Faith, Grace, and Fireworks: Ezekiel 2: 1-5; II Cor. 12: 6-10
Years ago, while in college, I attended a small Bible Study. It was held in a small church basement which would have been otherwise dark except for several bright fluorescent lights. I would generally describe the décor as an homage to the late 1970s which had settled into the place. I could tell this because the appliances were the same avocado color as the guacamole being served. Now, I’m not saying I went for the food, but a good spread makes a Wednesday night Bible Study just a little bit easier to attend for a college student.
The pastor who had been at the church for 38 years (and had probably arrived with the avocado green appliances) was asked a question by one of the members. “How do I respond Biblically to almost any situation in life.” The pastor looked at the member like he was a Pharisee testing Jesus before thoughtfully answering this: “Young man, you need faith to get you through it, grace to get others through it, and a few fireworks when you’re just through with it.” Today, after more than a decade of hunting, I’ve finally found two scriptures to support his answer of faith, grace and fireworks.
First, we need faith to get us through it. Now whatever the “it” is, is really not so important as the faith part of this. When we pick up Ezekiel here in the Old Testament, he is in the overwhelming presence of God and flat on his face on the ground out of fear and reverence for the power of the One who is calling and commissioning him. Now, at least one commentary, Abingdon, refers to this portion of Ezekiel as “A Bitter and Traumatizing Call.” Ezekiel is told that he is going to Israel, now a bitter and hard-hearted people, rebellious to God, and probably holding fierce anger against God’s prophets.
It’s a call that would see Ezekiel preach his heart out, but likely make no difference. God does not even assure him that the people will listen because of their extreme rebelliousness. No wonder Ezekiel is on his face and unable to move. He is overwhelmed by the power of God and broken by the traumatizing assignment he’s been given. But we hear how God, in faith, got him through. Even as Ezekiel is unable to stand, that Spirit of God, the same Spirit which descended for good at Pentecost, came down, filled Ezekiel, and picked him up onto his feet. God gave him the strength to get through his difficult encounter and call because of his faith.
God also gives us grace to get others through it. Faith helps when you are weak in your relationship to God. Grace helps when you are weak in your relationship to the world around you. Paul, in II Corinthians, was given a thorn in his side. I imagine this is a lot more relatable than the wild visions of Ezekiel. We’ve all had a thorn or two (or 5) in our side. If we read carefully, though, Paul doesn’t have a hurt hip. It’s a mental suffering…a messenger from Satan who tormented him. We aren’t told what message was brought by this wicked visitor, but I imagine it was a message that Paul was not good enough…too weak…useless and unworthy.
Paul talks about his pride, but most often we see him suffering from the deep pangs of his own feelings of inadequacy. He calls himself chief of sinners, the least of the apostles, over and over he sees himself as inadequate to this position of authority and grace he’s been given. Without God’s grace, I fear that Paul, in his depression, would have walked away from his call because of his feelings of inadequacy. They would have been overwhelming and unstoppable. But God needed Paul’s abilities to spread the gospel to others. There were people, churches, new Christians who were counting on Paul and his strength. So even as Paul’s mind and spirit were weak, God says to him, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” God told Paul to rely on that strength from heaven and not human pride.
Sometimes we need grace to get us through for others to help and to heal them. Sometimes we need grace to be able to deal with others who in their hurt become emotionally unbalanced. In some way, most of humanity is broken and hurting. At times this comes out as silence, other times it comes out as sadness, and for some it comes out as anxiety, anger, and lashing out. Grace allows us to get others through it because we’re relying on God’s strength to help, not our own. I cannot see the hurt behind someone acting out with my human eyes. But God’s grace says look at the hurt to be healed not at the actions which appear offensive. That’s why God’s grace is amazing.
And finally, sometimes we need to light a few fireworks when we’re through with it, or simply done. Both Ezekiel and Paul were no strangers to putting their foot down when needed. Ezekiel set off his own fireworks when he prophesied the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. History, I guess, shows that the rebellious people did not listen to him. Paul was no stranger to figurative fireworks wherever he went, either. Paul proclaimed Christ and what he believed to be the right behavior for churches wherever he went, even unto his imprisonment and death.
When I think of setting off a few fireworks, I often think of John Lewis here in Georgia who said that folks needed to make “good trouble.” This is especially true for Christians. There will be times when the sweet life of faith and grace turns toward confrontation. There are times we will be called on to stand for what is right and just in life. Paul could have told his churches, “Eh, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” when they misbehaved. But he stood his ground with faith in what God told him and the grace to know God would let him minister in the way he needed to.
I’ve heard the phrase if we don’t stand for something, we’ll fall for anything. This means standing for justice over inequality, for love over hate, for a community of faith that sees neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free and so on as Paul wrote, for we are all one in Christ. If you read closely in the gospels, Christ saw everyone the same. He looked on them with love, hope, and an eye for redemption. Now sometimes that came across in gentleness and sometimes in tough love. But there was never rejection when Christ met with someone—from the tax collector, to the pharisee, to the prostitute, to the average person, to the thief on the cross—no one was turned away from Christ’s presence. What a power was in their faith and his grace, and a few fireworks in a society that only saw differences in Christ’s day.
So, sitting in that groovy, wildly colored church basement in July just over a decade ago, I learned an important lesson, which I want to share with you today. Listen to the examples of Ezekiel and Paul. There are times you will need faith to get you through the tough trials of life, when you’re called to difficult tasks or through troubled waters. There are times you will need to remember that God’s grace is all sufficient, for if you do not have God’s strength to support you, you cannot help and support others. And sometimes, you will need to summon up the courage to set off a few fireworks when you see wrong and injustice. Don’t be afraid to stand with strength and resolve, even as Ezekiel stood before an angry mob of rebellious people, and even as Paul stood before those who sought his death for the gospel of Christ. Today, I wish you a Happy Independence Day filled with faith, grace, and a few holy fireworks.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/300854875075351