my life in sermons

The Healing Ministry of Christ

2012-01-01T16:52:00.001-05:00

I’ve been taking a course on Pastoral Care at Florida Hospital. Clinical rotations are part of our classrequirement. It’s kind of a scam whenyou think about it. I'm actually payingthe hospital to work for them! In truth,I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn, and I’m enjoying my class/duties immensely.

I’m a far better man offering some sufferingsomeone a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name --- than I am beating my headagainst the wall wondering how to make the church grow. I’m a far better, more centered man, speakingwords of comfort to the anxious than I am anxiously worrying how I offended yetanother brother or sister in Christ. Infact, I am a far better, more spiritual man, silently holding the hand of thesick or dying, than I’ve ever been pontificating behind a pulpit.

Preaching has been my chief passion, purpose, andprivilege in life, but words, words, words ring hollow unless backed-up bydeeds. I’ve made a few friends at the hospital from the Seventh Day Adventistfaith community. Doctrinally, I couldnever be a Seventh Day Adventist, but I do appreciate the hospital’sunderstanding of health care. Their goalis to apply the healing ministry of Christ to the whole person --- body andsoul.

That’s pretty much how Jesusoperated. He didn’t just curepeople. He healed them --- and there isa huge difference.

Icame across an illustration this week in James Londis' excellent book, "Faith-based Caregiving in a Secular World" (Londis' thoughts deeply influenced this sermon)." A young boy on an Indianreservation fell off his bike and broke his ankle. The physician at the local clinic set thebone, put the ankle in a cast, and sent the boy home. A few days later thetribe’s medicine man, Buffalo Jim, encountered the doctor and asked about theboy. “Oh, he’ll be alright. I set the bone.” “I see”, the medicine man replied, “But that’snot enough to heal the boy.”

“Whatare you talking about?” the doctor asked. “Do you know why the boy broke his ankle?” Buffalo Jim countered. “Because he fell off his bike?” “No. That’s how the boy broke his bone not why he broke his bone”. Getto the point you dottering old quack the doctor thought. “The boy broke his ankle because he had afight with his mother and rode off in a fury. The ankle will not be healed --- the boy will not be healed --- until heis reconciled with his mother.”

BuffaloJim’s holistic approach to medicine probably sounds dangerouslymumbo-jumbo-like to a science adoring culture like ours. But when you lookat Scripture the healings that our Savior performedwere holistic in nature, as in concerned with the physical, mental, emotional,spiritual, and social condition of the individual.

Praise God for the miracle of modernscience. Most of us wouldn’t be heretoday apart from the advent of precision surgery, diagnostic imaging, andwonder working pharmaceuticals --- not to mention the expertise of well-trainedand caring medical professionals. Knowledgeis a good thing. We know far moreabout the biology and the psyche of human beings than our ancestors ever did.

Modern medicine is one of the chief meansby which God accomplishes our healing – even that miracle. Yousee, there were serious misconceptions and limitations to humanunderstanding that misinformed the ancient world. And while Jesus worked with and around theconfines of these misunderstandings, his kingdom work always clarifiedrather than obscured the healing ministry of the living God. Our Savior was no shaman. But unlike modern medicine, Jesus just didn’tsimply address the symptom, he reached right into the heart of the matter.

Bythe way, do you believe in miracles? I mean, if Jesus was whom he claimedto be --- then why couldn’t or shouldn’t he alter molecular structure with awave of his hand? The New Testamentcontains numerous examples of the healing (oft time miraculous) ministryof Jesus.

Tosome these healing stories are an embarrassment that detracts from Jesus’ truemessage. Some folks maintain we need to strip the gospels of the supernaturalsilliness in order to get at the real Jesus--- the Jesusthat hasn’t been turned into a comic book hero by the early church.

Besides, people were basically stupid andunscientific way back then. We now haverational explanations for those phenomena once assigned to thesupernatural. Plus, we understand thehuman mind better --- the power of suggestion, the role of positive thinking inthe healing process, as well as the psychology of mob mania.

And yet,first century man was not that gullible and the earliest followers of Christwere far from ignorant. The NewTestament record never apologizes for the miraculous deeds that accompaniedJesus’ ministry. They were part and parcel of what our LORD came to do. I thinkit’s important to believe Jesus possessed the power to heal people.But I think it’s equally important to understand why Jesus healedfolks.

By the way, for every blind man who received his sight, two moresightless souls were left begging on the side of the road. Jesus wasn’t in the let’s pitch a tent andhave a healing business. He didn’tperform miracles willy-nilly. Nor did heheal every hurting soul he came in contact with. Jesus often let sufferingfinish its course. He allowed pain to serve its own purpose, but when Jesus didheal --- it was complete, instantaneous, and undeniable. Even his enemies (the Pharisees, etc.)acknowledged the reality of Jesus miracles.

So, whydid Jesus heal? 1) The healing ministryof Jesus was one way in which our Savior affirmed his identity – I am theMessiah. Accordingly 2), the healingministry of Jesus was a means by which he fulfilled prophecy. The deafwill hear. The lame will walk. That’swhat Isaiah said. But primarily, I thinkJesus healed people to offer us a preview into the nature of God’s Kingdom--- a kingdom characterized by complete restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness,and wholeness of body and soul.

