Sermon - Trinity XVIII 2022 - Matthew 22:34-46

Christ Among the Pharisees, Jacob Jordaens, ~1660-1670

Talking about theology

1. We’re often silent and refuse to talk theology

2. Yet Jesus is not silent and continues to speak

3. We must therefore ask Jesus questions, answer His, and speak of Him with others

“And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.” Just as Jesus had silenced the Sadducees so Jesus silenced the Pharisees. But their silence is not a good thing. Jesus elsewhere bids us: “Ask, and you will receive.” Or shortly later in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus sat down with His apostles on Mount Olivet and they continued to ask Him questions. Those who hated Jesus and sought to kill Him refused to speak with Him, but those who love Jesus never stop speaking to Him. Therefore let us be encouraged to always talk about theology. Far too often we’re silent and refuse to talk theology, and yet Jesus is not silent and continues to speak. We must therefore always ask Jesus questions, answer His, and speak of Him with others.

How true it is of us that we are often like the Sadducees and Pharisees and are silent when it comes to talking to God and talking about God, talking theology. When you’re with your family or friends what do you talk about? Or what do you make a point not to talk about? It’s normal that we make small talk, which isn’t all bad, it’s just the simple stuff we all share in common. It’s wholesome to talk about the change of seasons, the dusty air, the pretty leaves, the road construction, and how our various harvests fared. 

But what about the stuff we don’t talk about? It’s a pretty common thing that we make a point not to talk about religion and politics. But honestly, what is more important and more influential in our lives than religion and politics? Especially when you consider the fact that most political issues are religious, they’re theological at their core, because nearly everything is theological. You can’t hardly talk about anything of any substance without making some sort of theological assumptions and assertions. Think about it, every hot-button issue today is shaped by theology: climate change, abortion, sexuality issues, tax policy, foreign relations, just to name a few of the obvious ones. 

So why do we often avoid talking theology? I’m sure the reasons are numerous, but most often it’s because we want to avoid arguments. What if the other person disagrees with me? What if they don’t like me after they know what I think? What if it turns out I’m wrong or mistaken? Those are all distinct possibilities. But it’s also possible that your relationship will be deepened, their mind may be swayed by God’s Word, and you might learn something as well. Most importantly, by talking theology you will grow in a deeper understanding and love of God’s Word.

Afterall, even though we may be silent, God is not silent. Jesus answered the Pharisee’s question: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” How do we love God and our neighbor? We “keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord” which He commands us for our good. He tells us how to love Him and our neighbor. He speaks to us for our good! Even when He gives us commandments that we must obey, He speaks them for our benefit.

God speaks to us because He loves us. Sometimes we behave as though God speaks His law because He’s mean and wants to make our lives difficult, but it’s truly just the opposite! He speaks to us because He cares about us and wants to help us. If God were actually silent then it would imply that God hates us.

Think about how parents must speak to their small children. If a child is about to run into a busy road or touch a hot stove, the parents are going to yell at the child to keep them from danger. They don’t speak sternly because they are mean, but because they love their child and don’t want them to get injured. The child might be offended at getting scolded, or frustrated that they can’t do what they wanted, but the parents only spoke up in love. It would be horrible wretched parents who silently stand by and watch their child get injured without intervening. So it is with God who speaks and warns and cautions us against a plethora of dangers! He’s not being mean and angry, He’s being loving, and He speaks for our good.

Afterall, God not only speaks to instruct us, but He speaks to bring us into His family. “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge.” In speaking God has chosen you to be His own!  “The LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.” What a profoundly humbling thing to know that God chooses us! We’re not foisted upon God, but He readily chooses us! It is only by the will of God that we have been created and exist. Knowing our many faults and knowing even the darkest recesses of our hearts, He still chooses us to be His people. God chose you personally when He placed His name upon you in baptism and marked you with the cross as His own dearly beloved. God speaks in order to choose you as His own!

In no way is God silent! Sometimes we stop up our ears like the Pharisees and Sadducees, sometimes we might stop speaking to Him and we may ignore Him, but He is not silent to those who will listen. “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” God is not silent, so let us also not be silent!

Jesus’ quotation from Deuteronomy to love the lord with all our heart, soul, and mind is immediately followed up by: “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” This means that loving God is fulfilled by learning God’s word by heart, teaching it to the next generation, and talking about it at all times. 

Like we learned the last couple of weeks, we ought to approach God’s word with humility. When we speak with others about God’s Word we shouldn’t do it with an air of arrogance, rather we speak with humility. We should be reasonable and willing to change our own minds on the basis of what God’s word says. God’s Word reigns supreme, not us and our own opinions, so with humility we listen to and speak God’s word.

We also ought to speak God’s word with zeal! God’s word is exciting and enjoyable; this is the zest of life! Small talk is fine, but small talk is made interesting when theology is brought into the conversation. Theology makes everything that much more important and exciting, because it gives the mundane things value.

In a sense, this is how God gives us value: by speaking with us! We ordinary sinful people are made holy and righteous because God’s Word enters in and declares us valuable. God loves us and His love is shown to us when He speaks to us. Likewise, our love for God is shown when we speak to Him and speak of Him. Our love for others is shown when we speak to them of God’s Word, because God’s Word has the power to give them faith and make them valuable. Talking theology is one of the ways we Christians have been instructed to love God and love our neighbor. What a powerful gift it is; through theology we come to faith and are saved, God loves us, and we in turn love Him and one another. May God bless you not with silent lips, but with lips declaring the praises of God while talking theology.