Tag Archives: King David

God, Our Light

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“God, Our Light”

Psalm 27:1-10 (27:1) – March 13, 2022

            When I set the theme for the Second Sunday in Lent about three weeks ago, I had no idea that there would be an actual war being waged, right now. The Russian army is attacking Ukraine as we speak, and all the horrors of modern-day warfare are a reality, all across the country of Ukraine. Psalm 27 means so much to many of the Ukrainian people right now.

            As this congregation highlights another petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil,” we are brought up sharply by the traumatic situation in our own world. We can turn on war news, from both national as well as international media. Videos and photos are – sadly – readily accessible, and the news is heart-rending. No matter which side you are on.

            Wasn’t this the case when King David wrote this psalm, so many centuries before?

            Wars, rumors of wars, battles, skirmishes, fighting – and King David writes this song of praise to the Lord, to thank the Lord for deliverance from evil.

            King David was certainly no stranger to fighting and to war. After King Saul ran David off into the Judean wilderness (a harsh and unhospitable place, the same place where Jesus went after His baptism), David stayed away from Jerusalem for years. Even though David was rightfully anointed by the prophet Samuel as king of Israel, David would not lift his hand against King Saul. At the same time, David was essentially a guerilla leader of 600 battle-hardened fighters, for years. They also would do mercenary fighting, while on the run from King Saul and the troops of Israel. And, that was just the beginning of David being a fighter.

            As we see from both 1 and 2 Samuel, David knew what he was talking about when he wrote these psalms about the Lord delivering him and his men from evil – from war, and from fighting. David was on the run from King Saul for over ten years. And, he was no coward! However, he thanked God that God watched over him and kept him from evil – kept him from being overtaken by the troops of King Saul, as well as foreign troops he was fighting against.

            You and I are not fighting battles against opposing armies, but we still can come to God, praying this psalm for our safety. You and I might consider evil to be bad stuff. Bullies who intimidate and harass. Robbers who steal purses or take cell phones or wallets. Car-jackings, vindictive anger, abusive behavior, vandals who destroy property. All of these are evil, and we can pray for God to protect us from all of these, plus many more.

            As our commentator Beth Tanner says, “With all of the violence in our world, Christians are faced almost daily with a decision to live in fear, or despite their fear, to trust in God and God’s promises.“ [1] “Deliver us from evil” is a powerful prayer! A prayer of trust and assurance in God’s provision, in God’s ability to keep us safe, whatever our situation.

            Yet, the world has had many, many wars through the centuries. Many, many periods of fighting, ethnic strife, border conflicts, and even genocides. Horrific atrocities committed, and whole societies, entire countries stricken by death and destruction. How can anyone lift up their hearts to God in such catastrophic times?

We know, too, God wants us to be hospitable, even in such times. “To choose to remain true to God’s principles of hospitality feels frightening as well. Terrorists and Refugees come from the same places. Gun violence comes out of nowhere and even those places we considered safe are safe no longer. Fear threatens to defeat the gifts of trust and hospitality.” [2]

            It is so interesting that King David seems to waver back and forth, from the sure certainty of God’s saving power to fear of some kind of situation where David’s enemies are trying to “devour his flesh,” as Psalm 27:2 tells us. Whatever the specific problems or fighting happens to be, we suspect God may turn away. Don’t you, sometimes? Even if you are usually firm in faith and fervent in prayer, sometimes…stuff happens. People fail us. Situations baffle us. How can we cope? What is there to do? God, help us!  Sometimes we need to step back, take a deep breath, and think of difficult things as a child might. The best child’s translation of this part of the prayer is “Lord, save us from all the bad stuff that happens.” [3]

And yet,” right in the middle of his expressions of fear, the Psalmist also declares his confident faith that God’s presence is like a light that keeps him safe.” [4] Our Scripture reading today, Psalm 27, remains as a beacon. This encourages us to come to God even as we find ourselves afraid. Even, afraid out of our wits.

We might find ourselves praying the Lord’s Prayer, and saying it by rote, without even concentrating on the words as they come out of our mouths. Yet – “Lent is a time to ask the deep questions of our faith. We can repeat the fears of the past, or trust a new ending to God. It is never easy, but it is the call of God on our lives. This psalm invites us to believe again that our faith in God will never desert us, no matter what happens. Life without fear is not possible, but faith can call us to live into God’s will for our life instead of reducing our lives because of our fears and insecurities.” [5]

Yes, “deliver us from evil” is a powerful prayer, indeed. Yes, we can be afraid, and yes, God can alleviate our fears. If we want to dispel the darkness of fear, we can affirm that God is indeed our light and our salvation. We can all say amen to that!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1]   https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-psalm-27-3

[2]   Ibid.

[3]  http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2016/01/year-c-second-sunday-in-lent-february.html

[4]   https://thewakingdreamer.blogspot.com/2014/01/what-do-we-have-to-fear.html

“What Do We Have To Fear?” Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer, 2016.

[5]   https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-psalm-27-3

Finding God’s Majestic Name!

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“Finding God’s Majestic Name!”

Psalm 8:1-9 (8:1) – October 3, 2021

            Have you ever been far from the city lights, at night? Have you ever looked up into the sky, and seen countless stars spread out, twinkling high above? I have. When I went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and again in rural central Indiana, the starry skies were absolutely breathtaking. Amazing. Majestic, as the psalmist King David said in our Psalm reading today.

