By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
August 4, 2024
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Ephesians 4:1–16 (ESV)
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
I have spent a great deal of time this week just contemplating life. I try not to get caught up in the 24 hour news cycle, but there are times where I get sucked into it. We need to be careful. We need to be careful because media is constructed in a way to manipulate our emotions. It does not matter if it is a song, a sculpture, or a story written for the ten o’clock news each form of media is constructed to prompt the emotional centers of your body to start firing. The same could be said about the sermons I and every pastor gives every Meeting for Worship. We are all artists in our own manner. Artist that encourage those around us to look at the world in a different perspective and giving us an emotional prompt directing that journey.
I got sucked into the cyclone of news media this week, as many of us have. It is an emotional period within the cycles of history. Every four years the nations of the world compete in athletic competitions for the pride of their people. It is a time where we battle not with weapons of war but in well regulated and civilized games. Some nations that do not wish to follow civilized rules of engagement are disqualified and face international mockery and those that complete within the predetermined rules and excel are cheered and honored by not only their nation but the entire world.
It is an emotional cycle of history. I remember watching the Olympics as child, I remember wishing to be like the people that competed in the games. I wanted to run and jump, play basketball or swim like the people that graced my television screen. They encourage us to strive toward the goal, to put everything we have into that one thing we deem within us as being important.
The Olympic games have a deep history. What we celebrate today is a reemergence of and ancient Greek tradition. In history of the Greek culture there was not a single unified nation. Instead it was a loose conglomeration of city-states that shared similar cultural identity. Each of these cities warred against each other: Athens, Thebes, Sparta, and others. They made alliances and battled, but eventually they determined that there was an alternate manner they could use to exert influence over their neighbors. They took the skills of warfare. The throwing of a javelin, the close combat of wrestling, the swiftness of the attack, or the great endurance of the march, and they formed competitions and games. These games allowed for the continued training of the military forces, but preserved the lives of their citizens. They were called the Panhellenic games. There were several sites within ancient Greece where games were conducted but they would culminate every four years in Olympia where every branch of Greek culture would come together at the temple of their chief god and remind themselves of who they truly were. They were powerful people united by a shared cultural heritage.
I do like the Olympics. I like the idea of letting champions compete in games self regulated by sets of rules agreed upon by all competitors. I like the idea of nations facing off against each other in a manner that does not take life but promotes mutual excellence. I like the idea.
Why do I speak about the Olympics? Paul speaks fo these games. In Philippians, Galatians, and Corinthians Paul speaks of running the race. In Timothy he speaks of fighting a good fight. And in Corinthians he speaks of the training boxer beating their body to obtain the prize. Each of these analogies point to the discipline and training required to participate in the ancient Olympic games. And he uses this language because people in those regions participated in them, or they looked up to the people that participated in the. He uses these analogies to illustrate, that the dedication needed to participate in those games, is the same dedication needed to live our lives.
He says” I therefore, a prisoner for the lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”. In Paul’s era walking was not an Olympic sport, but walking was added to the slate of competitions in 1908. The athletic illustration can still be made, because there is determination in walking. One does not just walk. You walk with a purpose, you might have forgotten the purpose of your walk as you move from one room to another but the fact still remains, you began that journey for a reason. Paul tells us that life is a walk. We are not just wondering around aimlessly, but we are here in this place at this time for a reason and purpose.
I want us to consider that purpose. There is a reason you do the things that you do. You might be going to work to support your family or you might be working to gain financial wealth. You might go to school for the love of learning, or you might be going to pursue a specific career goal. You might be here at this meeting for worship simply because it is a good place to take a nap or you could be here because it is a place you can interact with God. Your reasons and goals, the thought that goes into why you do what you do may not be well thought out, but you have a reason.
Paul urges us. He pleads and encourages us to be mindful of why you do what you do. He urges us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have ben called.
Last weekend some of us went to your Yearly Meeting’s Ministry Conference. If you did not attend I hope you take the time to search for the YouTube steams and watch each of the sessions because they are worth your time. In these sessions Alan spoke about our calling. He stressed that each of us are called to make disciples.
