Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Psalm 31 - Into your hands I commit my Spirit

Psalm 31 - Into Your Hands, I Commend My Spirit

I love this time of year. There is beauty everywhere. If only I could freeze frame all of the colors of fall. I look about and try to etch a memory indelibly into my mind, but it doesn’t work. Nothing remains in my memory, even sights of beauty. I walk from one room into another and forget what I’m looking for. I write so many notes to myself to jog my memories that I have notes for my notes. The price of growing old, I guess.

This beauty is but a fleeting moment for us to enjoy. We can’t store them up for tomorrow or the next day much though we may want to. We have to let these days go like the falling leaves, trusting that in the spring new leaves will grow; new beauty will assault our memories. But for today, we have the autumn leaves. And I ask myself, what more do I have to let go of this year? How is God stripping me yet again in this life? Like the trees I am being stripped bare of adornment, externals, till nothing is left but the bare bones, the frame from which new life will grow.

Psalm 31 might be termed an autobiography in three parts, much like Psalm 23. There are three psalms joined into one, a triple cry for deliverance.

In verses 1-8 the writer is seeking assurance of protection from some impending trouble. He begins with a statement of trust in God, then he asks God to listen to him and rescue him. “Take me out of the net which is hidden for me,” he pleads. He doesn’t know the exact nature of what is about to come, just that evil lies in wait for him.

He commits his spirit, his life, into God’s hands, confident that God will protect him, uttering the words that Jesus himself used before his death with one small change. Jesus added the word Father. Where the writer of the psalm was committing his life into God’s hands, confident that he would escape death, Jesus was committing his life to the Father in his death. As one commentator states: “A psalm which comes into the mind of the Sufferer of all sufferers at the moment of death is a psalm to be reverenced.” (Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 4, p. 163).

As is common in laments, the writer thanks God in advance for all he will do. The writer rejoices for God has not let him fall into the hands of his enemies and has set his feet in a broad place, a metaphor found in other Psalms. In this case the writer escapes the snares and traps that had been set for him.

Then there is an abrupt change from rejoicing to lament in verse 9. Verses 9-12 are the words of one who is being plagued by physical disease, an ailment that has been long standing. He has been crying his eyes out with grief, his strength is gone, even his bones are wasting away. When dealing with grief and prolonged illness it can feel like your whole life has been like this; that it has been forever, even if it has not been the case.

He has forgotten the joy experienced in verse 7 and now all is sadness. The writer is an object of scorn, even horror. People flee from him. In verses 13 – 18, the lament shifts to someone who is being lied about. They are whispering together against him he says. They are scheming to take his life. It could be that in his suffering he is paranoid, imagining that people are plotting against him. This is easy to do. The machinations of the mind can be wild indeed. Or it could be that people are plotting against him. He escaped the plots in the first part of his life only to be attacked even stronger later.

Perhaps the writer was afflicted with leprosy or some other disease making him unclean. Later Christians saw Jesus, the suffering servant in this passage. He was a sight that people couldn’t bear to look at, so marred was his form from being scourged. People ran away from him during his last hours.

Who are the pariahs of our times? Who do we run from? Perhaps victims of AIDS who are considered unclean? Perhaps those disfigured by war and disability that we don’t want to look at because it upsets us? As I grow older and face the weakening of my bones, this passage takes on new meaning. Are the old among us the new pariahs that we put away into “homes” so that we don’t have to deal with them?

But even in this state of great suffering, the writer remains faithful. He puts his trust in God, asking God to deliver him from his persecutors, asking God to put them to shame, even send to hell, those who would lie against him. Some commentators would clean up this passage, stating it is unchristian to condemn another to hell and spiritualizing the passage to mean our own failings and sins being condemned to the land of shadows. While this can be one way of using the passage, it is highly unlikely the writer meant any such thing. When in despair and pain, it is human to respond with anger and the desire for revenge.

The last section, verses 19-24, is a hymn of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance from the suffering of the previous verses. Now comes the happy ending. At the end of life, the writer is able to look back at his life and see how God has been present. It is with confidence that he can say, “Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me.” He then instructs others, those younger, those yet to come, to trust in the Lord who saved him. It is the Lord who delivers justice, who “requites him who acts haughtily,” not us. So be strong and wait for the Lord.

Thus is one life, a mixture of suffering and blessings. The challenges of youth give way to even greater challenges in mid-life. Those who remain firm in faith, trusting in their God, will reach peace and quiet after the storms of life. Over all, the one phrase chosen by Jesus resounds, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Repeatedly throughout life, we are challenged to let go, to place our life into God’s hands, just as the trees let go of their leaves. We do so in preparation for that final letting go at the end of our life.

