14 September 2024

Wherein does the authority of the spoken and written word lie within the Kirk? Doesn’t it lie where it always has done in the Spirit of God? When all is said and done, the Word of God belongs to God. It’s his Word and it comes to us with his authority. We are free to accept or reject it.

In the words recorded by Isaiah, the Lord says, ‘My word shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.’ We  may worry about what is read or said but we needn’t bother. If the word comes from God, it will accomplish what he has intended it to do!

In St. Mark, Jesus says, ‘A sower went out to sow!’ In the parable, the seed is the Word of God, the sower is the minister of God’s Word. What is important is that he goes out to sow – nothing more, nothing less. The outcome of his sowing is not his concern. The harvest belongs to God. So get on with the sowing and don’t worry about the results of your endeavour. Leave that to God!

These are comforting words for all those who are involved in communicating the Word of God. What he requires of us is a faithfulness to share his Word, a humility to listen to his Word and the patience to wait until he produces the harvest of our sowing., the harvest of his Word. As RS Thomas says about the work of the preacher:

Prompt me, God:

But not yet. When I speak,

Though it be you who speak

Through me, something is lost.

The meaning is in the waiting.

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