I want us to consider what that means. We often use words within faith traditions and we set definitions on those words. We then designate those definitions to be performed by people, usually not us. This is often what happens with discipleship. It is my job as a pastor to make disciples, but if we look deeper into scripture the role of the pastor is to equip the disciples or the saints to do the work they are called to do. We are all called to live or to walk the walk of a disciple.
A disciple is someone that walks the path or lives the lifestyle of a teacher. And to encourage discipleship we pass those life lessons on to others, letting them know how various teachings you learned along the way helped you through the struggles you face in life. To baptize disciples into the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, to immerse others into a lifestyle devoted to God instead of self requires something of us. That is what baptism represents it is an immersion, derived from the artistic discipline of textiles. It is immersing the thread, yarn or fabric into dye to change its color. This change in color then gives that substance a new purpose.
When we answer the call in our lives, when we respond to the Spirit on our day of visitation, as the Barclay the Quaker theologian says, we are changed. We are given a new life, a new lifestyle, and a new purpose. The walk we now take is has a different destination than it had previously. As we no longer walk in the ways of kingdoms of men, but in the kingdom of God. Our mission is no longer to promote the things of this world, but to encourage those around us to change their direction and return to the God in whose image we bear.
Paul urges us to walk this walk, “with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
When we look at this list, what is the goal? Peace.
Peace is not the absence of war as we so often consider it to be. Peace is a relationship where there is a promotion of mutual well-being. Peace is difficult to obtain. It is difficult to obtain because for peace to occur the various parties involved must be willing to communicate, and be willing to submit to the good of others instead of themselves. Peace is cooperation with mutual profit as it’s goal.
Peace is the goal, but how do we get to peace? Humility. Humility is not putting yourself down. It is not oppression or persecution. Humility is right thinking about one’s self and submission to each others. I am humble when I say that I that I know more about computers than many within this meeting. I am humble when I say that I can do more physically than my wife, it is not pride because it is the truth. Humility is knowing that and it is acknowledging that I am not able to do all things. If it comes to design, I am not your man. You would be bettered served speaking to my wife. I am not an artist. Humility is being able to recognize the strengths of others and encouraging those that have those strengths to use them for the mutual profit of all involved. To walk toward peace we first need to be humble. We need to see where each of us fit within the larger culture. Everyone is important in a peaceful society. Without the bakers baking bread there will not be peace, without retailers selling products there will not be peace, without teachers encouraging our children there will not be peace.
Humility is mutual submission to each other. It is the recognition that I cannot do everything and seeking out someone to help. But peace is also fragile. We need gentleness in our pursuit of true peace. When we use power over others, when we use force we might get the desired result, but how long will that last? Jesus said to his disciples, those that live by the sword will die by the sword. Jesus is not being pessimistic but he is speaking truth. We cannot force change. At best the use of force will convince the powerful to be a bit more humble. Peace comes not by the sword but by gentleness.
William Penn is said to have made this statement, “A good end cannot sanctify evil means, nor must we ever do evil that good may come of it.” Gentleness. We must do the hard work of listening, and sharing ideas. We must live our lives open for all to see and convincing them not through words or feats of strength but in character and respect.
This does not come easy, especially in our culture. We want everything as soon as possible. I get annoyed if a library book is checked out and in my lack of patience I have spent more money on books than necessary. But to obtain true peace we need patience.
For those that have worked with children we know this. They often have this intense desire to help. They want to help you cook, help you clean, help you do your work. It is important to let them help because that is part of training a child in the way they should go. But it would be so much easier if they would just let you do it yourself. And often they realize they are unable to do what they would like and that is where gentleness comes back into play. We speak calmly, we demonstrate, we show them YouTube videos, we continue step by step until they begin to pick it up. Then we go to the next step. Paul says walk in a manner worthy of the calling. Walking requires patience. One step at a time.
