Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Advent Preparations
Porch swing down in advance of snowstorm. Listened to Handel's Messiah to clear my head of Thanksgiving in order to focus on Advent, reflecting on end times and working on sermon. Opened book of daily meditations by C.S. Lewis this morning and found the perfect quote to finish sermon. Love the creative process!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
I get a break from preaching this week so took advantage of the break to submit posts for earlier psalms: Psalms 1-9. Check them out when you have a chance. Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Psalm 9, Humility in Leadership
Oct. 30, 2011 Humility
Joshua 3:7-17 Psalm 9 1 Thes. 2:9-13 Matthew 23:1-12
Can’t talk about psalm 9 w/out talking about Psalm 10 – at one time one psalm that has been separated into two parts, an acrostic psalm, form of psalm where each verse, line or couplet starts with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ex: 9-10, 25; 34; 111; 112; 119; 145. Poetic device that at times led to artificiality in trying to make it work. This poetic form has been lost in translation, making it easier to separate the two, in some ways seem like two very different psalm with no connection, easy to understand why they would be separated rather than together, yet, together, they follow a familiar format found in a number of psalms – starts with praise of God, God’s power and justice, then, after “buttering up” God with words of praise, moves to a lament, tells God his sorrows then ends with a note of confidence that God will prevail, God will do for him what he asks. Another indicator that these two psalms were once joined is the “Selah” at the end of 9. “Selah” not spoken, do not know actual function of selah, could indicate a pause, almost like a comma, or like a breathe mark in a song, or, in this case, might say - “to be continued,” meaning it is not done. Most Bibles have the two separate psalms, for sake of simplicity and space, easier to deal with them as two separate entities.
Psalm 9 – psalm of praise and thanksgiving, praising God for destroying the enemy, appears to be a psalm of orientation, as characterized by Walter Brueggemann, God is in his heaven, He sits on his throne, and all is right with the world – verse 7-8.
Hebrews in Joshua might very well have sung this song of praise after the events of that day and in anticipation of what was to come. We have the miraculous crossing of the river Jordan, much like the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus, God wants to clearly establish Joshua as Moses’ successor with all of his authority by doing a “replay” of this historic event, yet we hear so little of this event in later Scripture and in our culture today. The crossing of the Red Sea, saving of the Hebrew people from Egyptian slavery is recounted over and over again in Scripture as well as each Passover by Jews, also part of Christian heritage as story often retold as part of the Easter Story, not to mention dramatic retelling in picture form in the epic movie “The Ten Commandments” and Disney cartoon in “Prince of Egypt.” This is a foundational story, to be told and retold to each new generation. Verse 3 of psalm, “When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before thee,” brings to mind image of chariots getting stuck in the mud as they tried to flee. Defeat of foes in psalm described like the rout of an army, making it very pertinent to Hebrews during Joshua’s time, a time of war.
In contrast, story we hear today is but a “blip” in Hebrew history – no pursuit by Egyptian chariots. Joshua is most known for battle of Jericho, dramatic portrayals of the walls falling down. He led during a time of war. Passage today serves important purpose of helping to further establish Joshua as God’s chosen leader of Hebrew people – well needed confirmation as there are many challenges to being a leader of a group of people at any time, especially during time of war. Seeing this dramatic incident, chances are the people followed Joshua more readily as he led them into and conquered the promised land. May pray this psalm in confidence to God who will defeat evil, destroy the wicked and give them victory over their enemies, in some ways, psalm might be considered a war time psalm for people at war.
Another way to read psalm, verse 3, rather than being about an army, according to some commentators is about the discomfiture of men who, confident in the deadly character of their charges against the psalmist, had brought their case to the temple to seek through some ritual act or some form of ordeal a pronouncement of the psalmist’s guilt from God, and had been put to shame by a divine decision contrary to their desire. Verse 4, “For thou has maintained my just cause.” – such a deliverance viewed as result of judgment made by God in his heavenly court of justice.
If we interpret verse three in a spiritual sense, then perhaps enemy that has fallen are our tendencies to sin, caution though, fall in KJV means “stumble through weakness.” It is great when we can say that temptations are getting weaker, as if they had fallen into a decline; but we must still watch, for evil has remarkable recuperative power. Goodness needs to be nurtured, but evil has its private supplies of energy in the heart of man – a painful fact of human nature. (paraphrased from commentary)
Verse 6 speaks of an enemy, could be an army for those in times of war, however God has other foes besides dictators and aggressor nations. Pain is one; ignorance another; death a third. He has warriors besides armed forces. All who fight against anything that brings destruction are soldiers of God. Thus the verse could be used in fighting against pain and ignorance, praying “O Thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end” with final enemy being death “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Cor. 15:26
Verse 9, translation of refuge/stronghold, also “high place” – in contrast to “low place” - reminder that those who follow the Lord will remain in the high places or need to take the high road, not sinking to the low road, thus putting their trust in God – verse 10
Verse 11 reminds us of our need to let others know what God has done for us through singing his praises; verse 12 lets us know that our God does not forget – in contrast to humanity that constantly forgets, forgets God’s goodness and strays from their God.
Verses 13-14 – hear how God lifts from death to life, raises us from low place to high place, followed by verse 15 that speaks of nations, or those who have sunk into pit that they made, caught in their own trap. How often do we slowly fall into pits of our own making? Some translate “nations” as the “proud” – the proud sink into pits of their own making, well might we watch out for pride which leads to many a fall.
Gospel picks up theme of humility. Jesus tells the people to listen to the Pharisees for they sit in the seat of Moses, affirming their leadership, as Joshua’s leadership was affirmed. He tells them to do as they say, not as they do for they speak right, yet their actions are not always in line with their words. Lest we be too harsh on the Pharisees, we need to look at our own life. Chances are there are many times that we too have failed to live up to our ideals. As a minister I hold forth the values and ideals of Jesus, while recognizing how often I fall short, yet the Gospel needs to be preached, as Paul tells us, and so I preach, along with other ministers, being aware of how far off I am in my own life – happened in Jesus’ time, continues to happen. A reason for humility. Last week in reading from Thessalonians, Paul spoke of being like a mother to the people of Thessalonica, nurturing them. This week he speaks as a father, with authority and decisiveness, guiding principles, as God is Father, providing guidance and protection to those who put their trust in Him.
