Loving God, whenever your Word is unleashed, things are never the same again.  May that same Word live in our minds and hearts by the power of your Spirit, leading us always to Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Some of you may have heard that there are 52 countries around the world in which it is either illegal or dangerous to have a Bible in your possession.  There is an outright ban in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, and the Bible is either illegal or highly restricted in countries like China, Cuba and Libya.  Why, do you suppose, is the Bible banned in so many different countries?... Any theories?... [People might read it and believe in Jesus; It might cause reformation or revolution; Christians might try and convert them?]. Whatever the reasons, there are governments around the world who do not want their citizens reading the Bible.  In fact, even in the history of the church, there were times when church leaders did not want ordinary people reading the Bible for themselves.

         It seems that there are dangerous ideas in there – ideas that might change the status quo – ideas that might change hearts and lives.  And yet, how many of us find reasons not to read the Bible?  Now, admittedly, there are some parts that are more difficult to read than others.  In fact, even with today’s reading from 2 Kings, I’m guessing that some of you either listened to it or read it without comprehending what was actually happening.  This is not because you are stupid or somehow deficient.  Rather, this seems to happen when there are a lot of names in a reading that we find difficult or don’t recognize.  And so, here is the Coles notes version of what was going on and why it might be important:

         It seems that the book of the Law – or, the Torah – had been hidden away in the Temple for safe-keeping when a particularly evil king was in power.  Then, in today’s reading, some workers are doing repairs and renovations in the Temple when they discover a scroll.  This scroll was most likely the book of Deuteronomy, based on the things that happen after the people actually start reading it and hearing it again.  Once the king at the time – Josiah – has heard what is in this scroll, there is a swift and immediate response.

         Josiah tears his clothes in grief once he knows what is in this scroll.  He cannot believe how the people have totally forgotten all that God has done for them and have ignored the covenant that God made with them at the time of Moses.  And so, he swings into action in order to renew the covenant and seek God’s blessing rather than the covenantal curses.

         All of the idols in the land get torn down and destroyed.  The prostitutes who had been living and working in the Temple are thrown out so that the Temple can be purified and used for worship again.  The Passover is celebrated in Jerusalem for the first time in many years, and fortune tellers and mediums are banned so that people will trust in God rather than in these people.  All of this happens because they found – and started reading and obeying – the book of the Law.

         There are at least some similarities, it would seem, between this portion of the history of Judah and the Protestant Reformation.  The challenge to the pope’s authority in the sixteenth century was based on things that the reformers found in the Bible.  It was also the first time in history that the Bible was actually translated into languages other than Latin.  Martin Luther’s German Bible was one of the first translations that people other than priests and scholars could read and understand, and this precipitated a lot of changes in the church and also in society.

         However, we, of course, are living today, and as the author of Hebrews says, “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12).  We get a glimpse of how this might work in the verses we heard today from the Gospel of Luke.  We heard the part where two of Jesus’ disciples realize that their hearts had been burning within them as Jesus had opened the Scriptures to them on the road.  In other words, the Holy Spirit had been at work in their minds and hearts as they had grown in understanding of the Old Testament passages that pointed to Jesus, the Messiah.  It is not just the Scriptures that have this effect on people, but the Holy Spirit working in and through the Scriptures.

         Ultimately, though, our faith is not in a book but in a person.  In the gospel of John, Jesus says, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.  Yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (Jn. 5:39-40).  In other words, the Scriptures point us to Jesus, who is God’s Living Word.

         The governments who have banned the Bible seem to know (even though they would never admit it) that faith in Jesus has the power to change hearts and lives.  Yet, in this country, where we have access to the Bible and the freedom to worship, do we recognize that power?  In fact, what would happen if all of us actually heeded the Word of God and lived as though Jesus really is Lord of heaven and earth?

         Sometimes people get bogged down by the number of commandments and laws that can be found in the Bible, and yet Jesus pretty much boiled it all down to love.  He pointed to the command to love God with our whole heart and soul and mind and the command to love our neighbours as ourselves.  And, he only gave one commandment that was new: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12).  May the Holy Spirit continue to spread the love of Jesus through us.  Amen.

Christ the King / Reign of Christ (NL 2)    2 Kings 22:1-10; 23:1-3

November 24, 2019                                    Luke 24:30-32

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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