So as to my initial question - what might God be asking me to let go of this fall? – I don’t know. But I’ll trust in the Lord. Whatever challenges may be facing me, whatever new losses, I will land on firm ground for God is with me.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Random Thoughts on Preaching by Catholic Lay Woman

Random Thoughts on Preaching using the Revised Common Lectionary by a Catholic Lay Woman

As a Catholic Lay woman who has never been formally trained in preaching, who am I to preach? I am not allowed to preach in the Catholic Church, that being reserved to ordained priests and deacons, and yet that is what I’ve been doing in other settings. For the past twelve years I’ve been preaching each Sunday at services at the retirement community where I held the position of chaplain, using the Revised Common Lectionary as the basis for my preaching.

I liked using the Revised Common Lectionary. I liked knowing that millions of people throughout the world are hearing the same readings and hearing sermons preached on those readings, yet no two will be alike. To me, that is incredible.

I loved the challenge of trying to find a common theme for all three of the readings. It was like solving a puzzle each week. I know that preaching instructors would say this is not a good idea, that this is a beginner’s mistake - the readings weren’t set up with a common theme. Usually the Gospel and Old Testament readings were connected but then you had these letters thrown in to provide a different direction for preaching if desired, not to make the preacher do mental gymnastics in order to find a connection. But that is what I liked to do.

Good preachers I’ve heard stick to one reading, one theme that they develop in depth. Some even preach a whole sermon on one verse of Scripture. But then I don’t claim to be good. I guess I’m just a beginner, especially in comparison to others who have had extensive training and more years of experience than I have had.

I loved being forced to reflect on God’s word by my weekly deadline. I would reflect on the readings, pray about them, carry them with me in my head all week, asking first what God was saying to me through these readings, then what God might be saying to my people. It is work, hard work, it took up a good portion of my week, yet it was good work, God’s work.

I will miss it now that I no longer hold this position. It seems I’m a fraud who has finally been found out. But then who among us is truly worthy to speak God’s words?

Psalm 30:5b - Joy comes with the morning

Psalm 30: Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Joy comes with the morning. I’ve been living with this passage for the past month, since July 18 when my position as chaplain was abruptly eliminated. One minute I was planning out the next month’s sermons, an hour later I was sitting in my car with twelve years of my life packed into the trunk and back seat.

The psalm I was scheduled to preach on next was Psalm 30. When I read it the next morning, I felt comforted by its assurance of rejoicing in the morning. I wasn’t rejoicing yet, but the promise was there.

As I dealt with shock, denial, anger and sadness over the loss of this position, I’ve reminded myself repeatedly, in the morning rejoicing. This too will pass. Perhaps I’m on the verge of the greatest adventure yet; this next chapter in my life might very well be the best. I’ve reflected on these words as I’ve puzzled over what to do about my sojourn into the realm of Psalms. Not even a third of the way through, I know I don’t want to quit, but how to continue? In the morning comes rejoicing.

I no longer have the necessity of preparing a sermon every week to push me into Scripture, but I’m also free to go in different directions. Freed of the need to come up with fifteen to twenty minutes worth of material, I can write shorter, more reflective pieces if I want. But what do I want? A good question. In John’s gospel Jesus asks his disciples, “What are you looking for? What do you want?” So, what do I want?

Joy comes with the mourning. Joy can be found within mourning and grief. The writers of the Psalms didn’t wait for God to deliver before thanking God for blessings. They thank God in advance. In the midst of lamentations, the writers thank God for hearing their cries, confident that God will come through for them. And so I trust, in the morning comes rejoicing. I don’t know what shape this rejoicing will take; I just know it will happen.

The sorrows of today, the struggles and challenges, all will pass, will seem like but a minute in comparison to the joys that tomorrow will hold. God is creating a glorious future for me, opening a window to replace the door that shut. Sorrow lasts but for a moment, joy comes with the morning. Each day is a new beginning.

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may praise thee and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee forever.” Psalm 30:11-12

Friday, July 13, 2012

Psalm 28: With Song I Give Thanks!

July 15, 2012 Psalm 28: With Song I Give Thanks

2 Samuel 6:1-19 Psalm 28 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:14-29

Liar, liar, pants on fire – appropriate phrase as we listen to the political rhetoric around us. Satan is the prince of lies, a master of deception, and if so, his presence is apparent throughout our society. Lies are everywhere, they are destructive, none more so than the lies we tell ourselves. It’s so easy to deceive ourselves. Our readings for today give examples of how easy it is to do this.

In our reading from Samuel we hear about how David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. On the surface it seems pretty straight forward, if Jerusalem is to be the seat of the kingdom, you would want the symbol of God there. However, was this what God wanted, or what David wanted? Was it motivated by devotion to God, or political expedience, helping to further consolidate David’s power as ruler of Israel? God was present to the Israelite people in the desert in the Ark. The Ark was even brought into battle, unsuccessfully so in 1 Samuel chapter 4, when it was used against the Philistines and captured. It was a sign of God’s presence and protection, God’s leadership of his people. David, as king, was assuming this position.