Psalm closes with admonition: “Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men!” A reminder again of the need for humility, to recognize that we are but human. We need to struggle against the enemy within, putting our trust in our God as our refuge, not humans.
Robertson, copyright November 2011
Psalm 8, What a Piece of Work Is Man
Oct. 23, 2011 What a Piece of Work Is Man
Dt. 34:1-12 Psalm 8 l Thess. 2:1-8 Mat. 22:34-6
What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty, in form and moving! How express and admirable in action! How like an angel in apprehension! How like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?
Hamlet, Act. II, Scene II
What a piece of work is man, indeed. Shakespeare, not only a great writer, also to my mind, well versed in Scripture, especially the psalms as I hear echoes of Old Testament poetry in Shakespeare’s poetry. Never researched this or seen other research on it, just strikes me as true.
Sense of wonder at man, humankind’s place in God’s creation found in Psalm 8, also present in this passage from Shakespeare as Hamlet struggles with depression, his place in this world – we are both a little lower than the angels, crowned with honor and glory, given dominion over the creatures of the earth and yet – dust. Out of dust we were formed and to dust we will return. The greatest of us are all destined to die. Moses, one of the greatest of the prophets, died, as we see in reading from Deuteronomy today. He dies, never having entered the promised land, having only been given a glimpse of that promise. The work of leading the people into this land, conquering the land for God’s people belonged to another, Joshua, and so Moses was able to die in peace, knowing he had done what he was meant to do, ready to pass the baton of leadership to his successor.
What a piece of work is man! We are caught between heaven and earth, of this earth and yet not of this earth, destined for something greater, beyond this life. One of the paradoxes/puzzles of life – how can we be of this earth and yet not of this earth? How can we live, one foot planted firmly on the ground, the other pointed to heaven. Yet, as humans, we are able to live in paradox, recognizing that two seemingly contradictory points of view can both be true, recognizing that much of life remains a mystery even as we learn more and more about this life and this world, even as we seek to master this world.
Psalm 8 is a pretty straight forward hymn of praise, praise of God in nature, the author is stirred to praise of God through contemplating the glory of God manifested in the wonders of heaven, which in turn leads to reflection on the place of man in creation. He says, “O Lord, how majestic/excellent/awesome is your name in all the earth!” recognizing that our God truly is an awesome God. Even babies proclaim God’s greatness. God’s praise is engrained into the human psyche from birth – might say we are hard-wired for God, to recognize God’s wonder as infants. As we grow older, sometimes we lose this sense of wonder, as Hamlet had. Sometimes we need to rediscover this as adults through experiencing God in nature as the psalmist does. There are no words to express God’s glory – the noblest hymns that we can invent in praise of God are like the babblings of babies and infants.
Looking at the moon and stars at night, the work of God’s hand, God’s finger, excites awe and wonder at God’s majesty in the author, as well as a sense of insignificance. This image of God’s finger brings to mind the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s masterpiece reflecting God’s creation of the world, with good reason. This psalm is closely tied to the creation story from Genesis, where God made the heavens and the earth, all of creation, plants and animals and then created mankind and gave us dominion over the earth – all of this is found in our psalm for today in poetic form, a reworking of the creation story just as Michelangelo told the story in painting.
Chances are that many of us at one time or another did precisely what the author of this psalm did, gazing up at a starry night, or a beautiful harvest moon, or some other wonder of nature, the Grand Canyon, magnificent snow covered mountains or the autumn trees, we can feel very small, insignificant against the grandeur which is God and God’s creation. It has a way of helping us reprioritize, recognize what is truly important in this life, how so many of the worries and concerns that plague our days and nights are as nothing in the wider scheme of life, in the face of God’s majesty. And yet we, too, are a part of that creation, not only that, God made this great world and entrusted it to us, fallible humans that we are – imagine that!
Yet we too are part of that creation, the focal point of God’s creation – little less than the angels, hard to believe, a concept hard to grasp, yet true. Sometimes seems like we have messed it up incredibly, hard to believe that God would trust us which such a great gift.
What does it mean to have dominion over God’s creation? Does it mean we have authority to run roughshod over the animals of the earth, slaughtering them without thought, forcing them to live in crowded breeding grounds and pumping them with antibiotics and human growth hormones? Does it mean it’s okay to use the resources of this earth with no thought to future generations? Polluting the air and water, depleting the world of natural resources, strip mining coal? Or does it mean that we respect the earth and the goodness that is part of this world, treasure it in order to be able to pass it on to the next generation? With great authority comes great responsibility. Native Americans, before they make any decision, ask, how will this affect seven generations from now. In this they treat earth as Mother, they respect the life force of the animals that give up their life that we may have meat to eat. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is celebrated this month, referred to the moon as brother, the sun as sister, all of creation, including the animals were brother and sister to him, radically extending Christ-like love and respect not only to people, but to all of creation.
Norman Wirzba, in his book, Living the Sabath, gives us a different perspective on what it means to have dominion over the earth, p. 32. “Far from being an excuse to do with creation as we want, the exercise of dominion is the practical training ground in which we learn to live patiently and attentively with others so that the mutual flourishing of all becomes possible. In a very important and practical sense, the vocation of humanity to have dominion will have to be worked out in the twin contexts of careful gardening, of tilling and keeping (even serving) the garden of paradise (Gen. 2:15), and the spiritual and moral work of conforming our lives to the life of God and thereby becoming the concrete manifestation or image of God (Gen. 1:26). As Terence Fretheim has proposed, humanity’s most fundamental task is to share (however imperfectly) in God’s continuing creative work of fashioning a livable and lovable world: ‘having dominion and subduing are understood originally as completely positive for the life of other creatures.’ Indeed, as bound up in a common membership of creation, we are responsible in certain respects for the continuing becoming of creation.”