            Listen again: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.” I can just imagine King David sitting far away from the lights of the city of Jerusalem, perhaps contemplating the stars as he saw them in his youth, when he looked after his father’s sheep, or as a younger adult, a leader of men in the wilderness of Judah,. David certainly had many opportunities to gaze up into the night skies and see the breathtaking stars.

            I needed to take two science classes in college, for my undergraduate degree. I was happy to take a biology course, and I enjoyed it! But, I wanted to take something different for my second science course. A quirky but popular teacher also taught science – he taught astronomy! I don’t remember many facts from that class, but I remember him. I remember how excited he was about his subject, and how much he tried to make the course material interesting and accessible to his students. I have always had a warm spot inside for stars, for star-gazing and the moon and other planets, both before and ever since.

            When King David wrote this psalm, he used words like “majestic” and “awesome.” Can you remember when everything was “awesome?” “In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the word “awesome” was overused and abused. Everything was “awesome.” Events and people were awesome. God was awesome.” [1] Now, some years later, I am relieved to find this word is not so misused. However, God has not changed. God certainly is still truly awesome. Majestic, too.

            We can see King David had great awe and godly fear for the Lord his God. Just look at the language he uses! The opening verses of Psalm 8 has royal language all over the place. The very words “Lord” and “Sovereign” are used in conversation with a king in other places in Scripture, too. We can see that usage from both 1 and 2 Kings. These books of the Hebrew Scriptures use these expressions interchangeably for the king of Judah and the king of Israel.  

            When King David praises the majesty of God’s name, this also points to a royal understanding of God. The territory over which God reigns is not a small, limited region, but instead “all the earth.” [2] Yet, Dr. Elizabeth Webb makes a point of saying that even though David leads off this psalm with such huge, overarching thoughts, he then turns to humanity. Yes, God is Sovereign! Majestic! Awesome! The ultimate Godly authority! But, then, the earth is full of mere people. Frail humanity. Here one minute, and gone the next.

            “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is humankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” When we consider limited humans on a scale like that, with a cosmic Sovereign as vast as the heavens, how miniscule are we? How frail and short-lasting?

“Psalm 144:3-4, for example, begins with a similar question: “O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?” In Psalm 144 it is human frailty that makes God’s interest in us almost incomprehensible: “They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.” What concern could God possibly have with frail beings that are here one moment, gone the next?” [3] Truly something to wonder about. I have thought about it, from time to time. How can God concern Godself with me? With my trials or troubles, with God being so huge?

In Psalm 8, what the writer finds so wondrous is that the very God who established the order of the heavens actually cares for human beings, for us, for you and me. Listen to verse 4 again: “what is humankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

If I did not believe that God was loving and caring, full of chesed, full of magnificent lovingkindness, I might really give up. Why should I even try to communicate with a faraway, distant, uncaring God, who would just as soon squash me like a bug? That’s even considering whether that cold and distant God even saw me crawling around on the earth?

Except, we know that God is not that way! Instead, our Lord is full of the attributes grace, mercy, love and chesed, shown in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We are here in church today to celebrate World Communion Sunday, a day when the Church worldwide celebrates the unity of the blessed Eucharist, that Lord’s Supper that believers all over the world celebrate in a variety of different languages, but proclaiming the same Lord. Thank God our Lord is a loving and caring God. Thank God our Lord is full of that magnificent, majestic attribute chesed, full of lovingkindness.

Here we are: frail, earthly human beings. Our God truly welcomes all of us as God’s children. Our God welcomes us at the Lord’s Table, especially on this World Communion Sunday. Can you praise the name of the Lord? Can you bless God for the profound, awesome gifts you have been given?   

“O LORD, our LORD, your majestic name fills the earth. Your glory is higher than
the heavens…! We are blessed to be able to offer God our worship and praise!
In speechless and awed worship, we marvel at God’s holy presence with us,
as we contemplate all that God has given to us! We are all so very blessed! Amen. [4]

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://www.word-sunday.com/Files/Psalms/8.html

“Our God Is Awesome!” Larry Broding’s Word-Sunday.Com: A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.

[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity/commentary-on-psalm-8-10

[3] Ibid.

[4] http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/pentecost1a_2017.htm

The Timeless Psalms: Psalm 8, Joan Stott, prayers and meditations based on lectionary Psalms, 2017.

Make Us Clean!

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“Make Us Clean!”

Psalm 51:1-12 (51:2) – February 17, 2021

            The marvel and puzzle of adults with smudges on their foreheads – on purpose! – is a wonder to many children. Why would adults have dirt or ash crosses put on their foreheads? And why wouldn’t they wash it off to make it all clean?

            It takes a while for young people to learn, “yes, I am a sinner, too.” Doesn’t it? Sometimes it is difficult for grown-ups to state plainly that they sin, too. They fall short of what God would have for them in this life. They mess up the clean sheet of paper. Isn’t that what sin is? Falling short, missing the mark, washing away the guilt and stains of sin. However we describe it, we know very well when sin happens. King David knew when he was dirty on the inside from sin, too.

            It does not matter whether King David was remembering the women of the village where he grew up, washing, scrubbing and wringing out their families’ clothing in tubs outside their homes, or whether we think of the agitator on those automatic wringer washers of yesterday, we all need to be cleansed from the wrongs we commit, on a regular basis.