Thepoint of Jesus’ healing ministry is "Hey look, this is what it looks like whenrighteousness is let loose upon the world. This is what happens when the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of goodness,the kingdom of truth collides with the rot of human rebellion --- broken bonesmend, harrowed minds heal, disease stands at ease and hope revitalizes thedead!”

Jesus came to make right the wrong. Jesus came to show us what life free from themuck of sin smells like. Every miraculous deed Jesus performed underscoredthat truth.

However, Jesus was careful to correct thefallacies that infected the ancient mind --- and continue to infectwell-meaning and not so well-meaning Christians today. For example, the ancients believed thatdisease was a direct result of an individual’s behavior. You yelled at your Mom; therefore, God knockedyou off your bike. No. Such a view is unbiblical (at least according to Jesus) andunworthy of God. Yes. All sickness ultimately stems from our fallenstate, but listen to the gospel of John 9: 1- 3:

“AsJesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned,this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,”said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed inhim.

Severalyears ago I overheard two Christians talking. By the way, this is an absolutely true story. Thelady said, “You know, I think you’re health struggles are God’s discipline uponyou for the way you’re treating your wife." The man replied, “And what pray tell is the cause of your arthritis?” To which Jesus might have responded --- "Grow up,both of you, and quite maligning my Father's goodness to cloak your own malicious opinions."

Anothermisconception common among Christians is that if we only had more faith thenthe cure, the healing, that miracle would be forthcoming. Sometimes Jesus performed a miracle in response to a specific show offaith. But most times he didn’t.

Finally, because sickness was directlyattributed to God’s disfavor, diseased and disfigured and dying individualswere normally shunned and cut-off from the community. You really didn’t visit the sick,particularly someone as obviously vile as say, a leper, because it meantexposing yourself to defilement, to a ritual uncleanness that mightcause you to be cast from the fellowship as well.

Jesusstood this type of erroneous thinking on its head by talking to and touchingand transforming the lives of the sick and the dying and by always, alwaysrestoring them to the community. Go back. Go home. True healing alwaysbrings us closer to home (as in the heart of God).

Rememberthe woman suffering with a continuous issue of blood (Matthew 5)? After Jesus healed her he refuses to let herremain anonymous. Why? So she can be received andwelcomed back into her community. Jesus doesn’t conform to the respectedand expected standards of the day.

Jesus commands his followers to care for thesick, to feed the hungry, and to visit the prisoner. When Jesus offers healing --- not just a cure--- it’s for every type of sufferer and for every dimension of that man orwoman’s life.

Themiracle’s Jesus performed (and only about 40 are mentioned in the Scripture) are purpose-driven and instructive. Butneither was our LORD ever emotionally distant or pragmatic. He cared. He empathizedcompletely.

Jesus brought a little girl backfrom death because he wanted to spare her parent’s the grief of living withouther. He healed a blind man because heloved him. In fact, many of Jesus’ most spectacular marvels were done privately, for his disciples' watching eyes alone.

In essence the miracles of Jesus are aforetaste of that day when the work of the devil, when the consequence of evilis NO more. Take a look at Mark5: 1 – 20 sometime.

Noone is willing or able to deal with the manic behavior of the man we meet inMark 5. He is a bonafidesinner. Out of control. Actually, he is under the control --- ofdemons.

Many attribute the biblical writer’s belief in demons totheir lack of knowledge about mental illness. Throughout history certainbizarre behaviors have been attributed to demons that might be best linked tophysical or emotional problems. And yet the gospels also present a real evilin the person of Satan, a created being, an angel who revolted against God MostHigh and led other angels into a similar rebellion.

Well, once Jesus declared that the Kingdom ofGod was at hand all hell literally broke loose, and a full scale battle to thebitter end between the Holy One of God and the unholy ones of Satan began, andthe demoniac in chapter 5 represents one of the more pitiful examples in Scripture of a man’s bondage to evil.

Helives in a tomb (verse 2), a placeof defilement for a Jew. He lives alone --- in darkness, the darkness of ahillside graveyard. He is athome among death. Luke tells us the manis also naked --- way beyond any sense of shame. His body is torn and bloodiedfrom where he has cut himself with the jagged edge of a stone. He hates himselfto the point of mutilation.

But that’s the goal of those malignant forcescontrolling him. They delight in thedenigration, the destruction of all the good things created in God’s image.Both night and day the blood-curdling screams of this rabid beast of a human echoabout the shores of Eastern Galilee.

Marktells us they tried to chain him up. No use. The man can tear through iron-shackles like paper. No one is strongenough to subdue this tortured sufferer.

Assoon as Jesus touches his feet upon the shore, the demon-possessed man boundsout of the tomb itching for a confrontation. Like a pit bull disturbed from hissleep, he’s ready to chew up this unwitting delivery man. But the pit bull forgetsthat he’s chained to the front porch, and as the demonic approaches Jesus he ispulled up short. He is knocked to theground. He falls before Jesus and iscompelled to pay homage, as an inferior to a superior.