Looking at the creation story, Wirzba sees that God’s work wasn’t completely done on the sixth day. There was yet one more thing to create before creation was complete p. 33: “Another detail, frequently unnoticed, is that God was not quite finished with the creation on the sixth day. Near the end of the story we are told that God finished once on the sixth day, but then again on the seventh. Why would there be a need to finish something twice? What would be the significance of a second finishing? Quoting from a midrash, the medieval rabbi Rashi claimed that after the six days of divine work creation was not yet complete. What it lacked, and thus what remained to be created, was menuha, the rest, tranquility, serenity, and peace of God. In the biblically informed mind, menuha suggests the sort of happiness and harmony that come from things being as they ought to be; we hear in menuha resonances with the deep word shalom. It is this capacity for happiness and delight, rather than humanity, which sits as the crowning achievement of God’s creative work. It is as though by creating menuha on the seventh day God gathered up all previous delight and gave it to creation as its indelible stamp. Menuha, not humanity, completes creation. God’s rest or Shabbat, especially when understood within a menuha context, is not simply a cessation from activity but rather the lifting up and celebration of everything. Here we see God in a most personal (and exuberant) imaged, like a parent frolicking with a child and in this joy and play demonstrating an abiding commitment to protect, sustain, encourage, and love into health and maturity the potential latent within the child.”
And so, what are we to do, we humans caught between heaven and earth and given charge over God’s work? We are to care for each other and this world, love of God, love of neighbor, as Jesus tells us in our gospel today. We are to be as Paul tells us he was, as gentle and nurturing as a mother, caring for her children. So we are to treat each other, and this world God has given us with love and respect, treasuring all creation into the next generation and sharing in God’s own experience of delight.
Robertson, copyright November 2011
Psalm 7, God, the Just Judge
October 9, 2011 God as Just Judge
Exodus 32:1-14 Psalm 7 Phil. 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14
Psalm for today is an individual lament, the psalmist flies to God’s temple in search of sanctuary from those who would tear him apart like a lion’s prey, then he takes on oath that only someone who was innocent would swear, telling God if he has done that which he has been accused of, then let his enemies overtake him and kill him. Next section he hopes in God’s protection, he expresses his confidence that the actions of the wicked will come back on their heads, “They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made. Their mischief returns upon their heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.” (vs. 15-16) Like karma – they will reap that which they have sowed. Psalm concludes with praise of God’s justice/righteousness.
God is a just judge in this psalm; happy are the righteous who are under his judgment. God as judge is not a popular image in this day and age. Don’t hear a lot about it, yet was very common concept for God for the Hebrew people. The word judge and different variations appear in King James Bible 192 times, judgment/s is mentioned 188 times, not to mention how often justice, God’s justice appears in Scripture. There is even a book of Judges, a recounting of these religious leaders who led Israel after Joshua and before David. Judges played a very important part in Old Testament life. Unlike the judges of today who are restricted to advising the jury and not free to convict, they rendered decisions when there were conflicts among people. Patriarchs were judges in their own families, making decisions, deciding disputes, as were kings. Priests were judges and so the sanctuary became a place of judgment. The elders of the city could serve as judges at the gate, or a judge might go from town to town as Samuel did. Judges were also military leaders endowed by the grace of God to deliver and govern his people in times of oppression. They served for a limited time during a crisis. Judges found in many different situations, some just, some unjust. It was injustices perpetrated by some judges that caused people to ask for a king, as if a king would be better.
No surprise that Hebrew people would apply term to God. God is the supreme arbiter pronouncing sentences on man as we see in Gen. 18:24; Is. 33:22; James 4:12. He judges all the earth (Psalm 94:2; Acts 10:42; Rom. 3:6). He judges between nations (Is. 2:4). The sinner is well advised to avoid God’s judgment by loyalty to the covenant as we see in today’s psalm verse 8 as well as Psalm 50, 82 and 96. Very common yet we seem to avoid ideas of judgment, we prefer to focus on God’s love and mercy rather than his judgment – why? What are we afraid of? What have we lost in the process?
Readings today remind that there will be an accounting; we are accountable before our God for our actions. Exodus – just last week heard how God appeared to the people in thunder and lightning, terrifying them, lest they sin. Today we see how it didn’t work. People strayed, built a golden calf, an idol to worship, even if they said it was to represent their God – was in direct disobedience to commandments God had given them. God is angry, ready to destroy these people and start over again with a whole new race under Moses, just as he did at the time of the flood with Noah. Moses convinces God to give people another chance and God relents of his anger.
Interesting and problematic passage – poses question – can God be wrong? Did God need Moses to show him he was wrong? If God can be persuaded by Moses, can we persuade him to do what we want? How often will God soften his heart and relent? How many chances will God give us to get it right? What does this tell us about God?
All good questions – was God even wrong in creating us given the fact that we constantly get it wrong, we don’t seem to be improving much as a race; we continue to miss the mark, sin. Yet there are good people among us as well, enough that God won’t destroy us or our world. We saw that in Sodom and Gomorrah when God was ready to save the city if even 10 good men could have been found.
God, as judge, is willing to listen to us plea our cases, Moses acts as the attorney for the defense, he pleads his case well and God gives the people another chance, gave repeated chances.
Gospel – parable of the wedding feast – king throws a wedding feast but people don’t come, not only that, when he sends a second invitation, they kill the messenger. What is the king to do with such ungrateful servants? He destroys their cities, kills them then sends out to the highways and byways and invites any one willing to come. But when one came not dressed properly he was thrown out – reminder that many are invited, few are chosen.
What does this tell us about God’s justice and mercy? God, the all powerful, is powerless before our free will. God has this incredible party, banquet waiting for us, but for whatever reason, we aren’t coming, maybe too busy about own affairs – incredible thought to people of that time, wedding parties were big affairs, went on for days, whole village would attend – who would want to miss out on that, especially when the king was buying? And yet the people weren’t responding, not only that, when asked a second time they either ignored the messenger or killed him, as they did to the prophets. Reminder to Jewish nation that kingdom could be taken away from them, as we heard last week.