            Today is the first day of Lent, that penitential period of forty days before Easter when the Church all across the world begins to journey with Jesus towards the Cross. Many people use external things like food or drink or certain practices to show their observance of Lent. This is a good thing, and I do not want to cause anyone to rethink their Lenten practices. However, King David here in Psalm 51 had something far more radical in mind. He wanted more than just his exterior cleaned. He wanted his insides cleaned up, too. Cleaned, and renewed!

            Ash Wednesday is the day in the liturgical year when we concentrate on renewal—the messing-up we have done, on the inside as well as the outside. Whether large or small, we can all be cleansed and renewed deep down on our insides. The psalmist uses that most intimate of all things, first-person pronouns. “Have mercy upon me,” “blot out my transgressions,” “wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,” “I know my transgressions,” and “my sin is ever before me.”

“We are all first marked with the cross using water (and sometimes oil) at our baptisms.  At that time to be marked with the cross is a wonderful thing.  We are identified as the beloved children of God.  On Ash Wednesday we are marked with the cross using ashes and the words, “remember you are dust.”  The ashes and words remind us that we are not so wonderful.  In fact, we are all sinners.  The sign is not an X, marking us as [mistakes or] hopeless rejects, but a cross reminding us that God loves and forgives us, sinners though we be.” [1]  

We are not perfect believers in God. But, God says that is okay. God loves us just the same. This Ash Wednesday service is a special time to gather together, and to become aware of our turning-away from God. This understanding of the messing-up we have done and are continuing to do—prepares us to receive the forgiveness and joy of salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. And the cross of ashes on each forehead is a reminder of that blessed forgiveness in each one of our lives. Praise God, we can be restored to a close relationship with God.

Hear the Good News! In Jesus Christ, we all are forgiven! Amen.

[1] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2015/01/years-abc-ash-wednesday-february-18-2015.html

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

Light and Salvation

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“Light and Salvation”

Psa 27-1 fear, afraid, words

Psalm 27:1, 4-8 – January 26, 2020

How many times have you been somewhere when the lights flickered off? When the electricity stopped working at night, and everything went dark? I have vivid memories of times like that. When I was a little girl in Chicago, sometimes the wind and the rainstorm were raging outside, and the lights suddenly went away. I wasn’t too afraid, even though I was small, but some of my friends and classmates at school were. Light is so needed in our homes and our lives. You could even say light is a foundation, a fundamental to our existence.

Our psalm today shines a light on that very thing: light. King David wrote this psalm, and the very first statement he writes down is “The Lord is my light, and my salvation.” A commentator says “The opening verse describes the Lord with language that suggests God’s presence is life-giving and protective. The Lord is called ‘light’ because light drives darkness away. Light is a basic category of order and stability that recalls the first act of creation (see Gen 1:3; and Exodus 10:21).” [1]

This summary statement echoes so many other verses in other parts of the Bible, but I wanted to focus next on the Gospel of John, chapter one. The Word—the Messiah—is called the Light. Referring to God as Light makes this psalm particularly appropriate for the season of Epiphany. This is the time we especially celebrate God’s presence, and the Light of the world coming to earth.

Our Gospel reading from Matthew 4 has much the same idea. Matthew even quotes from the prophet Isaiah: “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; those living in the land of the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” Again, the divine Light breaks into the world and allows us, for all time, to come to be close friends, even sisters and brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When you or I come home at night during a storm and the lights suddenly flicker off, what is the first thing we do? Almost always, we light a flashlight, or a candle. We restore some light to that dark room we are standing in. With light comes safety and salvation.

When I was a young child, I knew I was safe in my house at night with our big dog, even if the lights could not go on. But, what about children who are afraid of the dark, and a big storm shuts off all their lights? Shuts down all the electricity. And, the nightlights can’t go on for those frightened girls and boys. There might be dangerous monsters creeping around the bedroom, or in the attic or basement. What happens then? Wouldn’t the children need the reassurance of a loving parent in the scary darkness of night?

What about King David? What does he say about the dark spaces and dangerous places? He comes right out and tells it to us like it is. Verse 2: “When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.” Sure, David had a lot of enemies, and sure, the bad guys were actively pursuing David, for years.

Reading about parts of the life of David is like being on a roller coaster—so many ups and downs, and terribly exciting, most of the time. David was on the run from King Saul in the wilderness, for years. I bet you anything that as David wrote this psalm, he was thinking about those times, those years that he was pursued by the finest soldiers in Israel, the best in the business of being a soldier.

Even though we are not pursued by a whole bunch of military personnel, I suspect from time to time you and I feel pursued by a bunch of other evil circumstances, or horrible people. Perhaps it is someone at work who makes your life miserable? Or, maybe it is a continuing health situation for yourself or a loved one that just won’t go away? Or, like several of my friends, underemployment, where they just cannot make ends meet, no matter what? When we are in predicaments like these, God can seem really far away. God might never even hear us when we call! At least, that is what we might feel in our hearts—sometimes.

I suspect King David had his moments of fear and trembling, moments when he doubted that God would come through for him. Such moments are only human. Throughout the centuries, countless people have cried out to God in distress and despair. We today have a lot of those moments, too. I don’t think anyone could manage to live life in this world and not have those kinds of doubts.