Thepossessed man cries, “I adjure you before God that you shall not tormentme." This is not so much a plea for mercyas a last ditch attempt at bravado. I dare you to eventhink about tormenting me. But before the sovereign authority ofJesus the demonic crumbles. He starts to beg --- "Please, please, please, don’tsend me back into the abyss!" For alreadyJesus was commanding the spirit of uncleanness to come out of the man.

Andthen in verse 9 Jesus does a curiousthing. Maybe he’s speaking to the mantrapped within the monster? Or maybe hewants his disciples to know what they have encountered? Anyway, Jesus asks theman his name. The man doesn’t answerwith George. He says my name is Legionbecause we are many. A Roman legion included four to six thousand troops. We are an army.

Satan’s legions of demons might turn weak,sinful, compromised men into squash-brained, spittle-slinging naked animals,but they are no match for Jesus the Christ. Jesus wants his disciples, then andnow, to know that. Anyway, legion begsJesus not to send him out of the area. Iguess demons don’t like to leave their comfort zone any more than the rest ofus.

You read in verse 11) that a large herdof pigs is feeding on a nearby hillside. This pretty much tells us that thisregion of Galilee is inhabited by Gentiles. Jews don’t tend pigs. In fact,devout Jews (and Seventh Day Adventist) stay as far away from pork as possible. Anyway, the evil spirits come out of the manand go into the pigs and the entire herd, about two thousand in number,turns tail and rushes headlong down a steep bank. They plummet into the lakeand drown.

Marktells us the farmers run into town to tell everyone. A large group ventures outto see for themselves. And when theycome to where Jesus is they see the crazy man, the sick man, the naked man, thebloodied man, the beast, the one who had been possessed by a legion of demonssitting there, clothed and obviously in his right mind. A miracle. A healing. They are in thepresence of something that cannot comprehend. They are in the presence ofsomeone they cannot comprehend, and they grow frightened. Go away.

Theyseem rather callous towards their healed neighbor and Jesus. Who are you anyway? Why did you disturb ourstatus quo? Who gave you the right tointerfere? Leave our pigs and demoniacs alone. They might not be much --- butthey are ours.

Thisopposition might arise out of economic concerns – the community has lost a lotof bacon. Then again sometimes people would rather live with a known evilthan endure an unknown good. Whatevertheir motivation, the people like the demons before them beg Jesus to leave.Our LORD honors their request. He’s notgoing to stay where he’s not wanted.

Butthere’s one person present who doesn’t want Jesus to leave. Don’t go. There’s one person present who’s pleading forJesus to take him with him. Jesus’ newest disciple, a man clothed and in hisright man, wants to be with Jesus. Don’tleave me behind. Can you blame him?

Jesustouched this man and brought peace to his troubled mind.And there was so much more to be learned. The man from the Gerasene tomb wanted to follow Jesus, like Peter andJames and John. But while Jesus grantedthe demons request, and while he honored the townsfolk’s plea, he will notgrant his grateful patient’s desire. It was Jesus’ desire that this man stay put.It is Jesus' plan to restore this man to his community --- as part of histotal healing and his testimony.

Go home. Go to your people, and tell them how much the LORD has done foryou. This early missionary obeys andbegins to do just that.

Afew weeks ago I visited a woman at the hospital. I heard her moaning in thedark of her room. She had justregurgitated into the basin by her bed. The stench was beyond my ability to endure, and I also couldn’t helpthinking about the dread disease --- HNIV5 or something she might have --- thatI would no doubt catch. And yes I hatesickness and I hate stink and I hate uncleanness and to be perfectly honest Isort of hate hospitals for all the aforementioned reasons, and I was more thanready to fire myself and get out of dodge, but I stayed and attempted to makeconversation.

The woman was rough around the edges --- there was nothing remotely attractive about herappearance or demeanor. I kept thinkingshe was going to tell me to get the heck out of there. I kept thinking, "Why don’t I get the heck outof here?" And yet she seemed to want totalk.

She volunteered that she was voluntarily going through an alcohol detox,and for a second the worse within me thought, "Well there you have it --- you’vemade your own bed, so lie in it "(it’stroubling how so many Christians so often think this way!), but I rebukedthat demon thought within my own heart I stayed and made myself listen (thoughI did move to the other side of the bed), as she talked about the various menwho had used and abused her, of how her children had been taken away by thestate of Florida, of how she was going through this hell in hopes of getting them back, of how she livedwith her alcoholic father who enabled her worse instincts --- and suddenly everythingwithin me yearned to tell this woman that God loved her. In fact, I did.

I also told her that I was proud of her ---and that she was brave --- for doing what she was doing. At that point, the woman broke down and beganto cry. I wanted to give her a hug andwipe the throw-up from her lips. That’swhat Jesus would have done. Instead, Iprayed for her and left with a few encouraging words.

Butas I walked away, I realized that even if the detox temporarily cured the woman--- she would not be healed unless someone, some family member, some Christianwoman from some church in our town so full of churches was willing to hold heraccountable, to literally hold her hand on the way to an AA meeting, to share witha fellow sinner --- in word and deed --- the healing ministry of Christ.