Then God invites everyone, but that doesn’t mean there are no requirements. It isn’t enough to just show up, need to be dressed properly, it is a wedding after all – need to have inner garment of living a good, righteous life. Even though all are welcome, all are invited, doesn’t mean all will get in – there are some standards. God sets the standards. Maybe why we don’t like this aspect of God, we have got the part about all being welcome, what we seem to be missing are the standards. There are standards if we want to be admitted to the heavenly banquet. It isn’t just anything goes.
Let’s look again at God as the just judge – the just judge listens to all sides of the story, listens to the people. He is able to discern rightly, knows their hearts, knows when they are lying, knows wickedness even when it masquerades as good. Also knows that there are times to give a second chance, or a third or even more, but also time to say enough, no more chances, you’ve had all the chances you get, you had lots of opportunities in this life to change, and you didn’t, now it’s too late. We do run out of time.
That’s a tall order, hard to do, impossible for man, possible for God. God as judge reminds us that there will be an accounting for our lives, we are accountable before our God for how we live, and so we better get our act together now, while we still have time, for we do not know the day or hour death will come.
Perhaps part of our problem with this image is that we see so many imperfect human judges who make human mistakes. Our system is different from Old Testament times. They didn’t have to deal with a jury and our far from perfect legal system, which sometimes leads us to wonder does justice ever prevail. We see people getting off because of legal technicalities or simply because one lawyer was better than the other. Often wonder where the justice is. Justice truly is blind at times in our legal system. The position of judge not as important as in Old Testament times, still it does carry some power and weight. They have the power to allow or disallow evidence, the power to impose sentences.
Hard to know when to give someone a break, be lenient, and when to throw into jail; hard to be a judge, have same people coming like a revolving door, repeatedly asking for forgiveness, use all the right words to convince you to give them yet another break – we can’t see what God sees, we can’t look into the heart, can only do the best we can with what we have.
I wouldn’t want to trust my life to our judicial system and human judges. Hopefully I will never be placed in that position. But God isn’t like that, God, the just judge, sees to the heart, he knows when people are lying, he knows about tough love and what it takes to get people to reform their lives. Psalmist today presents his case to God, the ultimate judge. He does so in confidence, knowing he has done all that he could, that he is innocent of any crime, being under God’s justice is a good place to be.
There is a party going on, a heavenly banquet, Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always, we have reason to rejoice, in that we believe we are already part of that party to a small extent. If we continue to do what we are already doing, living lives that are honorable, true, pure, as Paul tells us, then the peace of God will be with us. There is a party, all are invited but not all get in. First we have to stand before our God in judgment, but we don’t have to fear, in that we are doing our best, trying to be loving, caring people, trying to follow God, our God, the just judge knows this so there is no reason to fear. In that we have done this we have clothed ourselves in Christ, Jesus, and so are ready for the party whenever God invites us.
Psalm 6, How Long, Lord?
October 2, 2011 How Long, Lord?
Exodus 20:1-4, 18-20 Psalm 6 Phil. 3:4b-14 Mt. 21:33-43
“With leaves crackling and crunching under our feet for the first time this season, my neighbor and I set off on our early morning walk. Frosty night air and gusty winds had stripped tree branches and carpeted lawns and streets in gold. Despite a warmth that lasted through the beautiful Indian summer, suddenly winter was on its way. No matter that we might have preferred the comfort of warmer mornings or the bright early light of only a month ago, the march of the season was in progress. It seemed such a short time since we watched the budding greenness become a canopy of leaves over our heads and then its gradual transformation into golden brilliance. We walked through time. Each morning we saw life on its move, and the two of us part of the same process.
We know it when we see it, this dependable and constant parade of life that circles all around us: sunrise and sunset, seasons and tides. We may have our favorite seasons, but we know that each one has its place, its role in the movement of life and in the growth of everything around us.
Though we see it all around us, we struggle with recognizing and allowing that same process to happen within ourselves. We make our way through life as though we are so drastically different from the rest of creation that the same laws and ways of being do not apply to us. We love new life, but we want to gain it without losing the old. We want to come to life without first dying. The pain of losing or dying is too much. When we cannot avoid it, we hide the reality of death from ourselves. We disguise it or refuse to think about it. We never think of teaching our children or ourselves that this is the way of life, that loss is to be expected as well as gain. In fact unless we are willing to let go, there can never be gain.” Blessed Grieving: The Spirituality of Loss, by Joan Guntzelman
Wonderful time of year, as child/teenager favorite season, welcomed return of school year, structure provided, the beautiful fall colors, Halloween and other holidays yet to come – still love these
Bittersweet time – reminder that summer is over and winter will soon follow with ice, snow, cold, need to stay inside, shovel after snowstorms, driving on ice and snow covered roads – things I didn’t worry about as a child
Time of year reminds me of loss, natural rhythm of life and death, constant reminder in the seasons. Reminds me of people, places, times, parts of my life I have lost, now gone, just as trees are slowly and not so slowly stripped of leaves, can seem like I am both slowly and not so slowly being stripped of aspects of my life, children gone on to own life, health issues creep in, confronted with reality – I am in the autumn years of my life, winter is not that far away. The trees shout – pay attention, listen, time is short - both a wonderful time and a sad time.
Psalm, prayer of one deeply afflicted, could be by a physical ailment, depression stemming from physical ailment, or spiritual distress. All valid interpretations; each can be used depending on situation.
Psalm, person is suffering, does not question why, not a long theological treatise on suffering, accepts that they did something wrong and are being punished, common understanding of that time. First of seven penitential psalms, 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143, person doesn’t protest innocence, simply falls upon God’s mercy in repentance. Simply cries out in pain, asking for relief from suffering.