Thank God that David thought of this, too. David not only called the Lord his “light,” but he named the Lord his “salvation,” too. Again and again in the Hebrew Scriptures, the various writers refer to and remember that part of God’s identity as they remember the Exodus from Egypt. God delivered Israel numerous times with a mighty hand. And, David knows very well that God has delivered him, personally, from King Saul’s soldiers—again and again.

As David celebrates the presence of the Lord with the words of this psalm, he asks to “dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” What a joy, what a privilege to be able to come to the house of the Lord on a regular basis.

We have the assurance—as David tells us—that we will be in God’s presence, hidden in the sacred shelter of God’s tabernacle. What a promise! What a God. How can we help but praise the Lord? Alleluia, amen.

[1] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4358

Jerome Creach |

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2020: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

Everything We Need?

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“Everything We Need?”

Psalm 23 KJV

Psalm 23:1 – May 12, 2019

Advertising lets us know how much stuff we really “need.” Madison Avenue certainly knows how to plant the thoughts of desire and dissatisfaction in our hearts, prompting us to go out and buy, buy, buy! Consume, consume, consume!

Aren’t we supposed to be dissatisfied with what we have? I thought I was supposed to buy lots of things at shoe stores, department stores, sporting goods stores, computer stores, car dealerships, even garden supply stores at this green and growing time of the year.

What does King David tell us, in the very first verse of our psalm reading today? From the Good News Translation, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.”

The first verse of Psalm 23 many people are familiar with? “the Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” The other translation has a bit different words for the second phrase; ‘I have everything I want.” But, doesn’t this fly in the face of advertising and popular culture today?

One pastor expanded on this thought in his comments on this psalm: “We live in a consumerist society that thrives on teaching us to want. Wanting more and more and more: I want a new car. I want a flat screen TV and a Blue Ray player. I want more apps for my iPhone. I want to win Lotto. I want a bigger house. I want it all… “ [1]

Anyone who knows more than one language knows what a challenge it is to exactly translate certain words and phrases from one language to another. Sometimes there are no exact translations. The Good News Translation is one of those versions of the Bible that instead of words, it translates thoughts and phrases from the original Hebrew and Greek into English. Like, right here, where we have the phrase “I have everything I want.”

If I look at life from a sheep’s perspective—which is one perspective of Psalm 23—we do have everything we want. Fields of green grass to eat, quiet pools of fresh water to drink, and a quiet place to rest, all provided for us by this Good Shepherd.

The problem is, we are not sheep. We are human beings, with the complexities and challenges of living in the real world. Life continues to happen. Friends get sick, relatives lose their jobs, loved ones die. Wildfires burn many acres of land, hurricanes devastate towns, floods wash away livelihoods.

We come back to the opening words of this psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.”

Another word for a psalm is a poem. King David begins with a simple metaphor. This first line is concise, simple, and expresses the message of the entire psalm. The Lord supplies—or satisfies—every need. [2] This idea of King David’s definitely goes against everything that Madison Avenue and popular American culture tells us today. But, most of us want to have our emotional and spiritual needs met, too.

Rev. Lockhart lists these needs: “I want a happy life. I want to live in safety and security. I want to be left alone. I want someone to show that they care about me. I want someone to visit me. I want the best for my children and my grandchildren. I want my husband to be more considerate. I want my wife to understand me. I want worship to be more fun. I want to know God loves me. And I want to die peacefully in my bed. I want and I want and I want.” [3]

What’s the use? Life is just not fair. I want so much. I’m never going to get what I want. I may as well quit trying to get what I need.

Except—that attitude of defeat is not what God wants for us.

I can tell us all right now that God never promised us a huge flat-screen television, or a fifteen-room mansion, or the latest iPhone, or winning numbers in next week’s Lotto drawing. However, God did promise us the Good Shepherd’s presence at our sides, all along our journey.

This psalm is so familiar, and well-loved. The pastoral images leap right off the page, they are so vivid. We sheep do have a Good Shepherd. We sheep are led into green pastures full of grass. We even have nice, quiet pools of water to drink from, and can lie down to rest, free from all danger.

Except—we are not supposed to flop down and stay in those green, verdant pastures forever. King David describes a journey. We—that is, all of us—are on a journey. A journey through life that the Lord oversees and guides. Sure, sometimes we do get to rest in those green pastures, but it’s just temporary. Our psalmist is on the go, walking beside the water, along paths, and through valleys. Some of those valleys are really deep and dark, too! [4]

What does verse 4 say? “4 Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for You are with me.” It does not matter what the darkness is—devastating disaster, mental illness, shattering disease, emotional trauma, sexual abuse, grinding poverty, constant warfare. God has promised to be with us all the way, and all the time, too.

Verse 6 says “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” The Hebrew word “follow” can also be translated “pursue.” You know, the same word used when enemies pursue us when we are trying to run away. Except, it’s not enemies pursuing us. Instead, goodness and love will be pursuing us and chasing us down! [5]

We can thank God for such a wonderful image.

The last line of our psalm finishes up our journey. We are to dwell in the house of the Lord all our lives long. Except—the Hebrew word is not exactly “dwell.” Instead, our verb means “to return.” Again, we were—we are—on a journey with God. Our lives are sometimes peaceful, and sometimes difficult. Sometimes quiet, and sometimes traumatic. This psalm enables us to shoulder difficult burdens, and aids us as we sometimes walk sad paths, as well as those times when we rest in beautiful green pastures—or comfortable, joyful places.