Andso why did I share that story? And whydid I preach on Christ’s healing ministry the first Sunday in2010 --- because it’s on my heart --- because at this stage of my life Ipersonally want to be a better pastor than preacher --- because even thoughwe’re not a hospital --- we ARE a hospital. The church is a hospital --- forspiritually sick patients.

Jesus told the Pharisees (so falsely confident concerning their spiritual wholeness),
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but rather those who aresick. I have not come to call therighteous but sinners to repentance.”

Andeven though most of you aren’t health care professionals, I pray that as his body we will be more committed than ever to the healing ministryof Christ in 2012. That we’ll quitputting the spiritual band-aide of easily- shared truth on people’s wounds andoffer them the spiritual and physical healing that only comes through arelationship with Christ --- a relationship that needs to be witnessed among acommitted fellowship of believers and not just preached.

Forgivenessbrings healing. Reconciliation bringshealing. Love brings healing. Words united to deeds bring healing. Jesus --- at work through the hands and feetof his body --- brings healing. Meaning,purpose, and hope bring healing. Andultimately this kind of meaning, purpose, and hope can only be found through anunderstanding of the gospel ---- God the Son living, dying, and rising againfor us ---as well as your place in his church.

Doctorsand nurses and friends and family members and fellow believers can sometimescure us --- and sometimes even offer healing, but ultimately we all grow sick anddie. Ultimate healing is only found inChrist.

Andthat’s a message we can each share with our friends and family members. Tell them that Jesus came to destroy theworks of the devil by dying on the cross in payment for our sin. Tell themthat Jesus has the power to set us free from the curse and consequence of evil. Tell them that his love covers our shame, and that his truth settles our minds.Tell them that Jesus performs miracles, that he still performs miracles, andthat your transformed life offers proof of that fact. Tell them that in the Christian story allcreation will one day be healed.

"AndI heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God’s dwelling place is nowamong the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and Godhimself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death ormourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away'"(Revelation 21: 3 -4) .”

In fact, didyou know that the Greek word for healing is also the word translated “salvation? So, go, tell you family and friends thatbecause of Jesus we will be healed because we have been saved! Amen and Amen.

Happy New Year!!!

2011-12-31T15:54:00.001-05:00

Year End Inspiration

2011-12-18T20:20:00.001-05:00

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. Itis the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow whichruns across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”

---Another Some Wise Someone

Year End Inspiration #2

2011-12-18T20:16:00.001-05:00

“Filled with rapture, his soul yearned for freedom, space,vastness. Over him the heavenly dome, full of quiet, shining stars, hungboundlessly. From the zenith to the horizon the still-dim Milky Way stretchedits double strand. Night, fresh and quiet, almost unstirring, enveloped theearth. The white towers and golden domes of the church gleamed in the sapphiresky. The luxuriant autumn asleep till morning. The silence of the earth seemedto merge with the silence of the heavens and the mystery of the earth touchedthe mystery of the stars.”

--- Dostoevsky

Zen Sins

2011-12-18T19:57:00.001-05:00

mellow yellow sunrise

let me stretch beyond

the dogma of another dutifulday

defined by fear

and fly into thefreedom

of my uncertain

sunset.

---This sun

This blade of grass

This kiss

This present pain

Bliss

Now This

Beginning of

This Eternity ---

Once I wanted to burnup in a syllable of a torch song

sung by an old Ukrainianbusker

To float forever inone note of a violin concerto

played by a child prodigy

To live inthe sad brown eyes of the

one someone I cannever have

or hold

Even once.

But then I grew up--- and died.

By Anonymous

Mary, Did You Know? (by Mark Lowry)

2011-12-18T13:46:00.002-05:00

Protestants don't really know what to do with Mary. We're scared of her quiet piety. In fact, we often regulate her role in the biblical story to that of divine incubator. This Protestant, however, finds Mary's faith, her courage, her confusion, her struggle, and her suffering utterly fascinating --- and inspiring.

" But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2: 19

"Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you."
Mary, did you know?

"Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Mary, did you know?"

"The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb."

"Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am."

"Mary, Did You Know?"

The Magnificat

2011-12-18T12:27:00.000-05:00

Whenyou strip away the sugar-coating that surrounds the birth of Jesus, you realizethat Mary’s circumstance had the makings of a crisis pregnancy. The man to whom she was engaged was not thefather of her baby. She was a virgin,but who would believe that? People wouldtalk. Who in the whole of Israel wasgoing to believe her story about the angel Gabriel, divine intervention, and thethrone of David? Please. Mary had reason to fear that her family, herfriends, and her fiancée might lock her up and throw away the key. Mary hadreason to fear for her life.

I hold a secret in my heart, a secret so fearsome that noone would ever imagine. I don’t evenunderstand it myself – or so Mary might have thought.

We’re told Mary pondered much. Yet shequestioned little. Mary simply bowed herwill to the purpose of God. Mary embraced her crisis pregnancy with courage andfaith. However, she was just a girl. Can you imagine how much she appreciated theencouragement she received when she visited her cousin Elizabeth?