All of you know about physical suffering, chronic pain, illness that is part of growing old. In the face of such pain might seek to put blame somewhere – lack of exercise or too much exercise, too much red meat, fact you smoked thru mid-life, drink or lack of drink, whatever. We like to assign blame because then we feel less helpless, more in control. If we can blame ourselves then there’s something we can do about it, change our eating habits, life-style. If we did something wrong then we can seek forgiveness and be restored to health. But none of us can stop the passing of time, the effects of our body wearing out over time; nothing can stop the natural rhythms of life and death. Trees are not being punished when their leaves drop, just the way it is.
The psalmist is miserable, crying out in misery to God to hear his grief. He is worn out with his grieving, crying day and night, sinking into a state of depression; his whole life is but tears and mourning. He cries to God to hear his suffering, not only is he suffering physically, he is being beset by enemies. He calls upon God to save him calling upon God’s great mercy and if that is not enough he appeals to idea that if he dies and goes to Sheol, God will lose his praises since you can’t praise God once dead. Understanding was that after death people went to this underworld, a shadowy existence similar to Hades in Greek and Latin literature; wasn’t until second century before Christ that a more positive understanding of life with God after death began to emerge.
Psalmist is bargaining with God to get God to hear his plea and relieve him, very common human trait, assuming that God needs to be induced to do that which God is already willing to do for us out of God’s great love; that God is somehow withholding good things from his people, or that God needs our praises.
He cries out “How long?” How long indeed, how long do we have to wait, how long do we have to suffer in this life? How long until God answers our cries. Sometimes response is to wait, wait as long as it takes, waiting on God is a good place to be, however when we are suffering a minute can seem like a lifetime, hard to be told to wait. Sometimes the answer is now – now is the time for repentance, to return to the Lord, seek forgiveness. Sometimes the answer is never – this will never change. God does not turn back the course of time. God doesn’t make the leaves go back on the trees and restore them, nor will God restore our youth or our loved ones in this world. God will not go against the natural law that is written in creation no matter how much we may grieve.
Have you ever found yourself wondering, crying out to God, “How long, Lord?” Banging on the gates of heaven, trying to get God’s attention seemingly to no avail? Have you ever thought that God may very well say the same thing about us – How long? What will it take to get these people to wake up, listen? What more can I do?
Exodus reading, God gives the people his commandments, then puts fear into their hearts lest they might sin, yet they still do – fear didn’t work. Then in the Gospel we hear the parable of the tenants and the landowner. When he sends his servants, the prophets, they kill them. When he sends his very own son, they still don’t listen and kill him as well. What does it take? It seems that God uses every method he can think of to reach us and we still don’t listen. Problem not with God but with us, maybe we aren’t listening.
Something happens in the psalm and there is a shift. Common in the psalms, saw it in psalm 5, shift from complaining to rejoicing, today the shift is from sorrows and tears to vindication, knowing that God has heard the cries of the suffering. Psalms were used in liturgical settings, at this point something happened, perhaps an oracle, words of God spoken through a prophet or some other liturgical symbol of forgiveness and healing, confirming that God had heard the laments of the people. If using this psalm for personal prayer, might be good to pause at this point to listen to what God has to say; may not experience physical healing, however in experiencing God, God’s presence, comforted, allowing the shift to happen. Sometimes all we need is to know that God is with us, still loves us, that’s enough.
Paul in Philippians says he considers everything as loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus, for this he is willing to lose everything, give up everything, family, wealth, health. Yet we resist; it’s hard to reach the equanimity of Paul.
Sometimes when in pain we can be deaf to God. Human nature to weep, to grieve what we have lost, but in our grieving let us not be deaf to our God, let us not be so wrapped up in our own sorrows and hurts that we fail to see and hear God when he calls to us. Our God is doing all that he can to get our attention, through nature, through our lives – are we listening?
Robertson, Copyright, November 2011
Psalm 5, Turn Murmurs Into Joy
Sept. 18, 2011 Murmurs into Joy
Ex. 16: 2-15 Psalm 5 Phil 1:18-26 Matthew 20:1-16
Dear Mildred,
Perhaps you are wondering why I am using such an antiquated form of communication as an actual hand-written letter. Well let me tell you about the last few weeks.
As you know, my children presented me with a laptop computer and cell phone and cable to use with the computer for Internet. Time to be a modern grandma, they tell me. This way I can bring the Internet with me wherever I go. It will also be faster than the dial-up connection I had been using. Needless to say, I told them at my age, nothing goes fast, so dial-up is fine for me.
They also decided that I no longer needed to be confined to my large old house and moved me into an apartment in a senior living complex in Florida, this way, they told me, it will be easy for me to jet around the country for weeks, even months at a time and visit them or some exciting locale, making me a jet setting grandma. Well, the last time I flew was when I slipped on some spilled water in the kitchen and ended up on my rear in the dining room. That was enough excitement for me, thank you. But then, I’m not one to complain.
Now I’m in an apartment in this luxury senior complex complete with pool and Tiki bar for liquid refreshments.
Anyway, to get back to my computer troubles, my cell phone is what they call “tethered” to the computer by this cable. Last I knew tether was something you did to horses, “Tether her up to the hitching post, Tonto,” or to inmates. The way I see it, I’m either being put out to pasture or imprisoned, but I’m not one to complain.
Everything was going well with my phone and computer until last Monday. I tried to connect to the Internet and got an error message – “unauthorized charger.” I called technical support at the phone company, waited ten minutes to talk to an actual human voice, was told to try turning off the cell phone, removing the battery, wait one minute then put battery back and turn phone on, as well as turning the computer off and back on, something they call “rebooting,” why I have no idea. She then gave me this sales pitch for a “smart phone.” I told her I did not need a phone that was smarter than me. I had enough trouble with the one I had. I just needed one that worked. But then, you know me, I’m not one to complain.
So I did what she told me to do – no luck. I called back and waited fifteen minutes this time and told my story to another technician. She asked if I had checked whether the phone worked with the original charger to see if problem might be with the phone. If that doesn’t work she said to restore the phone back to its original status, however if I did that I might lose all of my contact information so make sure that I back it up. She told me how to do this, all of which I did. No luck
I called again, this time waiting twenty minutes to talk to someone with a heavy accent. I told my story, everything I had already tried, and no, I did not want a new phone.