No matter where we are on this journey with the Good Shepherd, Jesus has promised to be right by our sides. Yes, we will end up with God when we finish our journey! I do not know exactly what that will be like. I can’t give you a blow-by-blow description. However, as King David tells us, we can continually return to God’s presence all the days of our lives. And, no matter what, if God is there, for sure we will have no more worries or concerns.

What a Good Shepherd. What a wonderful promise. Amen, alleluia.

[1] http://revplockhart.blogspot.com/2012/04/psalm-23.html

Psalm 23, Peter Lockhart, A Different Heresy, 2012.

[2] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2372

Commentary, Psalm 23, Joel LeMon, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher, 2015.

[3] http://revplockhart.blogspot.com/2012/04/psalm-23.html

Psalm 23, Peter Lockhart, A Different Heresy, 2012.

[4] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2372

Commentary, Psalm 23, Joel LeMon, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher, 2015.

[5] Ibid.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2019: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

Clean on the Inside!

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“Clean on the Inside!”

Psa 51-2 wash me, cleanse me

Psalm 51:1-3 – March 6, 2019

I remember the wringer washer my mother had in the basement of our small brick house on the northwest side of Chicago. I remember it well! We did not have an automatic washer, like all of my classmates at school. This was in the 1960’s and 1970’s. No, my mom insisted that the wringer washer did a perfectly good job cleaning our clothes—and even though I protested, she would say that a few broken buttons from the wringer were easily repaired with a trip to the fabric store for more buttons, and some needle and thread.

King David had no idea of a washing machine when he wrote this psalm—not even an old-style wringer washer. But, his filthy insides certainly needed cleaning up. This psalm, Psalm 51, was a lament to God. David felt so dirty on the inside! Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever made a really, really, really big mistake? What can be called a huge sin before God? A transgression so big you did not even want to think about it, but you—we just wanted the earth to open up and swallow us whole, because we felt so rotten? That is how rotten David was feeling.

Admittedly, David’s sin before God was indeed huge.

In short, he had seen an attractive young woman named Bathsheba from the roof of his huge palace in Jerusalem. He was king, after all, so he had his private guard of soldiers bring her to him, and he slept with her. (This was despite having a number of wives and concubines of his own, already.) After a few weeks, Bathsheba sent to King David to let him know that she had become pregnant. Big problem! Bathsheba’s husband was a general in King David’s army. He was away from home. so she would become known as an adulterer, and possibly be stoned.

King David summoned General Uriah home from the battlefront, but Uriah would not go home to sleep with his attractive wife Bathsheba—he was too filled with integrity to do that, since the men under his command did not have access to their wives because they were on the battlefield. So, David ends up unjustly ordering Uriah to go back to the front and die a valiant yet horrible death on the field of battle. Essentially, murdering him, but using the enemy army to do the wicked deed. So—the pregnant Bathsheba was free to marry David.

Except, this chain of events went so much against God’s laws, and David had broken so many of God’s commands. This series of sins was so huge that when David faced up to the immenseness of the horrible deed, he fell on his face before the Lord and confessed his transgressions in the words of Psalm 51. After all, this psalm has the superscription attributing the psalm to David “after he had gone in to Bathsheba.”

Perhaps you and I have not committed such a huge wrongdoing as King David. But whether our sins are huge or not-so-huge, they still have that dirty, grimy patina that discolors our souls. “Psalm 51 was spoken, sung, and later penned by someone who understood the cleaning industry [of that day]. Look at the verbs: wash, cleanse, wipe, purge, blot. They all speak to something that is very dirty or really deep, or both.” [1]

It does not matter whether David was remembering the women of the village where he grew up, washing, scrubbing and wringing out their families’ clothing in tubs outside their homes, or whether we think of the agitator on those automatic wringer washers of yesterday, we all need to be cleansed from the wrongs we commit, on a regular basis.

Today is the first day of Lent, that penitential period of forty days before Easter when the Church all across the world begins to journey with Jesus towards the Cross. Yet, many people use external things like food or drink or certain practices to show their observance of Lent. This is a good thing, and I do not want to cause anyone to rethink their Lenten practices. However, King David here in Psalm 51 had something far more radical in mind. He wanted more than just his exterior cleaned. He wanted his insides cleaned up, too. Cleaned, and renewed!

Ash Wednesday is the day in the liturgical year when we concentrate on renewal—the messing-up we have done, on the inside as well as the outside. Whether large or small, we can all be cleansed and renewed deep down on our insides. The psalmist uses that most intimate of all things, first-person pronouns. “Have mercy upon me,” “blot out my transgressions,” “wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,” “I know my transgressions,” and “my sin is ever before me.”

At the beginning of each regular service each Sunday, we at St. Luke’s Church have a corporate time of confession. This Ash Wednesday service is a special time to gather together, and to become aware of our turning-away from God. This understanding of our sin—of the messing-up we have done and are continuing to do—prepares us to receive the forgiveness and joy of salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. And the cross of ashes on each forehead is a reminder of that blessed forgiveness in each one of our lives.

