“Sola 5: Glory to God Alone” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – February 26, 2017
Introduction
We are still looking at the five slogans used during the Reformation 500 years ago to help the church get back to the core message of Jesus Christ. Last week Pastor Carol talked about Faith Alone, and she encouraged us to live upside down and inside out. I still have the image of a groaning apple tree stuck in my head.
This week we are looking at the final slogan – Glory to God Alone.
Glory is another one of those funny words that we don’t use all that often. People used to talk about glory in the context of war. They thought that participating in and winning battles was a glorious activity. Now, we’ve seen enough pictures and videos of war that we don’t hear much mention of “glory” anymore. Now we know that William Tecumseh Sherman, the Union General in the Civil War, got it right: “I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”
All right, so no glory on the battlefield. But we also talk about it in sports. Tom Brady and the Patriots just won the Super Bowl in glorious fashion. Tom Brady won enough glory to be considered the greatest quarterback of all time. He is the king of the Mount Rushmore of the NFL. But, of course we now know about concussions and permanent brain damage from football. Is the momentary adulation of the crowd worth losing your ability to remember? Is that glory just moonshine as well?
Let’s hear a bit about God’s glory.
1 Peter 4:8-11
8Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9Be hospitable to one another without complaining.10Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Directing Glory
Here’s a little question for you, and this isn’t rhetorical, I’m looking for actual responses. Who are some of your favorite classical composers? <SOLICIT RESPONSES>
What? No one said John Williams? Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and STAR WARS?!?! I’m disappointed in you. We need to deepen your classical education.
Well of course we heard Mozart mentioned. One of the greatest of all time. And if you’ve ever seen the movie or play Amadeus you might know about a rival of his called Salieri. Mozart and Salieri were not overly fond of each other. We have letters from Mozart writing to his family to complain how he thought Salieri had undermined Mozart’s application for a job, or made sure one of Salieri’s friends got chosen instead of Mozart. It seems like any setback Mozart experienced he found a way to blame on Salieri’s jealousy and opposition. And if you’re wondering how Salieri felt about Mozart? Well, even though historians don’t think it’s true anymore, there’s a reason people found it believable that Salieri poisoned Mozart, causing his untimely death. They hated each other.
But what’s really interesting to me is the reasons WHY they hated each other. Mozart’s letters paint a pretty good picture – I wanted that job! I should have won that contest! My music was far better! I could have taught that princess music so much better! It was all about seeking glory and fame and recognition. Both Mozart and Salieri wanted to be SEEN. Wanted to be RECOGNIZED. Wanted to be FAWNED OVER. ADORED for their brilliance.
Now by way of contrast, let me tell you about another very famous composer – Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach did a fair bit of work with church music. He took a lot of the Lutheran hymns at the time and wrote new compositions that became the de facto standards. He still has a few tunes in our hymnal today. He also made Christian-themed music like Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, which you’ll find at virtually every wedding. And at the end of every religious piece he made, and actually several of his secular pieces as well, he wrote at the bottom SDG.
SDG. Soli Deo Gloria. Glory to God Alone. The slogan we’re looking at today.
It was a persistent reminder that people shouldn’t be saying “Oh Bach, you’re wonderful, you’re great at music, you’re amazing, you’re the best.” Or however you would say that in German, I guess. No, they instead should be saying, “Thank you, God, for giving us the gift of music.”
When he wrote SDG, Soli Deo Gloria, Glory to God Alone, on his music, he was trying to point people at God’s greatness, not his own.
That’s a little different attitude than Mozart and Salieri were showing. Mozart and Salieri wanted THEIR glory. Bach wanted GOD to get the glory.
So really, it’s a choice of perspective. When we hear great music, does it give us pride in human abilities, or does it make us give thanks to God for the gift of music? When we landed on the moon, was that triumph of human ingenuity or an opportunity to thank God for giving us brains and courage? When you write a good paper, finish a great project at work, does that make you think about how awesome you are? Or is that a chance to thank God for giving you the gifts you just used to do that amazing project?
That’s the difference between seeking OUR glory – like Mozart and Salieri – or seeking GOD’s glory – like Bach.
So think of some your achievements, your proudest moments. Something you’ve done really well. Are you Mozarting? Wanting to get the glory yourself? Or are you Baching? Using those moments to point back to your Creator? Statistics show that 93% of us are Mozarting, by the way. And statistics all show that 75% of statistics are made up.
Glory to God in ALL That We Do
Another way to think about this is to ask yourself how you can point people to God with whatever you’re doing. How about at work or school? Are you pointing people to God with the way you interact with them at work or school?
One of my former pastors’ wives worked as a nurse, and one of the pastor’s friends was a doctor at the same hospital. And the pastor and his friend were in a Bible study where they were looking at using work to honor Christ. But the pastor’s wife told him that the other nurses had this guy’s picture secretly taped up in the nurse’s area to use as a dart board. And she was pretty sure it wasn’t an act of flattery and appreciation toward him. He was known for yelling at the nurses and aids, intimidating them if they made the slightest misstep around him.
Eventually the pastor confronted him, and he justified his behavior, saying that this was HIS operating room. And he was responsible for these patients’ lives. He needed perfection! Never mind that walking on eggshells makes people WORSE, not better. And never mind the witness this “Christian” doctor was being for Jesus. Now eventually he did accept help and turned his behavior around a bit. How you treat people at school or work affects how much glory those people give to God. Depending on how you treat people, you might be highlighting God’s glory or you might be obscuring it.
Or how about showing God’s glory in your family or your most important relationships? I have a theory that a lot of the strangest or even most dangerous family choices are made out of fear of what everyone else thinks. Your kid is throwing a fit in the store, what’s everyone else going to think about me? You go to church all the time, but your grown kids seem to have left the faith – what are my church friends going to think about my faith if I couldn’t even teach it to my own kids? Your spouse and you fight about the same things over and over – what if other people knew that you and your spouse fight?
Whenever we’re worried about what other people will think about US, we might be missing some of the point. We should be worrying about what other people will think about God when they see us.
So, for instance, let’s take the grown kids walking away from the church. What if, in your fear of what other people think of you, you are always trying to guilt your kids into coming to church. Every time they see you you’ve got a new angle. And they have a new way to roll their eyes. What would that tell other people about God? Probably that they don’t want to hear from him! Does God pester you every time he sees you (which is all the time)? Does God try to guilt you every time you do something he disagrees with (which is almost all the time)? No! God is patient, and kind, and gracious. How can you model the way Jesus interacts with you when you have grown children who have walked away from the church? That’s bringing GOD glory instead of worrying about your reputation.
Our text today puts it this way: “love covers a multitude of sins.” What does that mean? It means love makes you willing to forgive others’ sins and overlook their faults – just as God does for us. John 1 says, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” God’s glory is seen most clearly in the life and teachings of Jesus. His journey to the cross that we will start preparing for in a few days on Ash Wednesday. God’s glory is seen in his LOVE, not his conquering battle or his incomparable actions on a playing field or his high expectations of us. No, none of those things. Love! That’s God’s glory.
How can you show other people how much LOVE you have in your family, regardless of whether your kids attend church or not? How can you show people how much LOVE you have in whatever you do? That’s what God’s glory looks like.
Summary
Sisters and brothers, we like to hoard the glory for ourselves, but it is not ours to keep. How can you do a little more Baching and a little less Mozarting? How can you write SDG – Glory to God Alone – on whatever you’re doing? How can you show the LOVE of God in your relationships?
That’s what God’s glory looks like – love, not control. Love, not victory. Love, not fear.
Glory to God Alone. Amen.