She suggested the problem might be with the computer and explained how to check for any recent up-dates and how to do a system restore. I did this and lo and behold, it worked. I was in the middle of sending Sylvia my apple pie recipe (Sylvia says I make the best apple pie) when I lost the Internet again, before I could send the email. I tried everything I had been told to do only to get the Internet back long enough to be in the middle of sending the recipe and have it turn off again.
At this point, not only did I have no Internet, I had also lost all of my phone contacts and when I tried to find the back-up – it was non-existent, which is why I haven’t called you for a while.
So I decided to restore my sanity by “rebooting” the computer into the recycle bin. I hid the phone in my underwear drawer, and retired to the pool and Tiki bar to do a system restore on myself back to the good old days minus technology.
Sincerely,
Ethel
Vista Grande Boca, Senior Living Residence
What is it about us humans, we just love to complain, don’t we? Seems to be inherent in human nature. Exodus reading one of several murmuring accounts, people in the desert murmuring, mumbling, complaining against Moses and God. Seems the Israelites had a lot of time on their hands while wandering in the desert to complain. Gospel we hear how the workers are complaining because they feel they are not being treated fairly. I can understand complaining when you are hungry, or when the food is not very good. I can understand complaining if someone who had only worked an hour got as much money as me when I had worked all day. Complaints are well understandable to me.
Psalm today is a morning prayer, it is a hymn for the morning sacrifice in the temple, speaks of proper worship, what is necessary. First verse, give heed to my groaning, person is complaining to God. KJV translation “consider my meditation” far cry from RVS version. Meditation is not a precise translation, more precise one would be the “murmur of my soul”- my souls complaining. “A man comes before God with his case against the experiences which he feels he does not deserve (much like workers in Gospel). That sets him to probe deeper into himself in order to discover the murmurings against God which may be poisoning his inner life; from which he may proceed to real meditation, wherein he faces all the facts, and particularly counts his blessings one by one. He thereby is more likely to come into a frame of mind fit for worship. It is worth noting how different phrases in the psalm are psychologically connected. If he really faces his complaint in God’s presence, he is more likely to be honest when he says that he may worship in reverence to God (vs. 4). . . When a man discovers his innate complaining spirit, and how it blinds him to God’s goodness, he has started on the way to “saving health.”
Found this myself as one summer I wrote a feelings journal, poured out whatever I was feeling each morning, went back to read later and was surprised at how whiney I was, which then opened my eyes to my own complaining nature and helped me to change.
Psalm starts with bringing complaints, groanings, to God. Actually a good way to begin a prayer or a day. Christopher Reeves, former Superman star who was paralyzed in an accident, used to allow himself 20 minutes each morning to feel sorry for himself, after that no more whining or self-pity was allowed. There’s a lot of complaining going on in the Psalms, only natural, kind of the feeling journal of the Hebrew community where they let out all they are feeling, including whining, then to move on to something else. So, the psalmist gets up in the morning and lets out his complaints in order to let them go, in order to move from whining to gratitude. It is good to begin the day, looking up to God – KJV “in the morning I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Hard to stay down if looking up.
Verses 4-6 speaks of how God does not delight in wickedness; God isn’t deceived by evildoers.
“We see evil knocking at God’s gate, asking that it be admitted as a guest, only to be met with an indignant stare and a disdainful rejecting hand.” A particular type of men are singled out for rejection, the foolish in KJV, the boastful in RSV, those who lie and are bloodthirsty are abhorred by God, God isn’t tricked by their lies or treachery, vote of confidence in God by psalmist
Vs. 7, psalmist speaks of entering God’s temple for true worship, not because of any worth on his part but because of God’s great, steadfast, love, showing him to be a truly humble person. It is not we who do God a favor by coming to his temple to worship, but God who bestows this favor on us.
The psalmist concludes with three requests, first to lead him out of his troubles, keep him on God’s path so that he doesn’t go astray, second that his enemies be requited, compares their throats to open sepulcher, open graves which left uncovered through neglect could be cause of injury or even death to those who stumble on them unaware, an apt description of those who lie and deceive and cause injury to others. Finally he prays for both himself and all believers that they may sing for joy. He concludes with a statement of confidence that God will bless the righteous and protect them with his shield.
So how is one to deal with the whining and complaining that is part of human nature? How do you go from groaning, in the first verse, to rejoicing at the end?
One way is to look for the humor in the situation, which is what I did in writing letter at beginning. The basis for this letter came from numerous problems I had this week with my Internet, more than are recounted in Ethel’s letter. Ethel, perhaps because she is smarter than I am or because she is retired and doesn’t need a daily connection to Internet to do her work, is able to do what sometimes I would love to do – throw away my computer and cell phone and go back to a simpler time. Writing this gave me a chance to live vicariously through her. It also gave me something to laugh at, an opportunity to see my situation from a different perspective, which is what humor does. That’s why we make so many jokes about all of the health problems that are part of aging. Better to laugh than to cry or keep complaining.
Another way is to bring your complaints to God, leaving them there, offer them up as a sacrifice each morning, as Christopher Reeve’s did, as the psalmist did. Paul writes his letter to the Philippians from inside a prison and yet he rejoices, he rejoices in his sufferings and invites the Philippians to do the same, he counts it all joy, whether he live or whether he die, such is the equanimity of a heart at peace, devoted to God.
We aren’t going to wipe out all complaining and whining, simply not possible, gives us something to talk about, a common experience to share, however we need not be stuck, if we bring our complaints to our God and let go, we can turn our complaints into joy.