Praise God, we can be restored to a close relationship with God. Ash Wednesday and its intimate reflection can deepen our trust in God and thankfulness for God’s faithfulness. And best of all, when we are restored to a close relationship with our Lord—vertically, we are freed to enter into a closer relationship with everyone else—horizontally.

What a wonderful thing to look forward to. Praise God, indeed.

[1] Marty, Peter M., Homiletical Perspective on Psalm 51, Ash Wednesday, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Vol. 2 (Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009), 9.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2019: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

David Shows Compassion

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2 Samuel 9:1-13 (9:7) – June 25, 2017

2 Sam 9 word cloud

“David Shows Compassion”

Three and a half years ago, I started a computer blog called #ayearofbeingkind. I blogged every day for a year. (That’s 365 consecutive days.)

Since I have the spiritual gifts of helps and mercy, every evening I would blog about my experiences being kind, or helpful, or of service. I learned so much from that year. It was, simply put, an eye-opening experience. This blog and the marvelous challenges and opportunities God sent my way in 2014 are two of the reasons I wanted to share this summer sermon series with you: our summer series on Compassion.

The bible reading for today comes from 2 Samuel 9. We don’t usually focus on the Hebrew Scriptures in our sermon. This is now the third week we have talked about people from the nation of Israel being kind and compassionate towards each other.

We’ve just heard this unexpected and beautiful story read to us. One problem: this chapter of 2 Samuel starts in the middle of the story. For the previous parts in our story, we need to turn back to 1 Samuel 20 and 2 Samuel 4. Before David ever became king of Israel, he was a great friend of Jonathan, the father of Mephibosheth.

Jonathan was the eldest son of King Saul. As young men, he and David had a very special relationship. Yes, Jonathan knew his father King Saul was a bitter enemy of his best friend David. Plus, Jonathan was aware that his father the mean King had his army chasing David all over the kingdom. As the eldest son and heir of King Saul, Jonathan stood to inherit everything, as a future king of Israel.

He could have ratted out his friend David, but their great friendship was more important. David and Jonathan promised each other they would show each other kindness and compassion, even if something awful happened. They not only made this promise to each other, they decided to up the promise to the next level. David and Jonathan made a covenant before the Lord.

Let’s come back to our reading for today. It’s now been a while since King Saul and his son Jonathan have died in battle. King David remembers again his covenant promise to Jonathan, and wishes to keep it. From 2 Samuel 9: “David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

David was taking his covenant responsibility very seriously. Even though Jonathan was dead, David still wanted to find out whether anyone was left alive of any of Jonathan’s children. Sometimes—like King David—we show kindness and grace to someone out of the love and caring we have for someone else.

Reading again from 2 Samuel 9, “2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. 3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

It is seldom we hear anything of someone who is disabled in the Bible. Yet, here is Jonathan’s son, disabled—or lame—in both feet. For that part of the story, we need to turn to 2 Samuel 4. The author tells about a number of things with other, more important people, including the outcome of the battle where Saul and Jonathan died. Yet, one particular sentence stands out. 2 Samuel 4:4. “4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)”

Today, when an accident happens and someone breaks some bones in their feet, what do they do next? They go to an orthopedic surgeon and have reconstructive surgery done on their feet. Sure, it’s painful and sometimes a difficult surgery, but then they go through rehabilitation and eventually learn to walk again. And often, their feet are almost as good as before.

But, what about Jonathan’s small son Mephibosheth? His nurse just found out about the death of King Saul and Jonathan on the battlefield. Filled with fear for the boy, she was running with him in her arms, and she tripped and fell. The boy fell to the ground, too. Somehow, his feet got crushed, and he became lame in both feet. This was a long time ago, and they did not have the ability to go to orthopedic surgeons. The small boy grew to be a man, and his feet remained crippled. He remained disabled.

I don’t think David ever knew about Jonathan’s disabled son Mephibosheth before. When he found out, he was greatly concerned and called the grown man before him.

Let’s look at this from Mephibosheth’s point of view. For years, he had been living his life quietly, under the radar. (At that time, according to the code of the day in every country, all close relatives of a former king were often killed.) Suddenly, he gets called into the presence of King David! I suspect Mephibosheth had no idea why he was being summoned into the king’s presence. He must have been really frightened.

Reading from 2 Samuel 9: 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied. 7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

Imagine what was going through Mephibosheth’s mind. Wow! Double wow! Imagine someone powerful showing you undeserved kindness—compassion—grace. This is all for the sake of someone else. David did not know Mephibosheth at all, and the young man did not deserve it. Yet, David was doing this really kind thing on behalf of—in memory of Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan.

What parallels are here, using this narrative? Similar to Mephibosheth, we were separated from our heavenly King because we didn’t know God or God’s love for us. Our heavenly King sought us out before we sought Him. The King’s kindness is extended to us for the sake of another. The heavenly King’s kindness is based on covenant. [1]

This reminds me of our God’s love for people. All people. God extends an invitation to all of us. When God looks at you and at me, what does God see? Does God see all the bad things we have done? Does God count up all the unwholesome thoughts that have gone through our minds? Does God remember hearing all those mean words that came out of our mouths? I don’t think the Lord holds those bad things over our heads. Instead, God is loving and remembers the covenant with God’s much beloved people.

To say it simply? God extends kindness and compassion toward us, too. God loves us. All of us.  