David recaptured the Ark and prepared to bring it to Jerusalem in our reading today, a time for great rejoicing and singing as David danced before the Ark. But it wasn’t as simple as that. When the Ark starts to tilt and Uzzah reaches up to steady it, he is immediately struck dead for daring to touch the sacred. David is angered by this and leaves the Ark at the house of Obededom for three months where Obededom is blessed. Seeing this David decides to attempt again to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, however he has learned his lesson. This time he offers sacrifice to God after moving the Ark six steps, and again as he entered Jerusalem. If there was any doubt before as to who is leading who, it is gone now. David once again dances before the Ark, rejoicing at bringing this sacred object to his city, but he also gives God due respect.

David is well-intentioned in bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, but we all know where those good intentions sometimes lead. He doesn’t stop to ask God what God wants and when Uzzah is struck down, he doesn’t respond with fear of the Lord, but anger that God wasn’t grateful to him for the good he was doing him. David had yet to learn the difference between working for the Lord and doing the Lord’s work, as defined by Thomas Green in his book, Weeds Among the Wheat. In the first case, you are busy working for God, doing what you think God wants, in the other you are asking God first what God wants and then doing God’s work, what God wants you to do not what you want to do for God: an important difference. David was busy doing what he wanted to do for God, not what God wanted.

David was well-intentioned, but he was deceived. He had this idea and talked himself into believing it was what God wanted without even checking with God. How often have we done this? We get an idea into our head and we right away assume it was from God when maybe we were just deceiving ourselves. But then, once right with God, David had reason to rejoice.

At this point we get another glimpse into the working of self-deception. Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, sees David dancing and is ashamed at his fervor, at least that is what she tells herself. Chances are, the love she once had for David had started to grow cold. He had since married two other women, perhaps she was jealous and just looking for a reason to despise him. We don’t know the inner workings of her mind, just that she did not rejoice with David at the coming of the Ark to Jerusalem, she was at odds with her husband-king. This was just an excuse, a justification for the hatred she was already feeling.

Our gospel reading shows us yet more instances of self-deception and justification. Herod wanted his brother’s wife, Herodius, and took her from him as his own. His justification most likely was that he was king and could therefore take what he wanted. John the Baptist acts as the voice of his conscience in condemning him for his adultery. Herod doesn’t like what John is saying, but is politically astute enough to recognize the danger in harming John who is revered by the people. Herodius however has no such concern. She hated John and wanted him dead. When her daughter dances before Herod and incurs favor, she tells her to ask for John’s head, thereby forcing Herod’s hand to kill an innocent man. Her justification for this was her hatred for John.

It’s so easy to justify our actions. We take something that is not ours to take yet justify it by any number of ways, saying, no one will notice, no one will care, it’s no big deal. We take someone’s good name through gossip and justify it by insisting we were only telling the truth, or, everybody does this, everybody gossips, so it’s okay. We say unkind things to and about others and justify it. We rejoice when someone we are jealous of or dislike experiences misfortune. We tell ourselves it’s no big deal, but these lies can become a way of life, blinding us to future lies. We can become so wrapped up in our own lies and justification that they become as truth to us. Lies beget more lies.

When Satan came to Eve in the garden, he convinced her with his lies. She justified her actions saying the serpent made me do it, rather than accepting responsibility for her actions. It seems to me that Satan lies to us in two ways, in telling us we are greater than we are, such is his lie to Eve, or in telling us we are less than we are, in degrading us to the point of despair. Each are lies. Sin doesn’t happen overnight. It is our thinking that eventually leads us to sinful action. How do we get out of this cycle of lies that lead to sin?

Our psalm for today is a lament. Brief and to the point, the writer has taken refuge in the Temple. He is sick or being tormented by wicked people who are the source of his illness or suffering. He calls out to the Lord, saying, “be not deaf to me,” listen to me (1). If God remains silent, then the writer will be like one cast into a deep, dark hole, or cast into his own particular hell. Certainly, without God, this life can be a living hell. He lifts up his hands in supplication to God and prays that God not let him suffer the violence that befalls the godless, those workers of evil who are duplicitous, who speak peace but whose actions are far from peaceful. The writer attributes his problems to evil men whom he had trusted but he doesn’t say exactly what they did to him.

“Requite them according to their work (4a),” the writer says. Give back to them as they gave, not as punishment necessarily, but that they might come to understand their wrongdoing and then repent. Is it more loving to pretend we have not been hurt by the actions of another, or to let them know the consequences of their action so that they might change? Sometimes we need to be brought down, in order that we might be lifted up. We need to be shown the error of our ways and of our thinking so that we might change.