Elizabeth greeted her young relative with these words: “Blessedare you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Why am I so highlyfavored that the mother of my LORD should come to me?” At last someone understands, someone with whom Mary can unburden her heart, someone tolaugh and cry with at the absurdity of it all! And once Mary learns that God has revealed her secret to somebody else,all the hope and the all the joy and all the wonder at what God is doing comeslilting out of her heart.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Luke 1: 46 – 56 is often called "The Magnificat" --- because that’s the first word in the Latin translation of this passage. Tell out my soul the greatness of theLORD. It’s doubtful Mary could read orwrite, but her mind is saturated with Scripture. Her song is a collection of Old Testamentquotes. Perhaps it’s a spontaneousexpression of purest praise? Or maybe something Mary composed for a fittingoccasion? But these words come from a heart made firm and fine by mediation upon the promises of God.

My soul magnifies the LORD. Mary is saying God is so realand so big in my heart right now it’s about to burst wide open. How can I notrejoice in God my Savior?

Mary rejoices because God has looked upon her withfavor. Mary wasn’t rich or wise ordistinguished in the eyes of this world. She wasn’t on anybodies’ list of the 10 most admired women in Palestine. I read recently that the youth of America value celebrity status above all else. I guess we all want to be Kim Kardashian orTom Brady when we grow up. Some of us just want to grow up.

However, to trulygrow up is to realize that in the eyes of God it’s more important to berather than to seem. The most famous woman in the world --- at least thistime of year --- lived her entire life in poverty and obscurity. And yet Mary changed the world.

Who am I? I am small and I am nothing, butGod has blessed me. He has blessed mebeyond all women by allowing me the honor of carrying His Messiah. He has shownmercy to me and through me --- because of my child mercy shall be extended tothe whole world. God has been mindful ofmy humble estate. Neither will Godforget the humble estate of his suffering people. It’s interesting but somewhere along the wayMary’s personal hymn of praise becomes a prophetic, almost radical, call toarms!

Gentle Mary understands that the child she carrieswithin will change the world. She understands that something revolutionary isabout to happen. When the one to whom the Kingdom belongs arrives, hewill turn everything upside down. Hewill stand us all on our heads. The first will be last and the last will be first.

Vapid starlets, loud mouth talk showhosts, overpaid sports heroes, and greedy business tycoons will be exposed forwhat they really are. Truth will reign.Justice will prevail. The Lord willgrind to dust those who are puffed-up in the imagination of theirhearts. The LORD will rip wicked rulers from offtheir thrones. The rich will become poor and the poor will become rich. Thehungry will be fed. Those who yearnafter righteousness will be satisfied.

Christianity Todayonce said that we relegate gentle Mary to a role of quiet reflection. When we do so we fail to recognize theincendiary nature of Mary’s song of faith. Occupy Bethlehem!

ScottMcNight writes, “They say nice girls and boys don’t change the world, but ifnice merely means meek and mild and mind-your-own-business, then Mary scaredthe saintly piety out of nice girls." Why? Because Mary knew the identity of thechild she carried within (God the Son), and because Mary understood that he hadcome to establish a Kingdom second to none, a Kingdom where justice would rolllike thunder, mercy flow like a river, and righteousness prevail --- forever.

Mary was subversive, even dangerous, because not only didshe know the identity of her Son, but because she was also willing to share hisstory. In fact, Luke recordsMary’s eyewitness testimony. Mary’ssong of faith reminds us that somehow, someway, someday God will establish hisunshakable kingdom of peace.

So, this Christmas change your world. And if you can’t change the world, thenchange yourself. Embrace the Christ ofGod --- a sinless baby born to a virgin, a boy taught to honor the law by a carpenter, a man who followed obedience all the way to across where he suffered and died in your place, bearing in his flesh thepunishment due our sin, the God-man who was raised to life and crowned the King ofKings. This Christmas celebraterighteousness. Applaud the truth. Sing (like Mary) of your Redeemer. Tell someone ofhow God has invaded your world. And worshipChrist the LORD.

Psalm 122

2011-12-06T22:30:00.001-05:00

On the day before Black Friday I ate too much--- just like you ---and on the daybefore Black Friday I took a nap --- justlike you --- but enough about that. What about Black Friday itself? Did it live up to your expectations?

The throngs of people, those mad, madsales, that lady who pepper-sprayed her fellow shoppers outside a Los AngelesWalMart --- I heard it was crazy wild. Competitive consumerism at its best. Youknow, black Friday is fast becoming my favorite holiday of the year. Justkidding.

Actually, I don’t know what it saysabout our society that we celebrate Halloween for the entire month ofOctober and that retail fever overshadows our day of National Thanksgiving. Theseare tough economic times, so I sort of understand folks camping out in tents outside of Target a week before the big sale. I supposegathering is mostly a female sport. We men-folk live for the thrill of hunting down the remote in order to watch the next football game. Still, I can get as excited about saving money as thenext person.