Sometimes we show compassion and grace to someone out of the love we have for someone else—like how David decided to honor Mephibosheth because he loved Jonathan so much. Think about someone in your life you really love—maybe it’s a parent, a friend, or someone else. Who could you give generously to in honor of that person you love? Who is someone in your life in need of your grace and kindness? Is there someone who does not get much attention–like Mephibosheth? Is there someone in your life who might not feel like they deserve compassion and kindness?

This is our opportunity to show God’s compassion and kindness—and love!—to others, every day. Go and do likewise. Amen.

 

(A heartfelt thank you to An Illustrated Compassion: Learning to Love Like God. Many of these sermon ideas and thoughts came directly from this series.  I appreciate this intergenerational curriculum, which is the basis for my summer sermon series on compassion. This curriculum comes from Illustrated Children’s Ministry. Thanks so much for such great ideas!)

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_2Sa/2Sa_9.cfm

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2017: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!)

Thread of Covenant Love

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“Thread of Covenant Love”

covenant love heart

February 28, 2016 – Isaiah 55:3-7

King David. Remember him? There’s lots to remember! Youngest of his family, anointed king by the prophet Samuel, killed the Philistine giant Goliath, ran away from King Saul, hid out in the wilderness for years, developed into a guerilla leader of men, finally became king after years of running in the desert. That King David. The David who became one of the greatest leaders of the nation of Israel ever in biblical history. That King David.

Throughout history, there have been many great kings, many decisive leaders of their nations. However, few have had the explicit blessing of God. What’s more, King David is called “a man after God’s own heart.” Pretty high praise for some petty king of a medium-sized tribe, somewhere in the Middle East. God even makes a covenant with David, showing him covenant love and promise.

God loved humanity. From the very beginning, when God created heaven and earth, we can see how much God cared about the creation, everything that was made. Especially humans. As the book of Genesis narrows its focus, God chooses one person in particular to bless. Abraham. God even makes a covenant with Abraham! Showing him covenant love.

We can follow God’s covenant promise. God’s covenant love through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Keep following the thread of covenant love through Joseph and the descendants of Abraham to Moses. God makes another covenant at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments! And, we still follow that thread of covenant love, all the way through the next generations.

Follow that love to David. Remember King David? The youngest of his family. The most unlikely to succeed, if you asked his older brothers. But God saw something there. Something inside of David. God was aware of what—of who David was, on the inside.

Let’s read the verse we’re highlighting today again, to refresh our memories. The prophet says, “3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”

What is a covenant? That is one of those bible words tossed around by ministers who do not always take the time to make certain their congregations know what they are talking about.ent

Here I’ve been talking about “covenant” for the past couple of minutes. For those who know what a covenant is, wonderful! So glad you do! For the rest of us who are not sure, I’ll tell us. To reassure all of us, and remind us again of what the topic for the morning is.

Webster’s Dictionary says a covenant is “an agreement between persons.” This is amplified by the theological definition: “the promises of God as revealed in the Scriptures.” I hope that was helpful for all of us. Helpful for our understanding of “covenant love.”

God loved David very much. God even said to David (through the prophet Nathan, recorded in 2 Samuel 7), “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” Here is one of the statements that we can trace through the Old Testament. This promise of covenant love is passed down through the prophets, in the book of Psalms, even in several places in the New Testament. And—we can draw a picture of God’s love towards us from the image of God’s love to David.

Take God’s love: a voluntary impulse, for sure! God did not have to love David at all. But—God did! God was kind, merciful, and loving toward David.

Question: is God’s love toward us today a voluntary impulse? I think, yes. God did not have to love any of us, at all. But—God did! In the same way, God is kind, merciful and loving toward us, as well!

            As we follow the thread of covenant love through King David’s life, we see that David does some bad stuff. God said that covenant love would not be taken away from David, true. Despite the sins David had committed, God’s good pleasure continued to rest on David. Moreover, God’s everlasting covenant continued to rest on David, undeserving as he was. Simply because God said so.

How does that compare to us, to the situation we are in? Do we deserve God’s covenant love? Do we earn God’s good pleasure? Sure, we sin, too. (Just like King David.) Yet, God embraces us, just as God embraced David.

Just as David sinned, so did David’s descendants. For instance, the later kings of Israel started to worship other gods—in addition to the God who gave them the land of Israel to dwell in. The later kings and many of the people of Israel started to cheat and defraud their neighbors—which goes against the Law of Moses. The later kings stopped following the Lord who made heaven and earth, and started to promote sacrifices to other gods. The Lord tries to get the people of Israel to return to the worship of the Lord God alone, but the people end up scattered far and wide over the next centuries. Until—until the birth of Jesus, fulfilling prophecy. Jesus fulfilled the promise of covenant love.

Again, from Psalm 89:35-36. “Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—and I will not lie to David—36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun;”

This reminds me of the promise received in the New Testament. As we trace this thread of God’s covenant love through the centuries and through the pages of the Bible, listen again to Isaiah 55:3—“Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”
I want to show everyone these several passages of Scripture to let all of us know that God extends covenant love to Jesus, God’s incarnate Son.

We see that same self-sacrificing love in Jesus’ willingness to go to the cross that our sins might be forgiven.