Have you ever watched competitive walking? It is more difficult than you might think, because there is a difference between walking and running. To walk, one foot must be touching the ground at all times. To accomplish walking speeds similar to the speeds of a runner the person really has to be mindful of their body, and they almost slither forward as they insure one foot is firmly placed on the ground before the next is picked up.
This is a image of patients. One step at a time. The intentional waiting, the assurance that everything is clear before we take the next step. We need patience for peace because everyone moves, everyone thinks, and processes things at a different pace. If we move forward without patience someone gets left behind and tension can arise. And we must again resort back to humility and gentleness as we start the process again.
We do this, we continue to loop back, and try again, because it is worth while. “Bear one another in love,” Paul says. Why do we take the time to help a child tie their shoes? Why do we get tutors to help with algebra? Why do we train the new employee? Or even bother hiring someone new? Love.
As many of you know the Greek language has a few words that English translates as love. There is the passion of newly weds which we call love, but in Greek that is eros. Their is the love we share between friends of philia. There is the joyful banter between friends and children, we call it love but to the greeks its ludus. Then there is that longstanding love that happens as the passions of newly wed life cools, pragma. The fifth love is the love of oneself, philautia. And the last love is agape.
This is one of most radical forms of love because it is selfless. CS Lewis call it gift love, it is kindness give to others without any expectation it will be reciprocated. We are willing to repeat the process of building peace within our community over and over because we respect and care for our community. We strive forward in humility, gentleness and patience because our community and our world is better with each of us than it is without and when we all work together for the mutual profit of all we will soon realize that everyone benefits.
I know I might sound like some peace loving hippy. But it does work. I have seen it work as I worked as a manager in retail. I have watched it work while talking to mechanics that worked on my car. I have seen it in school projects. I have watched it work within my family. And we can see it work on the global stage between nations. Some of the greatest allies to the United States were once some of our greatest enemies. What changed?
Humility, gentleness, patience, and love. These build peace.
Paul urges us to walk in that path. That path was the path that Jesus showed us as he walked among the people of first century Judea. He was the word made flesh, of the very same substance as God the Father yet he came and lived as a member of a family, in a community. He worked along side his earthly father and his uncles. He ate bread next to his mother and his brothers. He went to worship with the community on the Sabbath, singing hymns of praise and reciting prayers while standing next to the people that hired him to fix their door.
He ate dinner with sinners and tax collectors. He touched the sick, he reintegrated into the community those that were once shunned due to illness and mental distress. He did this and the religious leaders became irate. If he was the messiah he would know who he is eating with they would say. If he was the messiah he would not heal on the sabbath or allow his disciples to eat the grains of wheat as they walk along the path. If he was.
The past few weeks I have thought a lot about life. I have taken time to read the judgments the prophets of scripture said over the nations. God used many of those nations against even Israel, but yet they too faced judgment. Assyria brought judgment to Israel, yet they were broken because of their warring. Philistia celebrated because of Israel’s fall, yet they faced famine. Moab, Damascus, Tyre, Egypt, and Cush all mentioned by Isaiah. They were not held to the same standard as Israel but they face judgment before the lord of hosts. They face judgment not because they transgress the law. They did not know the law. They faced judgment because they did not seek peace and justice.
I thought about the words God spoke to Cain. “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
God knew Cain was about to kill his brother. God knew nations would rise against nation. God knows that people will do unthinkable evil against each other. And the world says if God was good he would do something about it. God is good, and God does do something about it, the problem is we do not listen. We would rather share memes defending out political position then take the time to look up the truth. We would rather vote for someone saying they will fix all our problems than recognize that most of our problems are self inflicted. We would rather…
We would rather seek our own good than do what is necessary for peace. We would rather let someone suffer than lift a finger to help. We would rather..
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,” Paul says, “urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”
How are we disciplining our bodies? What are we doing to prepare for the race of life we are running? What are we showing those that may not understand what it means to be a follower of Christ? Are we doing all we can to maintain the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace?