Anyway, what gets you allworked up with anticipation? What do youlook forward to the most? The grandchildren are finally coming for avisit --- the grandchildren are finally leaving so I can watch my programs inpeace. He’s actually lookingforward to work. Some creativity andpurpose in life. She’s looking forwardto vacation. A little peace and quiet.

But what do you longafter? What do you want out of life? What satisfies deep down in a way thatkeeps you hungering for more?

Can you imagine folks, a footballfield deep, camped outside the church doors days in advance in anticipation of meeting with God? Let me in. I need a blessing from God Almighty, and I need it now. Open up. It’s time. My spirit's all bustedwithin and I need some celestial stitching up, and I need it now. Unlock the doors. My soul is parched, and I need at least atablespoon of truth if I’m going to survive another week. And I need it now. I need to meet with the people of God in thehouse of God before the face of God --- not just out of duty butbecause it’s the deepest, most desperate desire of my life.

That’s what genuine worship is all about --- standing nearenough the Thrice-holy Creator of heaven and earth to bask in some brief glintof His glory. Lots of folks do church inlots of different ways. And it’s allgood. I suppose.

But biblical worshipisn’t about the rocking praise band or the stellar choir. Biblical worship isn’t about the charismatic preacheror the pseudo-scholastic minister. Biblical worship isn’t about you or me or them or us. Biblical worship occurs when and because GodAlmighty deigns to meet with sinners --- and not only you all by yourself as ifyou’re somehow more special to God than the rest of us --- as if the stink ofyour sin isn’t just as offensive in the nostrils of God as that of thefellow-beggar whose unwashed hand you’re commanded to grab as we humbly, yetenthusiastically come together into the presence of our mutual Savior.

It’s hard to look beyond the folly of your fellow man or themuck in your own life to find God, but that’s what we need to do. That’s what you must do. Do it here. Do it there. Do it somewherebecause it is the LORD God of Hosts who commands and demands such. Moreover it is the lover of our soul whobeckons --- come to me.

The advent season is all about --- God coming to us --- inpower, in mystery, with hope and peace and joy and love. But you know what --- that and $4.75 centswill get you a vanilla latte from Starbucks to help keep you awake while youwait outside of WalMart on Black Friday--- unless we are willing, maybe evendesirous, of going to Him.

King David rejoiced at the thought of joining up with hisfellow Israelites who were going up to worship God. He says as much in Psalm 122.

Psalm 122

I rejoiced with thosewho said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

2 Our feet are standing

in your gates, Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built like a city

that is closely compacted together.

4 That is where thetribes go up—

the tribes of the LORD—

to praise the name ofthe LORD

according to the statute given to Israel.

5 There stand thethrones for judgment,

the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May those who love you be secure.

7 May there be peacewithin your walls

and security within your citadels.”

8 For the sake of myfamily and friends,

I will say, “Peace be within you.”

9 For the sake of thehouse of the LORD our God,

I will seek your prosperity.

In Exodus 23: 17 and Deuteronomy 16: 16 God commanded thewhole of Israel to gather three times a year in celebration. They were to celebrate the Feast ofUnleavened Bread, the feast of the Harvest, and the Feast of theIngathering. And throughout OldTestament history this practice remained an integral part of Hebrewworship. When young King David conqueredthe pagan city of Jebus he changed the name to Jerusalem, a city chosen andsanctified by God to serve as the political and religious center of the nation.

According to Jewish tradition, Abraham called Jerusalem, thesite where Isaac was almost sacrificed, Yireh ("which means he will seeGod"). But King Melchizedek had named the city Shalem ("which means complete").Not wanting to offend either of these righteous men, God combined the two namesinto Yerushalayim. And today Jerusalem burns with the fervor of the holinessimplied by Yireh, even as it longs for the wholeness evoked by Shalem.

Certainly, by the reign of David’s son, Solomon, and thecompletion of the Temple, Jerusalem would be forever honored as Zion, the cityof David, as well as the city of God. And from David’s day until the destruction of the second Temple in 70ADthe highlight of the religious calendar year for the Hebrew would be thosethree annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

Men, women, children, along with animals brought along forsacrifice, would make the laborious, and often dangerous trek toJerusalem to worship God. Luke 2: 14details Mary, Joseph, and our twelve year old Savior making such a trip.

As the pilgrims traveled they would sing songs for the road--- the kind of songs you sang when cooped-up in the mini-van with the kids onthe way to Grandma’s house. We’re still five hundred miles away fromhome. Ninety-nine bottles of root beer on the wall --- well, what did yousing? The Hebrews sang songs ofsubstance celebrating God, his greatness, and the joy theyanticipated in seeking his presence.

Psalm 122 is one ofthese hymns of ascent or degrees. Not everyone agrees that the fifteen songs ofascent (Psalm 120 – 134) are pilgrim songs. Some argue that these fifteen psalms correspond to the fifteen steps bywhich the priest entered the Temple. Others maintain these poems are called songs of degree to denote theirexcellent quality. John Calvin thoughteach of the psalms was originally sung in a progressively higher musical key. Ipersonally like the thought of men, women, and children walking thestone-strewn byways leading to Jerusalem and singing for all their worth. "I’mwalking with my friends and we’re going see God and we’re really excitedbecause it’s better than a cruise even though we don’t know what a cruisereally is."