In verses 6-7 the psalmist breaks into rejoicing with an exceptionally long and exuberant exclamation. God has heard his pleas, God has proven trustworthy, and this is reason to rejoice. This is reason to dance before the Lord as David did. The psalm ends with a statement of faith and a prayer.

So how do we deal with self-deception and lies? Through prayer, through turning to God in prayer, asking him to deliver us not just from those outside who seek to harm us, but to deliver us from that which is within us that would harm us, lie to us, through listening to God’s truth, not our own version. This can be hard. It is hard to look at ourselves through the lens of truth and realize that some of our best intentions are not as worthy as we thought, as happened to David, to recognize our idolatries and our lies and ask for deliverance. Yet the end result of such brutal honesty is rejoicing, exulting in our Lord and Savior who loves us despite ourselves, who sees all of our failings and loves us anyway.

And once out of the cycle, the way to stay out of the cycle is through praising God, thanking God constantly. If Eve had been busy thanking God for all the good God had done for her at the time that the serpent called, he would never have been able to plant lies in her mind. But he found fertile ground.

In Ephesians, Paul says, blessed be God, who chose us to be holy and without blemish before him, who redeems us, saves us from our sins, “so that we might exist for the praise of his glory.” (12a) We were made to praise our God, to sing to God with glory and rejoice in our Lord.

The lies that others tell us and that we tell ourselves get in the way of being all we are meant to be, they keep us from praising our God. They can be like an illness, only God has the cure. So like the psalmist we need to turn to our God in trust, asking to be delivered and rejoicing in this deliverance. Then will our heart exult as we give thanks to our God.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Psalm 48: Song of Jerusalem

July 8, 2012

2 Samuel 5:1-10 Psalm 48 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 Mark 6:1-13

There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed,

Some forever not for better, some are gone, some remain.

All these places have their moments, with people and friends I still can recall.

Some are dead and some are living, in my life, I’ve loved them all. Beatles

There’s something about places where we live, the people we live with. As Churchill once said, first we shape our space, then our space shapes us. We need to choose carefully where we live, what and who we surround ourselves with. It can also be helpful to get away from these places now and then, to experience other spaces. To, in a sense, go on pilgrimage.

I took a pilgrimage of sorts this past week, driving to my brother’s cottage at Lake St. James, Houghton Lake area. The road was familiar, not only because I’ve been there before, but because it included passing by many significant places. Lansing/E. Lansing where I had gone to college and lived after graduation and where my daughter went to college, also home of my grandmother and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins whom my family had often visited during my childhood.

I passed Dewitt, home to St. Francis Retreat Center and my brother’s home where my family gathers on Thanksgiving, Alma where I was born and lived all of my childhood years and where my parents had lived until my mom moved, Mt. Pleasant and Clare, each with their memories, and Houghton Lake and my parent’s cottage where I had spent many vacations with my children all on the way to my brother’s cottage. It was a trip down memory lane with each exit I passed evoking more memories= a sacred journey.

Travelling through these places where we once lived and our memories associated with them is a sacred journey. These places are holy, made holy by our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Our hometowns, where we grew up, where we raised our children are holy in our memories, sacred for they are part of who we are. Is it any wonder that often when men and women go to war, they do so under the rallying cry of home, saving our hometowns?

In most instances these places are holy just to us and maybe a few others. Now and then there are places that are holy to a greater number, to a multitude; places where God’s presence has been made known in a significant way and thus truly holy. Jerusalem is one such place.

Our readings for today focus on Jerusalem. In the first reading from 2 Samuel, we hear how King David captured the city and made it the center of his united kingdom. We see in the narrative how the city dwellers were arrogant and overconfident. They sat behind their walls and claimed that the blind and lame could defend them. David used water shafts to gain entrance into the city and conquer it.

At the time of Saul’s death, the Israelite kingdom had been divided. David united Judah to the south with the northern kingdom of Israel. He needed a neutral place to serve as his capital, thus Jerusalem with its central location was chosen, much as Washington D.C. was built as a neutral site for a unified nation. This unified nation was short lived. After Solomon, the kingdom separated once again into two kingdoms, this period is romanticized as the golden period for the Hebrews. Jerusalem, also known as Zion, gained symbolic importance to those of Jewish faith.

Psalm 48 is one of the psalms of Zion, hymns of praise of the city used in liturgical settings by worshippers at a festival, perhaps pilgrims to the great city and the Temple. The psalm separates into three parts. The psalm lacks the introductory formula of other psalms of praise and addresses the city, seeking its welfare and prosperity.