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 10, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 3:13–22 (ESV) 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
March 24,2024
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Isaiah 50:4–9 (ESV)
4 The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. 5 The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. 6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.
Today we begin that walk through “Holy Week.” Today we celebrate the announcement of Christ the King, as we celebrate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as the people waved and laid their coats and palm branches on the road before him. We celebrate Christ the king. We celebrate, but we are all to aware of how quickly things change. Within a week this lauded king would find himself falsely accused and bearing the shame of a cross. Those that once proclaimed with loud voices, Hosanna, are now silent. They are silent because the powers surrounding them have flexed their muscles and showed their willingness to silence any distension.
I have contemplated Palm Sunday on many occasions. I have considered it in light of my own temperament. What would I have done?
The reality is that we are all very human. We have this engrained, reflexive desire within us for survival. Our natural default setting for survival. There is usually nothing wrong with this. This reflex has served us well, because it has allowed the survival of our ancestors in great trials so that we had the opportunity to be born here today. We are all survivors. We have all faced trials and have come out of those trials, and on this side of those experiences we can provide hope and encouragement to those around us. But this survival mechanism within us is not always honorable.
We see this on Palm Sunday. The crowds express with jubilation their desire and hope for a king they can all their own. But then that survival instinct kicks in, and the very same voices that expressed allegiance to the king, uttered treasonous venom as they shouted crucify him.
This survival instinct has allowed us to be here today. But survival is not always what it appears to be. There are times when survival is weakness. There are times were those that survive, did so out of deceit or betrayal. There are moments where the desire to survive makes us complacent to the injustice that occurs around us.
Today we look at what is often regarded as the third servant song within the words of Isaiah. We often think of these poetic lines within the prophetic narrative as declarations of the Messiah that would soon be coming, the Messiah we know as Jesus. We are not wrong in this, but I want us all to remember, the words of the prophet had meaning during the contemporary era of history as well as eras in the future. These words, though fulfilled in Christ, also brought courage and strength to the people that first heard them. These words inspired not only the hope for some future fulfillment but hope in their current time.
This is why I do not often get caught up in the excitement we currently see around the interpretation of prophecy in reference to the theologies surrounding the end times. I do not put a great deal of weight on the interpretation of scholars that promote various dispensations, because for the words to have been seen as inspired in ages past, they would have had to contain wisdom and encouragement in those days. If these words were only written to provide us with a road map to the end of days today, the ancients would have regarded them as the utterances of a lunatic. It is only after fulfillment that we can find the outside connections, not before.
That is why I want us to look at this passage, not from the perspective of the king, even though we now know of that fulfillment. Instead, I want us to explore what the ancient ears would have heard.
What is going on in the contemporary history surrounding this passage? Isaiah was, as I have mentioned before, the Shakespeare of his era. He was a scribe within the courts of his king. And his king was not just anyone, but his own cousin. As a scribe, it was Isaiah’s duty to record and deliver messages for his king. This man that we usually only know as a prophet, was one of the few people of Judah that saw the world. He traveled to the various seats of influence to deliver various communications between those that wielded the power of the kingdoms of men. Isaiah would travel through these various lands, and he could see faces of those that were required to endure the dictates written within the message he was delivering. He saw the faces; he traveled through the valleys. The dust of reality caked his sandaled feet, while those that held power sat cloistered in pristine palaces.
He saw, he smelled, he bore witness. And he as a man of prayer as well as learning, spoke truth. He bore witness to the reality of their current trajectory. He was inspired, yes, but was also able to see what others were incapable of seeing.
This I hope is the first lesson we learn from Isaiah. We are where we are for a reason. We may not like the reason, we may not even know what the reason is, but God can and does use our experiences to extend his influence in the world around us. Today, this moment, is sanctified and holy to God, at least it could be if we are able to see it. How will we respond? How will we bear light within it?