Anyway, Psalm 122 records the pilgrim’s (in this case David)impression of Jerusalem, his thoughts regarding the city of the LivingGod. The psalm --- the “samachti beomrim li "--- could be read as historical insight into the religious practice of the ancientHebrews, but this psalm also contains a message from God to us, because Ibelieve what Jerusalem was to the Israelites the church of Jesus Christ shouldbe to all who claim the name Christian.

Once upon a time my children couldn’twait for Sunday morning. They lookedforward to it all week long. Is itchurch day yet? Needless to say, atleast for the teenagers, this is no longer the case. Do we have to go to church --- to which Godthrough their father say, “Yes you do!” I wish desire trumped duty in us all, because David rejoiced to praywith God’s people, he longed to hear the word of testimony with his fellowHebrews. The King – whether speaking poeticallyor prophetically --- couldn’t wait to sing and praise and fellowship withothers before the face of God.

David was wise enough to want what he truly needed as in a heapinghelping of heartfelt worship. What isworship? I like William Temple’sdefinition. "Worship is the quickeningof our conscience with the holiness of God, the nurturing of our mind with thetruth of God, and the purging of our imagination with the beauty of God." Augustine said a Christian should be analleluia from head to foot.

The Anglo-Saxon word for worship originally renderedworth-ship means to ascribe worth to something or someone. Biblically, the word conveys the idea ofkissing the ground or bowing down in reverence. Worship is man’s response to God’s revelation of himself.

The Bible commands us to worship God privately andpublicly. Please note the Let US of verse 1. There is a dynamic that occurs when folkscome together that putting your hand on an HD-image of Joel Olsteen’s face justdoesn’t capture. Actually, no matterhow God-honoring a television, or radio ministry--- no matter how sublime the serenity of yourSunday morning run or golf game ---- it’s not the same as being present inGod’s presence with God’s people. Both the Old and New Testament command us toparticipate in corporate worship. “And let us consider how we may spur oneanother on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as someare in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as yousee the Day approaching” (Hebrews10: 24 – 25).

By the way, have you ever been to Jerusalem? It can be anoverwhelming experience. My ownspiritual pilgrimage circa 1983 ended in Jerusalem. I remember dozing off and on as the bus fromTel Aviv drove through the hills towards the city. When we arrived at the seedybus terminal I was so disappointed, another non-descript not-so-nice neighborhoodthat reminded me of anywhere or nowhere. Whoppee. I began walking aimlessly, because I was neverreally sure of where I was going, just looking for a place to lay my wearyhead. So, I headed up a city sidewalk tothe top of the road --- and there it was --- framed in purple by the earlyevening sky, the fabled fortress, the Old City, the walled city, Jerusalem. I vividly remember walking through the gate,the one near David’s Citadel, and dropping my backpack to the ground. I had arrived.

That’s what happens in verse2. The pilgrim stops dead in histracks to take in the overpowering, and wondrous sight of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, then and now, captures the eye andheart, but for the pilgrim the glory is linked to the presence ofGod. It’s like finally pulling up in thedriveway to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving or Christmas --- we’re here ---and you can smell the turkey baking in the oven --- we’re here --- and you knowthe towels in the bathroom are fresh and clean --- we’re here --- and so isyour brother from St. Louis and Aunt Emily who you haven’t seen in five years, notsince Uncle Joe passed away ---- but instead of being parked outside ofGrandma’s house, your camped outside the house of Almighty God --- and it is asterrifying and enlivening as it is comforting and inviting.

For the Israelites Jerusalem was a place, THEplace, for public worship. For us it’schurch --- because the Spirit of God dwells in his heart and her heart andyour heart and where two or three genuine believers are gathered together ---God enters in. It’s irrelevant whetheryou meet in a vaulted cathedral or the little church in the wildwood. We have been called out and commanded togather together in the name of Jesus --- who we believe to be God of very God--- and worship! And that is the mostsignificant thing you will do this week --- more important than thisafternoon’s ballgame or nap or the vittles you need to reheat for your guestsor the extended sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond --- more important and significantthan tomorrow’s work or Thursday’s deadline or Friday’s doctor’s visit is our privilege of meeting with God.

True worship engenders true fellowship. In fact, corporate worship was a unifyingfactor in Jerusalem. Verse 3) David describes the city ascompact together, sewn together in the same way the breastplate wornby the High Priest was woven together. David’s sees stone upon stone, fittedtogether, a patchwork of differing tribes forming one whole.

Jerusalem is the city (verse4) where the twelve tribes of God (thedescendants of Jacob who could boast the same great, great, great, great, grandfather yet who looked nothing alike andwho didn’t always get along) gathered. Butwhatever animosity or infighting that had festered through the years paled intoinsignificance as each tribe, each family, each individual humbled themselvesbefore the Living God. Later, when theKingdom of Israel split in two, King Jeroboam understood the power of a common cause,especially worship, and poo-pooed the unifying power and mystique ofJerusalem. Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdomwill return to the house of David. Ifthis people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem,then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam kingof Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So theking made two golden calves, and he said to the people, “It is too much for youto go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from theland of Egypt.” He set one in Bethel,and the other he put in Dan. Divideand Conquer. The former USSR did muchthe same thing when they sought to stamp out religion (the opiate of thepeople) by destroying church buildings and persecuting Christians. We cannot tolerate a rival ideology.