Verses 1-3 start by praising God, then shifts to the city of God; God is praised indirectly through the holy city and the Temple. Verses 4-11 give the reasons for praise: God has given them victory over their enemies and protection - just the sight of the city was enough to inspire fear and panic “As soon as they saw it, they were astounded, they were in panic, they took flight;; trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in travail” (5-6); and God is present in the Temple. Verses 12-14 conclude the psalm. The loud and joyous songs of praise and thanksgiving in the Temple are followed by a solemn procession about the city. In many ways these hymns are similar to our patriotic songs, extolling the virtues of our country and praying for continued protection. There is a danger though, as we shall see.

In or reading from Mark we see how a prophet was never accepted in his hometown. They think they know who he is, having watched him grow up or grown up alongside of him. They weren’t able to see beyond this to who Jesus really was. Jerusalem, however, didn’t just reject prophets. With good reason, Jesus wept over the city, saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you.” (Matthew 23:37a)

Jerusalem, sacred to all three of the major monotheistic faiths, is a site of controversy, violence and abuse of the sacred, a place of contradiction. Karen Armstrong, in her book, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, describes thousands of years of history of this city, a history filled with bloodshed. Jerusalem has been conquered and re-conquered, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Periods of relative peace have been just that, relative and short lived.

The city of David and home to Solomon’s Temple, it is holy to Jews. The place of Jesus’ final days and resurrection, it inspires faith in Christian. It is also considered holy to Muslims as one of the three holy cities proclaimed by the prophet Mohammad and the site where Mohammad is said to have been transported before his ascension into heaven. It is the same God, the one God, yet differences in beliefs about this one God have led to on-going controversy and bloodshed. As is so often the case, people take that which is holy and try to use it for political and monetary gain. This happens repeatedly in Jerusalem.

The story of Jerusalem is a story of sacred geography, how some places seem closer to God. As Armstrong explains in her first chapter, “But long before people began to map their world scientifically, they had evolved a sacred geography to define their place in the universe emotionally and spiritually. Mircea Eliade, who pioneered the study of sacred space, pointed out that reverence for a holy place preceded all other speculation about the nature of the world. It is to be found in all cultures and was a primordial religious conviction. The belief that some places were sacred, and hence fit for human habitation, was not based on an intellectual investigation or on any metaphysical speculation into the nature of the cosmos. Instead, when men and women contemplated the world about them, they were drawn irresistibly to some localities which they experienced as radically different from all others. This was an experience that was basic to their view of the world, and it went far deeper than the cerebral level of the mind. Even today our scientific rationalism has not been able to replace the old sacred geography. As we shall see, ancient conceptions of holy topography still affect the history of Jerusalem and have been espoused by people who would not normally consider themselves religious.” (pp. 7-8)

It is also a story of myths and symbols which can bring meaning to a place. Jerusalem has been a site of pilgrimage for centuries, from the early Jews going to the Temple to worship, to Christians walking the path that Jesus walked, to Muslims journeying to Haram where Mohammad is said to have ascended to heaven.

There have been great leaders, David, Solomon, Saladin, as well as mediocre leaders, weak leaders, corrupt leaders and unwise leaders. Unfortunately, one great leader does not mean those who follow will be equally great. Site of the brutal killings of the Crusades, it was not the Christian crusaders who exemplified Christian values of mercy but a Muslim, Saladin who showed mercy to those of other faiths. “Christians in the West were uneasily aware that this Muslim ruler had behaved in a far more ‘Christian’ manner than had their own Crusaders when they conquered Jerusalem. They evolved legends that made Saladin a sort of honorary Christian.” (p. 294)

Armstrong states in her introduction: “It is not enough to experience the divine or the transcendent; the experience must then be incarnated in our behavior towards others. All the great religions insist that the test of true spirituality is practical compassion. The Buddha once said that after experiencing enlightenment, a man must leave the mountaintop and return to the marketplace and there practice compassion for all living beings. This also applies to the spirituality of a holy place. Crucial to the cult of Jerusalem from the very first was the importance of practical charity and social justice. The city cannot be holy unless it is also just and compassionate to the weak and vulnerable. But sadly, this moral imperative has often been overlooked. Some of the worst atrocities have occurred when people have put the purity of Jerusalem and the desire to gain access to its great sanctity before the quest for justice and charity.” (p. xxi) In this area, all three of the faiths making claim to Jerusalem have failed. It has yet to prove itself truly holy by compassion to the weak and vulnerable. We’ve yet to see a truly holy city anywhere.

Paul in our reading from Corinthians, relates a significant religious experience. He doesn’t boast about this experience for he recognizes that such experiences are only significant in that they change the person, making them more kind and compassionate.

Sacred places are important but only in that they point us to God. Countries are important. They give us a sense of connection and community, they provide for security, but not in the place of God. It’s God first, country second, anything else is idolatry.

Perhaps someday this city of three faiths under one God, might show us the way to peace, how to live together respecting the beliefs of each faith, recognizing our connection under one God. Then it truly would live up to its name as being holy.

