Paul Walker CEC January 9, 2010 Matthew 3:13-17 �The Voice�

							Paul Walker Christ Episcopal Church January 9, 2010 Matthew 3:13-17
“The Voice”

       This morning we read about Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. John
baptizes Jesus and as Jesus emerges out of the water a voice from heaven says,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

       Last week there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about another
kind of voice. The article was about a new therapeutic approach to address
the ongoing array of human dysfunction: the voices of fear, anxiety, self-
condemnation, that accuse us from within. You know what I’m talking about -
all the loud and destructive tenants that take up residence in your head
without paying rent. The article begins,

      “The boss loves your work. Your spouse thinks you're sexy. The kids—and
even the cat—shower you with affection. But then there's the Voice, the nagging
presence in your head that tells you you're a homely, heartless slacker. Even
people who appear supremely fit, highly successful and hyper-organized are
sometimes riddled with debilitating doubts, fears and self-criticisms.”

      The writer of the article capitalizes the “V” in Voice. The Voice seems to
have an ontology all it’s own. This is not a new idea, of course. Who is not
aware of the near constant murmur of condemnation? Maybe you are not
given to obvious self-criticism, but there are different forms of the Voice.

      For instance, do you know anyone who is always justifying herself? Or
do you know anyone who is always bragging about himself? Self-justification
and self-aggrandizement are forms the same Voice, just spoken from a
different place. If you keep telling yourself, and others, of course, how great
you are, or what you have done to deserve whatever it is you think you
deserve, then you might begin to believe it.

      I loved the old Saturday Night Live character named Stuart Smalley, a
needy self-help talk show host. He would begin each day by looking in the
mirror and repeating his “ILAC”s: “I am Lovable and Capable…. And Gosh
Darnit, People Like Me!” Then by the end of the show he would always
dissolve in tears and self-recrimination.

     Usually, the Voice just speaks for itself – telling you that you are not
good enough, skinny enough, funny enough, smart enough, or disciplined
enough, or doing enough. To the Voice, we wish to say, “Enough, already!”
       Sometimes the Voice speaks through the voices of those around us –
those who are close to us. There is a now famous episode of Seinfeld about
the alternative holiday called “Festivus” – “Festivus, the holiday for the rest of
us.” George Costanza’s family celebrated Festivus each December 23rd.
Festivus traditions included “Feats of Strength” and “The Airing of
Grievances.”

      At dinner, George’s father gathers everyone around the table for the
Airing of Grievances and declares, “I’ve got a lot of problems with you people
and now you’re going to hear about all of them!” Turning to his son, he yells,
“You’re weak, George! You’re just weak!”

      Funny how a Family Festivus and a Family Christmas are sometimes not
that different…. Just after Christmas I spoke to one son whose father sat him
down and told him what a disappointing son he was. Just before Christmas I
spoke with a father whose grown son emailed to tell him what a disappointing
father he was. And all during Christmas, I’m wondering if I’ve been a good
enough son and a good enough father!

     As W.H. Auden says in the post Christmas section of his poem “For the
Time Being”

Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree.
Putting the decorations back in their cardboard boxes….
There are enough leftovers to do – warmed up – for the rest of the week –
Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,
Stayed up so late, attempted – quite unsuccessfully –
To love all our relatives, and in general
Grossly overestimated our powers.

       The Voice. You’re weak, George! Where does the Voice come from and
what can we do to silence It? The answer is a little complicated. But one part
of the Voice is in fact true and accurate. This is the Voice of the Law – God’s
standard for our lives. Each of us has failed to meet up to God’s standard, so
we feel justly accused. If you believe that you have met the standards of God’s
Law, then you have grossly overestimated your powers. George is, in fact,
weak.

      As theologian Gerhard Forde says, the Voice rises “from the demands
which society makes upon us, the demands of family and friends and the voices
and faces of suffering humanity. And above all it is the command of God that we
must love him with all our heart and love our neighbors as ourselves.”
Remember, Jesus says, “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
How’s that working for you?

       Because one part of the Voice is rooted in truth – that we are indeed
guilty of failing to love God and love our neighbor – then we will never be
successful in stopping the Voice by our ILACs – by plain self-affirmation, by
telling ourselves over and over again that we are lovable and capable. You
know this from your own experience.

      You will not be able to silence the Voice yourself. It is also true that
others will not be able to silence it for you. Those of us who need affirmation
from others – and believe me, “words of affirmation” are one of my 5 Love
Languages - will tell you that affirmation comes and goes like smoke through a
keyhole. It finds its way in, feels good for a moment, and then dissipates into
thin air, leaving you in the same needy place you were before, listening against
your will to the Voice telling you you’re a homely heartless slacker.

       If we cannot silence the Voice, and those around us cannot silence the
Voice, then who can silence the Voice? We obviously need another Voice, a
stronger Voice, a deeper Voice to speak to us. I said earlier that the other
accusing voice is in part true. And that is true. But, there is also another, truer
Voice. It is the same Voice that once said to Jesus, “You are my Son. With you I
am well pleased.”

      If the accusing Voice is the Voice of the Law, then the deeper and truer
Voice is the Voice of the Gospel. And the gospel is that what God says to Jesus,
God says to you. You are my son -with you I am well pleased. You are my
daughter - with you I am well pleased.

      Given what you know about yourself and maybe what you did yesterday
or imagined doing the day before, this Voice may be hard to believe. That’s
the devil’s job, by the way – the Father of Lies telling you that the truer voice is
not true at all, that the gospel is nothing but psychological smoke and mirrors.

        And it is true, the Voice of accusation only stops when the Law has been
fulfilled – when we do live the perfect life, when we do love God with all our
hearts, when we do love our relatives quite successfully, when we are entirely
lovable and entirely capable. Although we can and will never fulfill the Law,
Jesus Christ has fulfilled it for us.

      It is interesting that God says that He is well pleased with Jesus, even
before his first miracle, his first sermon, his first healing. He says He is well
pleased with Jesus well before his death on the cross for the forgiveness of our
sins. In the same way, God says to you that you please Him, despite the
evidence to the contrary.

      The reality of life with sin being what it is, the devil being who he is, and
human beings being what we are, the voice of accusation will never be fully
silenced this side of heaven. Life sometimes seems like a continual Airing of
Grievances followed by endless Feats of Strength. But it is also true, as the
Bible says, “Christ is the end of the Law”. In other words, Christ is the end of
the Voice. For those who trust in Christ, there is a new sheriff in town.

  “For those who have ears to hear, let them hear.” May we all have ears to
hear. At least for the time being. Amen.