, warmed and humified as it flows to the lungs. Oxygen passes through our lungs into the blood stream. Our heart pumps this vital life through every part of our body. The heart contracts and releases. Contracts and releases. Contracts and releases. The heart ever reminds of the rhythm that pulses through our body. Our whole body participates in this breath of praise. Our whole system is a rhythmical instrument of praise unto God. Every breath conscious and unconscious reveals the wonder, the majesty, the glory of our Creator. Whether were sitting, walking, working, talking, the marvel of our human bodies continues to reveal glory. At this moment, were all in this room together. All of us breathing, praying, singing as one. We form a distinctive symphony of sound and energy, of light and color. And yet we are part of an even larger whole that stretches out in the vast regions of Gods heavenly spheres. The Psalmist cannot hide from the presence of God, because the Spirit of God fills, sustains, and is at work in the midst of His creation. Anywhere he goes, the Psalmist encounters the Lord of Light, the Lord of Glory. God spoke this world into being, and it continues to echo His praise. We participate in this song. In the opening pages of Truth is Symphonic, Hans Urs Von Balthasar writes of this symphony of praise, Symphony means sounding together. First there is sound, then different sounds and then we hear the different sounds singing together in a dance of sound. A bass trumpet is not the same as a piccolo, a cello is not a bassoon. The difference between the instruments must be as striking as possible. Each one keeps its utterly distinctive timbre, and the composer must write for each part in such a way that this timbre achieves its

fullest effect Mozart is the absolute master: his violin, horn or clarinet concertos always succeed in bringing out the pure essence of the instrument concernedMozart had this whole sound in his ear to such an extent that, on occasion, he could write down the single instrumental line of an entire movement because he heard it within the symphony of all the parts. The orchestra must be pluralist in order to unfold the wealth of the totality that resounds in the composers mind. The world is like a vast orchestra tuning up: each player plays to himself, while the audience takes their seats and the conductor has not yet arrived. All the same, someone has struck an A on the piano, and a certain unity of atmosphere is established around it: they are tuning up for some common endeavor. Nor is the particular selection of instruments fortuitous: with their graded differences of qualities, they already form a kind of system of coordinates. The oboe perhaps is supported by the bassoon, will provide a foil to the corpus of strings, but could not do so effectively if the horns did not create a background linking the two sides of this counterpoint. The choice of instruments comes from the unity that, for the moment, lies silent in the open score on the conductors podium--but soon, when the conductor tapes with his baton, this unity will draw everything to itself and transport it, and then we shall see why each instrument is here. In his revelation, God performs a symphony, and it is impossible to say which is richer: the seamless generation of his composition or the polyphonous orchestra of Creation that he has prepared to play it. Before the Word of God became man, the world orchestra was fiddling about without any plan: world views, religions, different concepts of the state, each one playing to itself. Somehow there is the feeling that this cacophonous jumble is only a tuning up: the A can be heard through everything, like a kind of promise. In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets... (Heb 1:1). Then came the Son, the heir of all things, for whose sake the whole orchestra had been put together. As it performs Gods symphony under the Sons direction, the meaning of its variety becomes clear. We live and move and breathe in the Symphony of the Son. With this musical vision as a backdrop, lets revisit todays gospel story. As the story opens, we have a clue something is terribly wrong. Jesus has just heard that Herod beheaded John the Baptist. 13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. Herods evil action is not a song of praise, a song of love and song of glory. It is discordant. Sin is the deep discordance ripples throughout Gods good creation. It is a turning away from the goodness of God, and Athanasius explained that it is a corruption that unravels everything and everyone. The gospel reveals Christ coming into His good creation to destroy the power of evil and overthrow the power of the evil one.