Robertson, Copyright July 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths

Jerusalem: sacred to all three of the major monotheistic faiths, a site of controversy, violence and abuse of the sacred, a place of contradiction. Karen Armstrong, in her book, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, describes thousands of years of history of this city, a history filled with bloodshed. With good reason, Jesus wept over the city, saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you.” (Matthew 23:37a) Jerusalem has been conquered and reconquered, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Periods of relative peace have been just that, relative and short lived.

The story of Jerusalem is a story of sacred geography, how some places seem closer to God. As Armstrong explains in her first chapter, “At this date (1800 BCE), all cities were regarded as holy places, an alien concept for us in the modern West, where the city is often experienced as a godforsaken realm in which religion has an increasingly marginal role. But long before people began to map their world scientifically, they had evolved a sacred geography to define their place in the universe emotionally and spiritually. Mircea Eliade, who pioneered the study of sacred space, pointed out that reverence for a holy place preceded all other speculation about the nature of the world. It is to be found in all cultures and was a primordial religious conviction. The belief that some places were sacred, and hence fit for human habitation, was not based on an intellectual investigation or on any metaphysical speculation into the nature of the cosmos. Instead, when men and women contemplated the world about them, they were drawn irresistibly to some localities which they experienced as radically different from all others. This was an experience that was basic to their view of the world, and it went far deeper than the cerebral level of the mind. Even today our scientific rationalism has not been able to replace the old sacred geography. As we shall see, ancient conceptions of holy topography still affect the history of Jerusalem and have been espoused by people who would not normally consider themselves religious.” (pp. 7-8)

Armstrong does not speculate about the future of Jerusalem, just takes us through the history to the present day. In doing so she gives us insights into the differences among the three faiths that inhabit the city and how we have come to our current impasse. Perhaps someday this city of three faiths under one God, might show us the way to peace, how to live together respecting the beliefs of each faith, recognizing our connection under one God. Then it truly would live up to its name as being holy.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Psalm 27: The Lord is my Light!

July 1, 2012 Psalm 27: The Lord is my Light

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 Psalm 27 2 Cor. 8:7-15 Mark 5:21-43

I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining.

I believe in love, even when I don’t feel it.

I believe in God, even when he is silent.

Some claim this is an Irish saying, others that it had been written on a wall by a Holocaust victim. Whatever you believe, this is a profound statement of faith, belief that the sun exists, even when I don’t see it, that God is present, even when I don’t feel God's presence or hear his voice.

Our psalm for today is also a statement of faith. Written in two parts, it begins with a statement of faith, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” and ends with another statement of faith, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord.” (13-14)

The first part is a psalm of thanksgiving and confident trust in the Lord. The writer thanks God for divine guidance and protection. God saved him from the wicked (2) so that even if an army were to surround him he would not fear (3). The writer takes joy in God’s sanctuary where he contemplates the beauty of God and spends time in prayer. His desire is to do this always (4). He trust that God will keep him safe (5) so with confidence he will sing God’s praises (6).

Then there is an abrupt shift to a lament. The writer goes from confident trust to crying for help. “Hear O Lord,” he cries. From saying his whole desire is to dwell in the Lord’s house, he shifts to saying I seek your face, do not hide from me (8-9). Even his mother and father have forsaken him (10). He has no one to turn to but God. False witnesses have risen against him, threatening him with violence (12). He prays that God will lead him in right paths in order to be free of his peril (11). Yet he trusts in the Lord (13-14), that God will prevail.

Why are two such different psalms joined together? In prayer, it is good to start with praising God and giving thanks for all God has already done, then turn to God in confidence with your request. Life is a mixture of joy and sorrow. Times of celebration are tinged with sadness; hope is found in times of trial. Yet faith remains.

In our reading from second Samuel, we hear David sing an elegy to Saul and Jonathan. David weeps over the death of Saul who sought to kill him. The young man who brought the information of Saul’s death, claims that he was the one who finished the king off, at Saul’s beseeching. Saul was suffering and wanted out of his suffering so what the young man did was a mercy killing. However, in the account of Saul’s death at the end 1 Samuel, we hear Saul asking his armor bearer to kill him lest he be caught by the Philistines. His armor bearer refused to do this so Saul fell upon his sword, killing himself. Perhaps the young man bringing news of Saul’s death expected to be rewarded for the news. Saul had been David’s enemy. Now that he was gone the road to being king was clear. However David did not rejoice at Saul’s death. The young man was rewarded with his own death. What some perceived as good news, was received with sorrow by David as he mourned his friend Jonathan, and the king, Saul. David’s grief is great. He cries, “How the mighty have fallen!” How indeed. David, because of his faith, recognizes the fickleness of earthly power and so doesn’t rejoice in the death of the king.