Psalm 4, In Peace I Shall Sleep
September 11, 2011 In Peace I Shall Sleep
Exodus 14:19-31 Psalm 4 Matthew 18:15-22
To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause . . . Hamlet, Act III, Scene I
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause . . . Hamlet, Act III, Scene I
Sleep is truly a precious gift, we may not always think of it this way, but those who struggle to sleep each night know the truth of this. There is nothing more peaceful than the sleep of a young child. They sleep deeply, lost in slumber without all the concerns of the adult world.
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, sleep isn’t always filled with peaceful, pleasant images, not even for young children who are known to wake-up terrified and in need of crawling into their parent’s bed. So many of our dreams are far from pleasant, confusing and strange if not outright nightmares. Dreams at times are where we work out our worst fears. C.S. Lewis in his book Voyage of the DawnTreader (part of the Chronicles of Narnia) visits an island where dreams come true. At first the children on the Dawn Treader thought this would be the most wonderful place, until they remembered the nightmares that at times haunt their dreams. The island was shrouded in mists. They pulled back in terror before they could be assaulted by their worst nightmares, pulling a man onto their boat before leaving, a man a mere shell of the man he had been because of his experience on the island. No, we can’t count on our sleeping dreams to be peaceful, when we are able to sleep.
Psalm for today is an evening meditation, speaks of sleeping in peace. “Whoever wrote it was a good and great man holding high office—maybe high priest—who learned his lesson in a time of public trouble in which he himself and the cause for which he stood were in danger. As Psalm 3 was the morning thanksgiving of a victorious warrior, so this is the evening meditation of a God-fearing statesman. We could wish that all who aspire to public leadership would think in quiet thus before they sleep. The structure is simple enough. Verse 1 is an appeal to God, who, the writer is sure, approves of his policy as a national leader seeking to determine his course by a constant reference to the divine will. Note the phrase God of my righteousness, i.e. ‘the God who has declared me justified in what I have tried to do.’ Whatever or whoever else is uneasy, his conscience is at peace. Next comes an appeal to his opponents, who are bringing not only his policy but his office into shame (vs. 2). He would have them spend time in meditation also. If they do, they will see that God is on the side of the man who in the face of all the odds honestly seeks to serve him (vs. 3). There is some confusion in the text of vs. 4. The KJVC gives a good meaning, but so does the RSV, be angry, but sin not: a notable word for any day. In all political disputes men should see that their anger is not sinful. Fury for propaganda purposes, bitterness engendered by personal jealousies or generated solely to create an opportunity for grasping at power—all this is plain sin. On the other hand stand in awe and sin not is perhaps more in line with the rest of the thought. If men tremble in awe at the Word of God they are not likely to go far wrong.” Commentary – The Interpreter’s Bible, volume 4, p. 30-31
Good words, certainly applicable to our times. Verse 2 asks “how long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?” How long indeed, apparently for a very long time as it is still a problem centuries later, in our day and age, people, especially politicians, far too often speak vain words and outright lies. With all of the religious posturing going on by politicians, you have to wonder, what ensures that this person is not another one who tries to use God to justify his own ends? Much damage has been done challenge what the psalmist is saying to observe religious observances themselves, reminding us that if we are to challenge someone, we need to, in a sense, “take out the beam in our own eye first.” Or as the commentator continues, “Many of the opponents of spiritual ideals in public or ecclesiastical life are those whose religious practice is but slightly honored in its observance.” Meaning they criticize where they know not, having no faith themselves.
The psalm continues on to remind us that joy isn’t dependent on everything going right in our lives or prosperity. Verse 6 states that there are many who are quick to respond to life’s problems by saying “O that we might see some good.” Common human reaction when things are not going our way, they call upon God to rescue them and doubt God when he doesn’t. The Psalmist responds by saying, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their corn and wine abound.” He has found the possibility of joy even in hard times, when not prospering, or as one saying goes, “Ah! I could have done without my joys, but I could never have done without my sorrows.” Psalm lets us know that joy isn’t dependent on prosperity--it even at times flourishes during times of suffering and sorrow. Result of this is the ability to sleep in peace. “The psalm ends with the gentlest of lullabies as if the writer were singing to himself in quietness, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. He may have been a great statesman, but in the evening he was a child, trusting child of God, one of the beloved to whom God gave greatly in his sleep.” (p. 34) A great psalm for today’s generation of politicians, public servants, reminding of the need for a clear conscience in order to sleep well.
Reading from Exodus the great story of salvation, God brings the Hebrew nation safely through the Red sea then destroys the Egyptian army following them. “The central point of the story is that the salvific power of God is reliable and that consequently the people of God can be secure in the belief that God will indeed protect them.” (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, After Pentecost) The sea, considered a god in Canaanite religion, becomes a mere tool in God’s hands, where Israelite people are able to walk without even getting their feet wet and muddy. This “event is a strong proclamation that God’s salvation is absolutely reliable even when opposed by evil divine powers.” (p. 33) Reminder that God is worth our trust.
What keeps you up at night? What keeps you from sleeping peacefully? Is there a secret to a good night’s sleep? Perhaps worries about money, about your health or the health of your loved ones, perhaps the death of a loved one, or perhaps concern over a dispute that needs to be reconciled, a hurt that has not been healed keeps you awake. Gospel gives instruction for handling such disputes. Even if you are unable to get your neighbor who wronged you to change or apologize, does not mean you can’t forgive and through forgiveness find peace, the peace of knowing you have done all that you can on your part.
Today we remember the tragedy of 9/11, the terrible acts of destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, as well as the attack on the Pentagon and the men and women in the airplanes that were destroyed. Truly our worst nightmares realized; the cause of many sleepless nights for those who lost loved ones or were seeking loved ones during the days after the attack. A reason for disrupted sleep as our sense of security had been attacked so we no longer sleep the innocent sleep of the young, confident that no harm may befall us. Yet we can yet experience that sleep. Our joy isn’t dependent on everything going right, as the Psalmist tells us. In our darkest times, most difficult experiences, the human spirit prevails, in fact can be even stronger as we reach out to each other, help each other. 9/11 was a dark time for us as a country, yet we have prevailed, we have rebuilt and will continue to rebuild.