Just as David did not deserve the abundant, abiding, covenant love of God, so neither do we deserve that love. That kindness, grace and mercy. God is so loving and patient.

We know that before David ruled as king, he ran away from King Saul, hiding in the wilderness for years. I am sure he refined his loving relationship with God then. However, what about us, today? How can we develop our relationship with the Lord? Often times it seems that we turn to the Lord when there is nowhere else to go. God could turn God’s back upon us. That is true. But, no! God extends God’s covenant love towards us, too!

It is not for us, to stand idly by on the sidelines. No!

Are we sharing God’s covenant love with those who need to hear? Many are hiding in loneliness and desperation thinking that no one loves them. We can introduce them to our Lord Jesus. We can tell them of the love of God that we have received through Christ. With our Lord Jesus we can find acceptance and security, and most importantly, love. The thread of covenant love, traced down to today.

God is offering that love to us, today. Can you feel it?

May it be so! Amen.

@chaplaineliza

Suggestion: visit me at my sometimes-blog: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers– where I am doing a Lenten journey.  #PursuePEACE – And my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind -Thanks!

Whiter Than Snow

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“Whiter Than Snow”

Psa 51-7 whiter than snow

Psalm 51:1-3, 7 – February 10, 2016

Have you ever made a mistake? I mean, not just like an ordinary mistake, like in addition or subtraction. I know we all made those while we were in grade school. That’s what erasers on pencils are for! I mean, a whopper! A mistake that is so bad, so huge, you wanted the earth to open up and swallow you? The kind that when you remember and look back on it, you want it to be permanently erased off the face of the planet? A mistake that big. That horrible.

Maybe you and I have never made that huge of a mistake. Maybe we have. But, I suspect all of us can relate to that kind of negative feeling. That horrible, gut-wrenching, sinking feeling. That “I wish I had never, ever been born!” feeling.

The psalm we consider tonight is all about this kind of negative, sinking, yucky feeling. This psalm is written by King David after his affair with an attractive married woman, Bathsheba, and his subsequent murder of Bathsheba’s husband (David’s general), Uriah.

Adultery! Attempted cover-up! Plotting and murder! And, another cover-up! Sounds like it’s right out of a soap opera script. Except, it really happened. And, it happened to a man after God’s own heart. A man with a close, personal, even intimate relationship with God. This all happened to King David, some years into his reign over Israel.

So, David has sinned. I mean, really sinned! I can see people shaking their heads, even now. David had a close relationship with God. God called him “a man after God’s own heart.” And some people might say, “David should’ve known better!”

Looking at us, today, we sin, too. We are often in a similar situation. We say we have a close relationship with God. We know the commandments, God’s rules, we have Jesus Christ and His example for us. Some people might say of us, “they should’ve known better!”

And what is David’s response? Verse 3, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” He does not pull punches. David comes right out and says it. He sinned. He knows it. He knows very well that God knows it, too.

We know we make mistakes, too. We know we mess up. We say mean things. We don’t tell the truth. We cut off people in traffic. We slam doors in anger. Who hasn’t bitten their tongue the second after saying something unfeeling? Or nasty? Or stupid? And, there are larger mistakes, too. Mistakes like, breaking the law. Theft. Embezzlement. Various felonies. Or like King David, with adultery, cover-ups and murder.

The psalm writer freely acknowledges his sins. Not even using euphemistic phrases like “wrong was done,” or “mistakes were made.” David is amazingly clear in stating “my transgressions,” “all my iniquity” and “my sin.”

Listen again to the verbs David uses – “wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,” “cleanse me from my sin,” purge me with hyssop.” To “wash” in verses 2 and 7 could better be translated “scrub,” as one scrubs dirty clothes. (I wonder whether David was remembering his mother, scrubbing the family’s dirty clothes when he wrote that verse?) “Cleanse” in verse 2 and “be clean” in verse 7 is the same word used for washing clothes in a river (Leviticus 13:6, 34, 58). (Perhaps when David was a shepherd for his family’s sheep, he would go by the river and watch the women from his village washing—cleaning or cleansing—their families’ clothes.)

One commentary I read mentions “sin as a kind of figurative stain on her life and conscience that she needs God to scrub away. After all, [we] beg God to ‘blot out,’ ‘wash away’ and ‘cleanse me.’ It’s the image of ancient people washing dishes or clothing and modern people using various detergents and stain removers on stubborn stains.”[1]

In other words, my sins are washed away, and though I may still be in the (figurative) spin cycle, yet shall I dry. I can freely confess my sins, too. Here, tonight, we all can acknowledge the wrongs we do.

At the beginning of each regular service, we gather together and have a corporate time of confession. This Ash Wednesday service is a special time to gather together, confess our sins to each other, and to understand we are sinners. This understanding of our sin—of the mistakes we have made and are continuing to make—prepares us to receive the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ. And the cross of ashes on each forehead is a reminder of that forgiveness in each one of our lives.

Yes, there IS good news! We can ask God to take away our iniquity. God’s abundant mercy will forgive. We can be sure of God’s unfailing love towards all of us.

Believe the Good News of the Gospel. In Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, our sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.

[1] http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/lent-5b-2/?type=the_lectionary_psalms

@chaplaineliza

Suggestion: visit me at my sometimes-blog: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers– where I am doing a Lenten journey. Pursuing PEACE. And my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind -Thanks!