Our gospel reading holds a story within a story. While on the way to heal Jairus’ daughter, a woman sick for years with a hemorrhage that made her unclean was healed by touching Jesus’ cloak. Both are about miraculous healings, but what is more miraculous is the faith of the individuals. Jesus tells the woman with the hemorrhage, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.” While on the way to the synagogue leader’s home, he is told that his daughter has already died. Jesus’ response was, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” The message is that those with faith will experience miracles.

Paul, in our reading from 2 Corinthians, is seeking funds to help the Christians in Jerusalem who are in poverty. It is a request for faith; faith that if they give now out of their abundance, if they are ever in need, they will receive as well. “Your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: ‘Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.” (Exodus 16:18) Paul quotes from Exodus about the distribution of manna each day, a reminder of how God provided for the Israelites in the desert and will provide for the needs of God’s people. So we are to have confident trust in God to provide.

In The Silver Chair, the fourth book of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the children visit an underground world. The witch who presides over the world through enchantment tries to lead them to believe that all they knew of the world above was made up, not real. She says, “you have seen lamps, and so you imagined a bigger and better lamp and called it the sun. You’ve seen cats, and now you want a bigger and better cat, and it’s to be called a lion. . . and look how you can put nothing into your make-believe without copying it from the real world, this world of mine, which is the only world.” (pp153-4) In response, Puddleglum, a Narnian, says, “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder . . .But there’s one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. . . I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it.” (p. 155) Puddleglum chooses to believe. He makes a leap of faith. He believes in the sun, even though he doesn’t see it; he believes in God, despite evidence to the contrary.

The psalmist says - the Lord is my light. What does that mean? What does it mean to have God as our light? The prophet Isaiah tells us, “No longer shall the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night; The Lord shall be your light forever, your God shall be your glory. No longer shall your sun go down or your moon withdraw, for the Lord will be your light forever.” (Is. 60:19-20)

This sun that we see, is but a pale reflection of the light that is God. In the New Jerusalem, God will be the light, a light that we can’t imagine. As great as the sun is in comparison to a lamp, so great is our God in comparison to the sun. And so we are to have faith, follow our God, wherever God may lead. We are to trust in the Lord. “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,” our psalm tells us. Not just in the next life, but in this life, we see God. We see God’s goodness every time we witness an act of kindness, an act of reaching out of ourselves, putting others before ourselves. We see God’s goodness all around us if we have eyes to see.

The Lord truly is our light, a light that shatters the darkness. While in this life we have lesser lights to help us see. We are guided by the sun during the day, the moon and stars at night, artificial lights/lamps as well. We walk by faith during dark times, but someday we will see God as God truly is and walk in his light. And so we have confidence to say, I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, and I believe in God.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Psalm 26: To Walk with Integrity

June 17, 2012 Psalm 26: To Walk with Integrity

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Psalm 26 2 Cor. 5:6-10, 14-17 Mark 4:26-34

Have you ever been falsely accused? Have you ever been a victim of a mistaken identity or a stolen identity? Or charged the wrong amount of money, or charged for something you never ordered, or overcharged because of human error or computer error?

Chances are all of us have experienced one of these at some time, especially as we deal with the quagmire which is our health care system, charges, over charges, billing mistakes and insurance errors. Through no fault of your own, you are forced to repeatedly seek to clear your goon name by clearing up the mistake.

I’ve recently had to deal with a billing error from over a month ago. It was not my mistake, yet I’ve had to make repeated phone calls to get it straightened out. For all of our trusts in computers, they have also created problems as well. Once information is entered, even incorrect information, it can be hard to change it depending on the software.

Ten years ago when my daughter got her first cell phone, she was a minor so it had to be put in my name. The inexperienced salesclerk at Radio Shack entered my name as Patricia Patterson. I caught the mistake but not before it had been entered into the computer system. Several years later when doing a routine credit check I saw, aka Patricia Patterson on the form. I had an alias.

When I ordered a magazine subscription over the phone in February, the person taking my order entered my name as Robinson. The order went through on my credit card despite the wrong name.

When my car was towed to Extreme Dodge back in March, they entered my name as Patricia Robinson. I corrected them several times however they could not change it once it was in the system.

So now I have another alias.

Mistaken identity, billing errors are quite common in this computer age of ours. For one who has been wrongly charged with anything, Psalm 26 is for you. It’s a simple lament of someone wrongly charged seeking justice. Not a lament over ill health or other dire straits, not a request for healing but for justice. It is general so it could be used by any number of individuals who may not have the poetic ability to make up their own prayer. It could also be used by a group in prayer.