Isaiah was able to see within his travels the various aspects of policy being lived out before his eyes. He saw the courts of the Assyrians. He saw how they honored their deity, and how that devotion was translated within their culture. He also saw devotion to Yahweh. He knew the teaching of Torah, he heard the stories, and he bore witness to the rejection of the wisdom God had provided within those words.
Our reading today begins in the fourth verse of this chapter, but the story does not. In the prior three verses, Isaiah speaks of the despair Israel will face in exile. They will feel as if God had abandoned them. Isaiah says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions you mother was sent away.’”
Like other prophets, Isaiah is telling Israel that their exile was self-inflicted. They went after the pleasures the world claims to offer. They left; they committed spiritual adultery. But even in their current state of being, God had not written a certificate of divorce. His covenant remains. God does not bless and curse according to our adherence to His dictates. He is faithful, period. We experience blessing when we seek him, when we share in his joy and pleasure not because we are more righteous than everyone else, but because that is how relationships work. And when we walk away, we are not being cursed, but we have wandered away. We cannot eat at the table of God if we are not at the table.
There are times where we suffer, even though we are in the presence of our God. This is often the cry of those that reject God in our current age, “Why do bad things happen to good people.” If God is a good of goodness and love, why does he allow suffering? Why did Israel go into exile? Why did the holocaust occur? Why is war ravaging various nations and innocents lose their lives or must endure torturous violence? Why did I lose my job? Why is my marriage not featured on Halmark? Why?
Although we might be at the table, we live in communities and cultures. We in our personal attempts of survival see, hear, and turn away from bad behavior that we should speak out against. We may be seeking God personally, but when we leave the dwelling of meeting do we carry with us the words of wisdom we heard?
This is where verse four begins. It is within this setting where Isaiah seems to again cries out as he did in the beginning of his ministry, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips…” Isaiah does not think of himself as the elite, or the righteous. He knows who he is. He knows what he has participated in, and he also knows that God can redeem.
“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.” Our tongue is a powerful tool. We often do not think of it as such but when we look at the Revelation of Jesus as recorded by John, what is the weapon that Jesus carries into battle? His tongue is like a double-edged sword. This symbolism is present even in the words of Isaiah. God has given “me”, this servant, a tongue of those who are taught. This speaks of learning to use our words carefully.
“That I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.” This word. Sustain is interesting. It has a positive or a negative aspect to it. It more literally means to bend or twist. And we are all very aware of how people can bend and twist words. Words can be used to pervert truth and promote injustice. Words can also be used to provide comfort and hope. Within this one word we can see the struggle within Isaiah. He observes the people who are broken before him. He sees the struggle the suffering. He sees how the kings are using words, even the words of his Lord to twist and pervert truth and cause injustice to occur. And he says, “The Lord has given me a tongue to sustain the weary.”
“Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.” I love the image this poem creates in my mind. At first, we may only see within this passage that Isaiah is hearing God, but there is more to the ears than we might imagine.
If we were to go back into the teachings of the Torah, back to Leviticus or the wisdom given to the priest in how to live within the sanctuary of God, we would see that the ears had significance. When a person came to the temple to offer a guilt offering, an offering of confession of a sin, the priest would prepare the animal as required. The blood would be drained and collected in a basin, and the priest would take this blood, he would put his fingers within it and would then pinch the right ear lobe of the one offering the sacrifice with the blood. This is one of the only times within the sacrificial system that the blood of the sacrifice would be applied directly to a person. The priest would then again place their fingers into the blood and apply the blood to the right thumb and right big toe. This participatory sacrifice gives us a glimpse into what Isaiah is speaking about.
The guilt offering requires the person to recognize that their judgment was faulty. They were not listening to God’s wisdom and the blood was applied to their ears to symbolize that they would again listen to God. Their actions were not in keeping with God’s requirements so the blood again would represent that their course and their actions would be dedicated to their God.
Isaiah says, “Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.” Just one ear, not both. Isaiah is confessing his own sin, his own guilt. He is pointing out our own failings and our own participation in injustice. But he and we can come back. The guilt can be covered, and our ear can again be opened to the wisdom of God. Our words, our action, and our course can once again be set to the course that God has laid before us.
