Have you watched a movie lately – either on TV or in the theatre? Did you stay with it to read the credits? The thing that I find fascinating is the list of people who went into making up the final product. My movie making experience can generally be summed up as someone holds the camera and someone else hams it up in front of the lens and there you have it – a done deal. Now Derek might be able to provide some greater background on what really goes into making that movie - but I am always amazed at that list of credits. What is a ‘key grip’ anyway? The production of the movie required one, and hundreds of others who did their job unheralded, except for that little notation in the list of credits. Makeup; special effects; props; animation; costumes; choreography, and then there are those bit parts and extras. I enjoy spotting Alfred Hitchcock as a bit player in one of his own movies as he flashes on the screen for a moment, riding the bus or playing the part of an extra never speaking, never in the spotlight, but there none the less.
History too is full of millions of people who never make it to the front pages like Joan of Arc or infamously, Hitler, Mao and Stalin, yet played their role in creating the events that made headlines and that we now call history. Interestingly history gets continuously rewritten, sometimes as new facts come to light, or just as often as a different understanding or philosophy changes the lens through which history is viewed. Our traditional lens is often political history, but increasingly there are many different views with some well established such as economic or social history and some new ones such as women’s or aboriginal history. Some historians will now tell you that they like to talk about ‘herstory’ and certainly women are an unheralded group from our past. Laura Secord aside, many of the stories of our past would have turned out very differently if not for the influence of women. Others too, women and men, played those bit parts that changed the outcome of history.
Perhaps you can see where this is going, in terms of your Christian walk, as you make your way through life. What you do with your life is seen through the lens of faith. God is going to rewrite the history of your life and your role will be in the context of his interpretation of what is important. All of those we war to own will have no meaning in the context of God’s history. My message today really only has one point (so if you have to go home to check on the roast after the next sentence, you have heard the whole sermon).
That point is that “what you do for Christ (or not) may never be known to most in this life but may have eternal consequences far beyond what we know or realize.”
I want to put that realization within the context of faith and obedience. Today’s scripture reading is from 2 Kings 11:1-3 and I will be reading from “The Message”.
1-3: Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began by massacring the entire royal family. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah's son Joash and kidnapped him from among the king's sons slated for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah. He didn't get killed. He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of GOD. Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country.
Now in the total scheme of things saving the life of one small baby several thousands of years ago would seem to be of minor consequence for every one but the baby. Our own age can be very cruel and we are horrified and like to think it rare, that people are getting arms hacked off at the wrist in Africa, having their children killed by rockets and bombs delivered from miles away, or being blown up by suicide bombers; but this was an age where such things as killing rivals to the throne were common place, perhaps even expected. Securing your place in power, then as now, could be done with incredible cruelty and without regard for life, even innocent life if it stood in the way. To murder a few babies and children to secure your lineage onto the throne seemed to be a prudent thing to do.
The trouble from our perspective over four thousand years later is that the babies that Athaliah was murdering were the only surviving direct descendents of King David. To kill all of those babies would have wiped out the promised line through which the Saviour, central to God’s plan for the salvation of all humans on the planet, was to come. For a few brief moments in history the most significant event in world history was hinged on a baby, still with messy diapers, the obedience of Jehosheba and the baby’s nurse.
Both of these women, quite rightly, could be excused for looking the other way and not becoming involved. In fact, we never even learn the name of the nurse, just that she cared for the child hidden away for six years, yet she risked her life to do so. No one would have blamed the women if they had just looked the other way for a few minutes while that child was killed along with the perhaps dozens of other babies who met the same fate that day. It was no doubt very dangerous to resist the ruling monarch who was obviously very capable of doing what ever it took to secure her position. Within living memory, and indeed this very day we have examples of people who are choosing not to become involved. The Holocaust, Rwanda, AIDS in Africa, third world poverty, local food banks and soup kitchens, and the depressing list goes on. Would these women have been blamed for just sitting quietly and letting things take their course, with out putting themselves at risk? No they would not; but by obeying the call do what could have be dismissed as a small thing, in context, they changed the course of our lives. God had need of them and they responded.
The history of the Bible is full of examples of people who did little things with big consequences. A partial list would read:
Fox’s “Book of Martyrs” (which incidentally is available online in electronic form if you do a search) is that classical list of people who gave all for the cause of Jesus Christ.