The psalm begins with a plea for help, for vindication for he has been falsely accused. He states how he has walked in integrity without wavering, following God’s commandments and trusting God. He asks God to test him, confident in God’s steadfast love and that he has been faithful in following God’s ways. (vs. 1-3)

In verses 4-5 he provides evidence of the sincerity of his faith, how he avoids the company of evil doers. Verses 6-7 seem out of place as the writer is still in the midst of presenting his case before God. Chances are verses 6-7 belongs more appropriately at the end of the psalm, expressing the writer’s confidence that his prayers will be heard and giving thanks in advance to God. However it is possible that the writer is referring to a ritual hand washing as a way of enforcing his innocence. In verses 8-10 the request is renewed. He pleads for his life so that he may continue to enjoy his chief delight which is spending time with the Lord in his house.

The psalm concludes by restating his opening petition, how he continues to walk with integrity, not only that, he believes that his present perilous path will become smooth - his foot stands on level ground. He is firm in his conviction that he has done no wrong and so God will redeem him.

There are no words of humility within the psalm; he doesn’t humbly acknowledge his sin because there is no sin in this situation. It almost sounds like the words of the Pharisee in prayer at the front of the Temple proclaiming his righteousness while the publican remains on his knees in the back humbly asking for mercy, which raises the question, is the writer righteous or self-righteous? How do we tell the difference? There can be a thin line between true righteousness which knows we are in the right, and self-righteousness that is unable to recognize any wrong-doing.

The self-righteous are unable to acknowledge their sinfulness. They think they are better than others and so deserving of better treatment. There can be a danger in praying this psalm that we might fall into self-righteousness. But there is a time and place for the righteous who are wrongly accused to stand up for themselves, confront the false charges and request redress for the wrongs. Ours is not a wimpy religion where we never stand up for ourselves. If we are wrong, we are to admit our failings, but when in the right we need to confront injustice. Wise are those who know the difference.

Who is the righteous one? We have already seen in previous psalms and in the prophet Micah, the righteous one is the one who walks humbly with our God. Is the writer one of these? The psalm begins and ends with this statement of his faith; that he walks with integrity so that now he knows he is on firm ground where God is concerned. A person of integrity is one who lives as he believes; there is no conflict between his words and his life. In the case of the writer, his integrity is rooted in his faith.

This week we saw a return to tv of the popular nighttime soap, Dallas, with JR Ewing, the man you loved to hate. I used to watch each week just to hear JR’s great one-liners. My favorite was: “once you lose your integrity, everything else is a piece of cake.” It says so much about integrity and the importance of it. With it, you lead a righteous, moral life, without it, your morals are gone, you are set down a path of wrong doing and ill-gotten gain, with no thought about the repercussions of your actions, whether they are right or wrong.

In our reading from 1 Samuel, the story continues. Last week the people had asked for a king so Samuel gave them what they had asked for, anointing Saul as the first king of the Hebrew nation. But Saul proved to not be up to the requirements of leadership. God was displeased with him so in our reading today God instructs Samuel to anoint another king, hence enters David, the young shepherd boy. God’s spirit departs from Saul, leaving him melancholy and enters David. We know the story, how David kills Goliath gaining favor and reputation and is invited into Saul’s courts where he soothed Saul’s spirit with his music and befriended Saul’s son, Jonathan. And how Saul became jealous of David and sought to kill him.

David’s journey was not an easy journey in any sense of the word. He knew what it was to be falsely accused of wrong doing and persecuted as Saul hunted him down. He also knew of his own sinfulness and when confronted with his sin, repented and asked for forgiveness. He may have strayed at times; he was not immune to the temptation to abuse his power, yet overall, in the beginning and the end, he walked with his God. As long as he stayed on God’s paths his feet were on firm ground and he was righteous before the Lord.

So who is the righteous one? How shall we know him? By his fruits we shall know him. Jesus in Mark today tells two parables about a seed. In the one the seed is planted and grows, through no power of our own but through the power of God. In the other the small mustard seed grows into a tree, not a mighty oak or a Cedar of Lebanon, but a mighty tree none-the-less. The righteous person, the one with integrity who walks with God faithfully, will bear fruit just by being who he is. He will bear great fruit just by being true to God’s word.

Paul tells us today, we walk by faith, not by sight. We may not know where we are going in this life, many times the path is dark, but this doesn’t mean we crawl out of fear; that we have to be afraid and hesitant. Rather, in that we walk with the Lord, we walk in confidence even when the way is dark.

This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day, a good time to remember the righteous men in our lives, men of integrity who were true to themselves, true to their word, who taught us through example how to stand up for what is right in this world, to be strong, yet gentle, to walk humbly with our God. It is a good time to thank them for their witness to us, for teaching us how to walk with integrity ourselves through their example.

While in this world, we walk by faith, not by sight, but in that we are walking with our God, we are on firm ground wherever we may go, wherever this life may take us.