In todays story, Jesus has withdrawn into a desolate place, a wilderness, and when the people hear it, they follow into this wilderness. As the story proceeds, well begin to see some parallels with the children of Israel leaving Egypt and entering into the wilderness. In fact, the Psalms and OT lectionary reading today will focus upon that story. The people are gathering around Jesus, and yet they themselves have been gathered. For no man comes to the Father unless the Spirit draw Him. The Spirit of God has drawn His people out from the cities and into the wilderness to encounter the Son. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Jesus heals their sick. He comes to heal the whole person. In his Church Dogmatics, Karl Barth wrote that we speak of the cure of souls, but we should properly speak of the cure of souls and the cure of bodies. Jesus delivers us from evil and heals us as whole. His Spirit touches the heart, soul, mind and strength. For how else can we love the Lord our God with our heart, soul, mind and strength if not by the power of His healing, enlivening Spirit? He comes to deliver His people from the power of the cruel Pharaoh, who held them in bondage. He comes to free us from the power of sin and lead us into the life of the Spirit as the readings in Romans 8 have been emphasizing. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." Jesus invites His disciples into this ministry to the whole person. 17 They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." 18 And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. ESV This image of Jesus breaking the bread and feeding the hungry looks very much like the miracle of Gods provision for the children of Israel as they crossed the wilderness. He fed them with manna, with bread from heaven. And as they prepare to enter into the promised land, Moses reminds them that the manna was simply pointing to the true provider, the Father in Heaven. Deut 8:2-4

2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ESV The food was sign pointing to the Father. In fact, everything in creation points beyond itself the love of God. When you drank your cup of coffee this morning, your Father in heaven sustained you. You drove your vehicle to worship at this service and to see people. At the same time, your car can be sign pointing outward to the One who truly moves into worship and into relation. As you breathe this very moment, your breath is a reminder that the Father in heaven in sustaining you. You see all creation is singing the praise of this great and giving God. Even the things we create, can serve in praise of our King. In a world where evil has scarred the heart and soul of humanity, we must be reminded that Gods creation is good and God is good and evil is defeated and will not and does prevail. Jesus has compassion on his people and showers them with the love of the Father. Whether turning water into wine or giving a blind man sight, Jesus is serving and blessing His people as the great and gracious host of His wonder-filled creation. Lets take a moment and revisit the miracle of the fish and bread. In verse 19 we read: 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. James Jordan sees a rhythm in this story that repeats throughout Scripture. Jesus commands the crowd to sit down. They are to sit back and behold the provision of the Lord. Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish. Lifts them up to the Father and says a blessing. He breaks the loaves. He gives out to the people. We might summarize his action as follows: He takes, He blesses, He brakes and He gives. He takes the bread, He blesses it, He breaks it and transforms it, then He gives it out. I started out speaking of the grand symphony of creation. We might think of this movement as part of the grand song of the Lord that echoes throughout time and space. He takes, He blesses, He breaks, He gives. That same pattern is repeated at the Last Supper. In Matthew 26:26 we read, 26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."

He took the bread, He blessed it, He broke it, and He gave it. Again and again in Scripture, well see variations of this action. God taking hold of something or someone, God blessing them, God breaking, transforming, glorifying them, and then God giving or sending them. We even see this in the creation story. It is not in a specific order always, but we see God speaking the world into being, we see God shaping, forming, fashioning His world, we see God blessing His world, It is good. And we see God giving His world to Humans both to enjoy and to take care of. We behold a world of rhythms and movement: birds in the air, fish in the sea, animals walking across land. We see a world that is good. We see humans blessed and made to be a blessing in the midst this symphony. But we also see discordance. We see sin. We see human rebellion. We see the seeds of a damage that ripples through creation. Paul reveals in Romans 8 that all creation has been subject to futility because of sin. And yet God does not abandon His creation. He loves it. Athanasius says that since the world was created in and through the Word of God, it is only in and through the Word of God that the world can be restored. So the Word becomes flesh. In the mystery of His grace He will enter into His creation to restore it. And when it is finished, He invites His people share His good news and participate at some level in this role of reconciliation. We participate in this rhythm of Gods action. We sing Gods song in this world. I mentioned earlier that in the gospel story we see Jesus takes, blesses, breaks and gives. Ultimately, it is his own body and blood that is taken, blessed, broken and given for the healing of the world. He is the covenant. He bears this covenant of blessing and healing and restoring to heart, mind, soul and strength of the person. And when he calls us unto Himself. He makes us an instrument. Through our bodies, through eyes and ears and hands and feet, we are an instrument of reconciliation. He takes us. He blesses us. He tunes us. And then He gives us out. By His Spirit, He calls us and leads us to the Father. The Father blesses us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. He transforms into the image of Christ. This transformation, this change is a breaking. A tuning. A cross. A death and a life. He sends us out to a world in desperate need of His love. We go forth from day to day as signs, as images, as songs of His love. Just as He invited His disciples into the miracle of the fish and bread, He invites into the miracle of His abundant love and provision for His world. We can only live in this rhythm, this song, this dance through the Breath of God, through the Holy Spirit. Because even as we go forth, we face pain and sorrow and loss and heartache. The dissonance of sin impacts, impacts our relationships. It is only by His Spirit that the glory of redemption, or His hospitality can be revealed.