As I have been studying both for this week’s message and for Talking Tuesday, I have been drawn to this passage and passage like it. Isaiah is encouraging us to seek the wisdom of God, before we speak and act. He is encouraging us to seek true justice and to stand within that righteousness. But we can so easily be distracted and twist or pervert the wisdom God gives. Amborse of Milan, a 4th century Bishop and the teacher of the man we know as St. Augustine says this of Isaiah’s words.
Now what ought we to learn before everything else, but to be silent that we may be able to speak? Lest my voice should condemn me before that of another acquits me, for it is written: “By your words you shall be condemned.” What need is there, then, that you should hasten to undergo the danger of condemnation by speaking when you can be more safe by keeping silent? How many have I seen to fall into sin by speaking, but scarcely one by keeping silent; and so it is more difficult to know how to keep silent than how to speak … a person is wise, then, who knows how to keep silent. Lastly, the Wisdom of God said, “The Lord has given to me the tongue of learning, that I should know when it is good to speak.” Justly, then, is one wise who has received of the Lord to know when he ought to speak. Wherefore the Scripture says well: “A wise person will keep silence until there is opportunity.”[1]
There is much to say about this passage. I want to speak word for word through each of these verses. I want to highlight what it means to stand firm and to set our face like a flint. I want us to know how these words inspired righteousness and the pursuit of justice not only in Christ, but in those that walked into exile. But I feel we first need to allow the wisdom Isaiah gives us in this one verse.
We need to wait before God. We need to confess and acknowledge that we too are people with unclean lips, living within a community of people just like us. We need to recognize in ourselves that we have fallen short, and we have dishonored the image of God within ourselves and those around us. We cannot stand for truth and justice if we participate in injustice and falsehood in ourselves.
I want the tongue of those who are taught. I want my ear to be awaken morning my morning so that I can hear as the ones who are taught. I want my words to adjust to a given situation to provide comfort and hope, but all too often the words I speak are bent and perverse.
I like the people of Jerusalem two thousand years ago, cry out Hosanna to the king. But by Tuesday after watching the news for a couple of days, I again speak venom against anyone that opposes my ideas, and my understanding. I do this, we do this, when we neglect the truth. We do this when we fail to take on the life and lifestyle of Jesus. Jesus taught us how we should live; it is revealed to us throughout the gospels. We should as he did, make it our custom to worship God within our communities. We should, as he did, withdraw to isolated places to pray. And we should, as he did, minister to the needs of our community.
We cannot live this life of truth and justice if we do not have it to give. We cannot speak with the tongue of those who are taught if we do not first listen to the teaching. We cannot stand tall in God’s truth, if we have not first recognized the perversions of truth within us. But there is hope in our hopelessness. Jesus, God incarnate, was born of Mary, he lived within a house and community, he worshiped with that community. He grew in the knowledge of both God and man, he labored in his family business. He answered the call within him to face every form of temptation that we each face, yet he did not sin. He stood in the face of injustice and healed the broken and encouraged the ones beaten down by the struggles of life. And he took that injustice on himself as his back was stuck and his beard pulled out. He was lifted upon the cross of shame, enduring the full weight of our guilt and shame himself, for us. He died and was buried.
Jesus knows our condition. God knows the trials we face. He knows what we bury deep within the recesses of our hearts. And those things were buried with him in that tomb. Hopelessness is buried but hope grows new. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The adversary our accuser may try to hold us back, to keep us buried in those dark tombs we try to live in, but life and light overcomes the darkness. Hope will be restored, and justice will prevail. But before we can speak of it with the tongues of those who are taught, we must first listen with the ear of those who are taught.
Let us now together, draw close to God in this time of holy expectancy, and let us listen to the Spirit. So that we can leave this place with words for the weary, and actions of the just.
[1] Elliott, Mark W., editor. Isaiah 40–66. InterVarsity Press, 2007, pp. 130–31.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 12, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
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