The New Testament and Beyond, Part 1 – sermon on August 9, 2015
John 7: 14-18 About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at it, saying, “How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?” Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him.
Sermon: The New Testament and Beyond, Part 1 by Rev. Doreen Oughton
(Notes for conversational sermon)
Today I start a 3-part series called The New Testament and Beyond. This morning we’ll talk about the New Testament we have, and how it came to be. Next week we’ll focus on some texts used by early Christian communities that did not make it into the bible, and finally we’ll talk about how these non-biblical texts might add to our faith and add to or correct some of the ways we read and understand the bible. Along the way I’ll invite you to share thoughts and questions. So let’s talk first about what you know about the New Testament.
– How many books (27).
– Four major categories – what are they (Gospels, history of early church/Acts, Letters, End Times/culmination of Christianity/Revelation)
– When were the books of the NT written? (Exact dates not known. Paul’s letters are the oldest – written about 20-30 years after Jesus died. Earliest gospel is Mark, written around the year 65 – 35 years after death of Jesus. Latest gospel is John, written 90-95. Revelation around 95. Some pastoral epistles as late as 105, 2 Peter around 120.)
– How old is the bible? Stories of Abraham date as far back as 1800 BC, but the bible as the compilation of books we know it as – the Canon – wasn’t established until late in the 4th century. This was more than 50 years after the emperor Constantine was converted and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. This was before the Protestant Reformation. Christianity by then was completely different than it was for those earliest followers of Christ, very different, I believe, from what Jesus had in mind as he tried to lead people into kindom living, into Beloved Community. At this point it had more the flavor of an earthly kingdom. What do you think of that? …..
– What is the purpose of scripture?
– It is understood to be the revelation of God – inspired by God, meant to enable us to see / experience God. New Testament is meant to reveal to us the God incarnated in Jesus.
– As the apostles spread out to follow Jesus’ commandment to make disciples of all nations, they each brought their stories of Jesus and of their own experiences following him and learning from him. Perhaps it was many years before anyone wrote them out, or maybe the writings that circulated then, in those years right after Jesus left this world, did not survive for us to read them. As far as we know, Jesus himself did not set anything down in writing. The closest the New Testament gets to the timeline of Jesus’ life are letters from Paul to faith communities he founded. Paul, who had never met Jesus when Jesus was alive, who had been a persecutor of the movement of Christ followers. So the stories we read about Jesus in the gospels are, I would say, several generations away from an up close and personal experience of his time walking the earth. Of course the writers of the gospels may well have had up-close and personal experiences of the Christ who is available to us all.
– How effective has scripture been in revealing God to you? ….
– My belief is that the written word is not the most effective revelation of God. I read something once that said God is constantly revealing Godself, constantly reaching out and communicating with us, but through means other than words. Words are symbols standing in for something else, and it is the something else that God works through – through our feelings, our experiences of truth and beauty.
– Some people of faith discount those methods and rely only on scripture. And so I find it strange that they rely on a canon that is closed. It was determined, what, 1600 or so years ago that all the inspiration God had to share has been shared. There’s nothing new to hear or experience or feel or learn about God which has any authority to transcend what was written and accepted then. As if God could be contained in those 2000 or so years. As if God would decide we finally got it right and there is no more to say. That we can count on these Councils of holy men to discern clearly for all time the divine revelation, and not get it mixed up in the slightest with an earthly agenda, even though the Church at that time had a great deal of political power.
– Not saying to discount the bible. I find an incredible depth of revelation in it. I cherish my time reading and studying and pondering. I have made a vow to take it seriously. And yet I am glad for discoveries such as the writings of Nag Hammadi including the gospels of Thomas and Peter; the gospel of Judas, the gospel of Mary Magdalene. They give us different perspectives of Jesus and his teachings, introduce us to how some other communities heard the stories and experience the Christ. I hope you will come back next week as we explore some of these writings.