Fox starts with St. Stephen the first martyr and proceeds through James the Son of Zebedee, Philip, Matthew, James “the less” Matthias, Andrew, St Mark, Peter, Paul, Jude, Bartholomew, Simon, John, Barnabas, Thomas, Luke, Simon, John, Barnabas, To their names may be added, Erastus, chamberlain of Corinth; Aristarchus, the Macedonian, and Trophimus, an Ephesians, converted by St. Paul, and fellow-laborer with him, Joseph, commonly called Barsabas, and Ananias, bishop of Damascus; all of who were martyred under Roman Emperor Nero.
Among the numerous martyrs that suffered during this persecution was Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, who was crucified; and St. John, who was boiled in oil, and afterward banished to Patmos. Flavia, the daughter of a Roman senator, was likewise banished to Pontus; and a law was made, "That no Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted from punishment without renouncing his religion." Nicodemus, Protasius and Gervasius were martyred at Milan. All of these and more were martyred under The emperor Domitian (A.D. 81) Timothy was the celebrated disciple of St. Paul, and bishop of Ephesus, where he zealously governed the Church until his martyrdom in A.D. 97.
Ignatius: Alexander, bishop of Rome, with his two deacons, were martyred; as were Quirinus and Hernes, with their families; Zenon, a Roman nobleman, and about ten thousand other Christians.
Germanicus, Poycarp, Metrodorus, Pionius: Carpus and Papilus, and Agatonica, a pious woman, Januarius, the eldest, was scourged, and pressed to death with weights; Felix and Philip, the two next had their brains dashed out with clubs; Silvanus, the fourth, was murdered by being thrown from a precipice; and the three younger sons, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martial, were beheaded. The mother was beheaded with the same sword as the three latter.
This list of Fox’s does not stop during the Roman persecutions but continues for several hundred pages and two thousand years, further, listing Christian martyrs and how they met their end for the cause of Christ.
Modern examples of people who gave their obedience to the call of Christ:
You do not have to be a martyr to join the list of heroes of the faith. These are modern examples of people who followed God and made a difference.
I asked my 84 year old mother some of her recollections. Her list included a grandfather who gave her a book on missionaries who had be martyred in the field and later inspired her to go into the mission field with her husband in Egypt.
Who are your heros of the faith? Take this opportunity to think about those who fulfilled their role in Christ, however humble.
But I want to continue to be clear that the point of this message is about YOUR role and relationship to Christ. As stated at the outset “what you do for Christ (or not) may never be known to most in this life but may have eternal consequences far beyond what we know or realize.”
Hebrews 11: 32-40 in The Message sums it up. “I could go on and on, but I've run out of time. There are so many more— Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets....Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.”
“Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.”
Each of us has an issue where we are not being obedient to the call of Christ in all that we could do. Perhaps it is to speak to someone, give to the work, volunteer your time, surrender your anger or bitterness. Perhaps God is calling you to radical change in your life. I don’t know, but you do, and I trust that you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit speaking to you. You don’t know the eternal consequences of that act of obedience, but they are real. God has a job for you.
Everybody longs for freedom. But for many people its pursuit leads to bondage. The greatly loved Bible teacher Henrietta Mears knew the secret of true freedom, and she wanted her students to know it too. With young people in mind, she said,
"A bird is free in the air. Place a bird in the water and he has lost his liberty. A fish is free in the water, but leave him on the sand and he perishes. He is out of his realm. So, young people, the Christian is free when he does the will of God and is obedient to God's command. This is as natural a realm for God's child as the water is for the fish, or the air for the bird."
There is a verse in Esther that applies here: 4:14, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for just time as this.”
Who knows but what you have come to your position in life for such a time as this. There is a tide of history let loose on the earth by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and it is sweeping inexorably on, moving in the cause of Christ. Tens of thousands have said yes, many to the point of death.
Will you add your name to the list? Will you say: “Yes Lord, I am your person. I will be obedient in that issue that you have been speaking to me about”.
"Master, where shall I work today?" And my love flowed warm and free. Then he pointed out a tiny plot And He said, "Work there for me." But I answered quickly, "Oh, no, not there!
Not anyone could see, No matter how well my task is done.
Not that small place for me!" His voice, when He spoke, it was not stern.
But He answered me tenderly: "Disciple, search that heart of thine.
Are you working for them, or for me? Nazareth was just a little place,
And so was Galilee.
-Unknown
PULPIT HELPS - July, 1991 Online Sermon accessed August 16, 2006