Lately, weve been studying Romans 8. It tells the story of God inspiriting His people and by the Spirit restoring all creation. This happens even as we face the threats of a darkened world. In the reading from Romans 8 today, we hear, 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul confesses that we have be blessed and given all things in Christ, but he also acknowledges that we face suffering, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and even the sword for the sake of Christ. We live in a world where discordant sounds of fear, loneliness, loss and pain swirl all around us and even in us. As we are thrust out into this world of pain to bring healing, we will feel the pain in our bodies, in our hearts. As we go into the desert to bring water to the thirsty, we ourselves will thirst. In the workplace, in the family, in the community, in the school, in all the places we walk and with all the people we engage, we will face stress, pain, rejection, hurt, struggle and much more. There are times when the pain of this world will weigh so heavy in and on us, that we will despair. In 2 Corinthians, Paul confesses that even he despaired unto death. He knows we will face times when we may question the Fathers love. There will be times when we cannot hear the glorious symphony of Gods love. We may be sifted like Peter. We may be stoned like Stephen. But we will never be forsaken. For we are assured that Christ Himself is interceding for us before the Father. We are not forsaken. But we are loved. And nothing. Nothing. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. We know this because His Word tells us. We know this because the Holy Spirit teaches us this in our hearts. We know this because our faith handed from generation to generation teaches us of the faithful love of God. We know this because all creation witnesses to the goodness and glory of God. Our five senses serves as witnesses to the wonder and awe all around us. When we enjoy taste of fresh vegetables from the garden, we are reminded of His goodness. When we listen to the beauty of music, we are reminded of His love. When we

spend time with our family and our friends, we behold his image in our midst. He has surrounded with witnesses to His faithfulness. With this blessed assurance of His love, His prayer, His Spirit, His grace, let us go out into this world of discordant strains, and reveal the glory of His symphony. Let us take. Bless. Break. And Give. In the simplicity of serving of meal, you take hold of the plates and the silverware. You give thanks to God. You transform the empty plates into containers of delicious foods. You give them out to family and friends. Or in gardening. You take hold of seed and plant it. You gives thanks to God for these plants. You water and cultivate and care for the plants. Finally, you take the vegetables and serve them. What about someone who sits at a computer all day? Maybe your jobs is to process reports. You take the assignments. You bless God who has provided this job and bless the company who have hired you. You work on the report, the information, the task at hand. And then you give out. All our actions in job, in the market, in our hobbies, in our homes, can be an offering of thanksgiving. Can open outward to touch and bless the world around us. I love watching films. Can this be an act of worship? I watch the film. Even as I watch the story, something might touch me, speak to me. Maybe in the plot. In an actor. In the way the light is used to fill the scene. Through this experience, the Lord might open my heart to His love, to our desperate for Him, to the brokenness of the world around me. So the film might open outward and through it I might find language to talk to the world around me about the goodness of God. Paul is convinced that in every aspect of our life, we can worship God. We can participate in the song of praise. We can be surprised by the varied ways His Spirit teaches us to open our lives outward to give and love and bless the world around. So whether you eat or drink or build a porch or take a hike or write a song or counsel a lonely person or raise children, or cook a cake, or pick a tomato, or wash a car, lets do it all as an act of worship. Knowing that we truly are playing a part in the grand symphony of worship and restoration of all things in Christ Jesus.