Peaceful sleep is a great gift. If we life lives of righteousness, truly contemplating God’s word and our own actions to make sure they are in line with God’s word, if we forgive others when they have hurt or wronged us, when you are disturbed or angry, sin not, rather stand in awe of your God, then you too will find the rest you desire, peace in this life, as well as the next.
Psalm 3, God Is my Sheild
September 4, 2011 Psalm 3 God is my Shield
2 Samuel 22:32-37 Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 16:21-26
Gen. 15:1 - After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
Dt. 33:29 – Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph!
2 Samuel 22:36 – Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy help made me great.
Psalm 3:3 – But thou, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
5:12 – For thou dost bless the righteous, O Lord; thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.
7:10 – My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
18:2 – the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
28:7 – The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts.
33:20 – Our soul waits for the Lord, for he is our help and shield.
84:11 – For the Lord is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor.
91:4 – He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
115:9 – O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.
119:114 – Thou art my hiding place and my shield; I hope in thy word.
144:2 – My rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under him.
Proverbs 2:7 – he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.
30:5 – Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Zec. 12:8 – On that day the Lord will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head.
Eph. 6:16 – Besides all these, take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.
Enough? Shield, what is a shield? Clearly an important image in Old Testament time, an image of war. Shield is Protection, armor, defense, safeguard, buffer, v. to protect, guard, defend, shelter, screen safeguard. What does it mean to say God is our shield?
David, considered writer of many of the Psalms, warrior king, well he knew about the ways of war and the necessity of a shield, protection during time of war, can also be used as shade during the heat of day, a shelter to rest under at night. David was a man of sorrows, constantly on the run. He wasn’t anointed king and then assumed power. King Saul did not readily relinquish his reign to this upstart boy. First David was welcomed into Saul’s palace, became fast friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Saul was plagued by depression, evil spirit. David’s music, playing on his harp helped the king, but then the spirits persisted, turning him against David, thinking that David was out to take over, before his time, feared the acclaim David was receiving. Thus began years of David fleeing from Saul as Saul hunted him down. Once Saul was gone and David declared king, life did not prove to be easy. David knew the pain of loss, lost one son in childbirth, one born to Bathsheba, then had another son, Absolom, who turn against him in order to be claimed king in David’s stead. Understandable why some kings did not want a son, someone who could be a rival to the throne. So then David was on the run from his own son – situation attributed to this psalm. David did not want to fight his son. When Absolom was killed by one of his soldiers the man brought the news to David thinking he would be happy when instead David wept.
On the run so much of his life, David probably depended on his shield for more than protection during war, also for protection from wild animals, shelter and shade. Under his shield, he slept secure, under God’s shield, he slept secure, even though others were seeking his life. An apt metaphor for a man of war, accustomed to ways of war.
In a marriage workshop, an Episcopal priest, had to have couples make a shield. On the shield they would put those things that were important to their marriage. One newly married couple set about separately doing this. The woman came back with picnics in the park, walks together, different activities they would do together; her husband came back with pictures of going fishing, hunting with his buddies, bowling. Minister looked at the shield and asked the young man – where is your wife in this? Fortunately they were able to laugh about this and rework the shield.
Marriages need shields, don’t they, something to protect and safeguard their life together. Purpose of exercise was to look at those things that would protect their marriage and keep it strong then to focus on them as a shield. Some families of old would have shields, family crests that were put on shields of the men to let people know under whose banner they fought. When others saw the crest they immediately recognized whose they were, who they belong to, who was their protector. To be married means that you are not alone, you, in a sense belong to the other and the other to you. Others are not to violate that sacred trust. The shield protects you but also reminds you of this, of your marriage vows, to whom you belong. And let’s others know as well.
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was a soldier who after an injury and a long period as an invalid recuperating, he turned his life over to God. As a soldier he spoke in metaphors befitting a soldier. You were either in the army or camp of God, or of the enemy, Satan. We each had to make a fundamental choice to follow Jesus, march under his banner.
To be under God’s shield is to have God as your protector, to trust that God would look out for you, safeguard you, but even more, to have God as your shield means that you were his, you belong to him, you fought under his shield and he protected you as his own. It means that God has claimed you as his own.
Paul speaks of putting on the armor of God, we are in God’s army, we belong to him. But what is the family crest on that shield?
Gospel, Jesus speaks of suffering. Peter had just recognized Jesus for who he was, the Messiah, he got this right, but then Peter went on to show just how little he truly understood. He was still thinking of the Messiah as a position of glory, of honor, reward. Jesus understood his Sonship as something different, his was to be the suffering servant of the prophet Isaiah, and all who follow him must accept that suffering as well, picking up their cross and following him. The cross is the crest that identifies us as Christians. The cross lets us and others know who we belong to, whose we are, under whose banner we march.
To follow Jesus did not mean glory and acclaim, not in the ways of the world, for the great in the kingdom of God were the least in this world, those who served. To follow Jesus is to accept no more than what Jesus accepted, to recognize that as they treated Jesus, so might they treat his followers.
So what shield are you under? In what camp do you reside? If you were to fashion a shield for yourself, what might you put on it? Tried this once, divided my shield into four quadrants, showing those areas that sustained me as a person of faith. One quadrant represented church, faith community, wherein I experience God in others, with others, through worship. Another represented nature, the beauty of God’s creation in the mountains and hills, the lakes, flowers and trees wherein I experience God creator. Another was family and the fourth was the arts, music, art, books, writing, again where I experience God and grow in my faith. In the center I put a dove, Christian symbol of peace. Perhaps today I would add the cross. While not every possible way that I experience God, still these summed up the most significant for me. This is my shield of faith. What protects me and keeps my strong.
What would be on your shield? What keeps you safe from the perils, struggles, hardships of this life? What keeps your faith strong?
As Christians, Christ has claimed you for himself. You are the Lord’s, so put on the Lord’s armor, wear it proudly, so that we may truly deserve the name Christian. Then we may rest secure, knowing we are under God’s shield.
Robertson, Copyright, November 2011
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