Worship June 13. 2021 German Church of Atlanta
Sermon - Corinthians 14, Verses 1-10: Dear congregation, dear friends, I am reading the Sermon text for today from 1. Corinthians 14, Verses 1-10: It is love, then, that you should strive for. Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message. 2 Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit. 3 But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort. 4 Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church. 5 I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues—unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped. 6 So when I come to you, my friends, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit, unless I bring you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some inspired message or some teaching. 7 Take such lifeless musical instruments as the flute or the harp— how will anyone know the tune that is being played unless the
notes are sounded distinctly? 8 And if the one who plays the bugle does not sound a clear call, who will prepare for battle? 9 In the same way, how will anyone understand what you are talking about if your message given in strange tongues is not clear? Your words will vanish in the air! 10 There are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. Have you ever been to a Friday prayer in a mosque? Probably not. Not that this is forbidden in liberal mosques, but one has the impression that Muslims prefer to be among themselves at Friday prayers. But have you ever seen pictures of Friday prayers in the mosque on TV? Imagine if you were invited to it or it happened for you to get in there: What do I have to do now in order not to attract attention. Ah, shoes off! Absolutely. Stockings too? Do I have to wash myself like the others? Hands, eyes, ears, feet? Do I need a headgear? Women yes, but some men also go without. And then in. Where are the women sitting? Find a place. stand. Raise your hands. fall down. Forehead to the ground. stand up. Then they all mumble something. I don't understand anything. It's also Arabic. They have memorized those words, but I haven't. But do they know what it means? I certainly don't. – That's probably what you feel like in a mosque. And now put yourself in the place of someone who comes to our service – by chance as a tourist or out of curiosity or because you brought him or her with you. Someone who doesn't go to church otherwise: When do you get up here? When do you sit down? Sometimes they all talk something together. Do I have to say something? Where can I find it? Then they sung something in a rather ancient German. Under one song says: »Text: Johannes Zwick, 1545«. And some of what they sang was not a German, but something else: Kyrie eleis and Hosanna. And then all of them in unison have muttered something like this: I believe in God ... and
the Virgin Mary ... and to judge the living and the dead. I felt completely left out. And then the speech in the middle of the service, I understood most of it, but it was quite long. Do you really have to be initiated in order to understand and be able to understand what is happening in our worship? Of course, not everything always has to be comprehensible to everyone. For decades we have been singing »Laudate, omnes gentes« or »Dona nobis pace« songs from Taizé in Latin. We sometimes sing something like that for minutes. In addition, candles burn and a few instruments play gently. After that is a time of silence. And strangers like to be taken away by the atmosphere that arises. Even if they did not understand much of the short spiritual impulse that perhaps also existed in this Taizé prayer. – On the other hand, there are many things in our service that are difficult to understand even for insiders. A pastor once told in a conference: After the service, a woman had come to him who had been there every Sunday for many years. She asked him: »Mr. Pastor, I have to know: Who is the Yulam?« – »Häää?« – »Well, we always sing when we celebrate the Lord's Supper: Christ, Yulam of God? To this day, I do not know who is meant by the Yulam.« – Sure: In the divine service we celebrate the abiding mystery of salvation through the Lamb of God, who bears sin in the world. But if this mystery becomes a secret just because someone has misunderstood or not understood the meaning of what is said or sung in the service, then something has gone wrong. Ii. Now we sit down as guests in a service of the early Christian congregation in Corinth in the year 55 AD. In this ancient multicultural port city, many languages were spoken. In addition to these many mother tongues, there was Greek as the daily language. It was best to talk to each other – also in the service – in
Greek. Paul also wrote his letters in Greek. Now, in the service in Corinth, in addition to these many mother tongues, there was another language that almost no one understood, sometimes not even the one who spoke it themselves. – So we come to the service, and when we enter the big house with the cool courtyard, the main part of the service just begins. We notice that something extraordinary is happening here. In one corner, a man begins a strange singsong. His upper body makes rhythmic movements, his hands are raised. His eyes are closed, he makes a very sunken impression. Many who are here together seem to be somehow moved by it, some hum along quietly, but others sit silently and reverently next to it. What might happen in these people? Sometimes the sounds increase to a real shouting, then it becomes gentle and murmuring again, but we do not understand a single word. Then, in another place in the room, a woman begins with a similar singsong. For a few moments the two sing at the same time, then – apparently a bit reluctantly – the man stops and lets the woman sing. After a short time, this is repeated: another woman begins with an intense but completely incomprehensible torrent of sounds and moves violently towards it. That's how it goes all the time. Usually several people speak in tongues at the same time, and everyone finds it difficult to stop. One is more intense than the other. Everyone seems to be floating in a big cloud of happiness.– But we as guests? We have noticed: At best, you can be amazed, you can wonder. But we can't do anything with it. Everyone seems to be self-sufficient. Each in his or her own bliss. And not only we as guests are outside. Even in the community there is no fruitful cooperation. Those who could not keep up, it seems, sat next to it as marginal figures. That's what happened in the service in Corinth. Iii.
Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth takes a very critical view of all this. Not that he can't keep up! "I thank God that I speak more in tongues than all of you,"he says at one point. But I would rather speak five words with my mind in the church, so that I may also train others, than ten thousand words in tongues. (VV 18f) Why? We have heard that Paul juxtaposes in this whole section of the epistle with speaking in tongues and prophetic speech and compares them with each other. He who speaks in tongues speaks to God. But whoever speaks prophetically speaks to people. Both are gifts of the Holy Spirit, but he who speaks in tongues speaks incomprehensibly to others. Whoever, on the other hand, speaks prophetically speaks in clear words that can be answered by others. It's like musical instruments: it depends on a clear tone, otherwise you only hear diffuse noises. He who speaks in tongues builds himself up; But whoever speaks prophetically - he builds up the church. (V 4) Those who pray in this way in worship are not even connected to other members of the congregation in prayer. They may admire how someone so intensely praises God, but they can't even say Amen to it, because they didn't understand what he prayed. And guests, visitors, seekers, newcomers to the faith are rather deterred by such a thing. The prophetic speech, for example a good sermon or a helpful conversation in clear words, would at least have the chance to reach such hearers in the depth of their personality, to put them before the living present God, so that they worship God and confess that God is truly among you. (V 25). One thing is clear: from the standard of love, Paul clearly prefers prophetic speech in worship. He had already made the standard of love great in the previous chapter: If I talked to human tongues and angels and did not have love, I would be a sounding ore or a sounding bell. And if I could speak prophetically and knew all the secrets and all the knowledge and had all faith, so that I could
move mountains, and if I did not have love, I would be nothing (Chapter 13:1f). Without love, everything would be nothing, prophetic speaking as well as speaking in tongues. Under the standard of love, however, prophetic speech in the church has the advantage. And speaking in tongues is to be withdrawn. One may only practice it in moderation and only if it can be interpreted. Iv. Speaking in tongues and prophetic speech: For most of us, at first glance, one is as foreign as the other. But let's take a closer look! Speaking in tongues stands for a deep emotion in the reality and presence of God. A very personal communication with God, a mysterious connection with the heavenly reality in prayer. This can be so strong that it no longer needs understandable words. Paul knows that, and some of us might know something similar. A young mother tells us: At the birth of her second child, despite all the pain, she was flooded with indescribable feelings of happiness: she experienced the miracle of how a new human life comes into the world. One can also experience moments of overflowin joy after many years of silent meditation and heart prayers. Some experience it in music, some in nature, even children experience something like this: a spontaneous happiness, a wordless joy within God. Some of them do it in intense spiritual practice times. If something like this happens to you, you will always experience it as a gift. Speaking in tongues as praying or praising of God with meaningless sounds, obviously belongs in this area of experience. Also they are a gift of the Spirit. But all this belongs more in the quiet chamber than in the public service. And to exchange ideas about it, to share with each other and to take part in such
experiences, that is better done in the realm of pastoral care, in spiritual friendship, at most in a small familiar circle. And what does prophetic speech mean? It does not stand for any dark visions of the future or a mysterious special knowledge or »alternative facts«. Prophetic speech includes a well thought-out interpretation of Scripture. A sermon that does not bypass the mind and is therefore »understandable«. Prophetic speech is the announcement of the reality of God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. This is the promise of God's will to men. Whoever preaches or speaks of God should be gifted by God with the right words and thoughts. He is to ask that the Spirit of God work through his speaking, so that it may affect people in their innermost beings and allow them access to faith. Prophetic speech causes edification, admonition and consolation (V3). Edification, that is, deepening and strengthening in faith in Jesus Christ. Admonition means faith oriented for practice, for a responsible everyday life. And comfort is encouragement to trust in God's protection and God's guidance. – Isn't that what we all expect from a good sermon, a good faith conversation? Not everything in our services has to be immediately understandable for outsiders, visitors and seekers. But we now have a few helpful standards for the design of our worship services: 1. What is the purpose of edification, admonition and encouragement among each other? 2. What is more, what is less suitable to reach others, to touch them and to give them access to faith? And finally: 3. What corresponds to love? – That is not clear once and for all, but we have to reflect on that again and again. Let's stay in brotherly and sisterly conversations about this, especially as we are preparing to start our in person services again this fall.
Amen.