The tribes of Israel joined together at least three times ayear to give thanks for all the good things God had done for them. Again, this wasn’t really an optional kind ofthing depending upon how they felt that day. I’m not really up for the long walk. My horribly shrill second cousin is going to run her mouth the wholeway, and to be honest I can bare that better than the priest’s familysanctimonious silence. But the tribeswere commanded to come, to praise, and to submit (verse 5) to God's Word or judgments as meted out by his anointedKing.

In Jerusalem the elders --- and later the King himself ---would sit at the gates to render legal judgments and settledisagreements. Jerusalem, you see,served as the central sight of corporate worship, fellowship, anddiscipline. Family units joined in acommon expression of thankful praise, as well as in mutual submission to God’sappointed authority structure.

What Jerusalem was to Israel, the church of Jesus Christshould be to believers --- not a building, and not even a place --- but aspiritual sphere, an organization, an organism, an extended family whereingenuine worship, fellowship, and accountability occur. Christ is our Anointed King and he reigns andmanifests his glory through his church.

You are free to haveand voice your concern with any particular church or denomination. You are free to have and voice your concernsabout the leadership of any particular church or denomination. True unity necessitates diversity of opinionand freedom of expression. We are all responsible to seek the peace and thepurity of the church. However, we arenot free to bad mouth the church in general, or walk away from “organizedreligion” because we’ve been steamrolled by a few Christians. Most people give as good as they get, and atleast sixty per cent of the time (my figure) the church isn’t the problem. We are. You cannot love Jesus Christ anddisdain his body.

You don’t have toworship here. You don’t have to worshipthere. Different strokes for different folks. But you do have to tune your heart to the rhythm of God and worship somewherewith some other sinners. Augustine said,“The church is a whore, but she remains your mother." To be precise, Augustinesaid, “Yes, the Church is a whore; but that whore is the bride of Christ andyour mother, and you have no right to abandon her."

Because Jerusalem is the center of corporate worship, radicalfellowship, and the statutes of God it becomes the object of David’s ferventprayer. David prays for the peace orshalom of Jerusalem. Shalom is the mostimportant theological term in the Old Testament. This rich work is used over 250 times. Strictly speaking, the term denotes theabsence of conflict, but actually the Hebrew thought actually conveys the ideaof harmony or wholeness.

Friends, one slice of the pie --- be it a Presbyterian orBaptist or Methodist slice --- a whole does not make. Peace doesn’t mean that everyone everywhereis going to share the same views or think the same way. According to several rabbinicalinterpretations of this psalm, true peace, or wholeness, comes through theproliferation of divergent views. Weneed the various pieces of the puzzle to complete the whole. In other words, true shalom occurs when welisten and talk and bend and meld and blend and work together to understandeach other as we reform, continually reform, ourselves and our particularfellowship along the whole counsel of God’s Word. True shalom is achieved by finding commonbiblical ground rather than lopping off the heads of those with whom wedisagree --- or who dare to disagree with us.

David knows the enemies of God will always be encamped (verse7) outside the Holy City waiting to pepper spray the people of God. That’s why he prays for peace within thewalls. He asks for shalom and shalvah,which can be translated as tranquility or rest. He prays that the citadels, the palaces ofhis great city will experience peace and prosperity, and he does so for tworeasons.

1) He prays for the sake of his brethren, hispeople, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2) He prays because of God himself and the glorydue his name.

Daviddedicates himself to devote his time, talents, and energy tothe prosperity of Zion. I find itironic/sad that the city of peace has never known much peace ----bloodshed, famine, innumerable wars, but very little peace. All you have to do is walk through themortal-scarred ruins of the West Bank to question whether God has heard all theprayers that have been offered through all the ages on behalf of Jerusalem ---or not.

Obviously, some Christians, as well asmany branches of Judaism, see this as a prayer for the literal city ofJerusalem. Many Christians believe that the formation of modern-day Israel in1948, as well as the reconstruction of a future Temple, prove necessary for thefulfillment of biblical prophecy. Thatmight be true, and such a belief certainly influences a lot of current Christiantheology and politics. I think it’s wiseand right to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I also think it’s wise and right to pray for the peace of Rome and NewYork and Buenos Aries and Nairobi and Orlando.

You see even the mostardent Jewish scholars recognized a temporal Jerusalem as well as an idealJerusalem ---an earthly Jerusalem as well as a heavenly or spiritual Jerusalem. To my thinking, one of the saddestexpressions of Jewish tradition are the words uttered at the end of the sedaror Passover ---- next year in Jerusalem. This phrase expresses the Jewish longing for redemption. Next year we will return to the HolyCity. Next year our long exile will be over, and wewill return home. Oh how we yearn withanticipation our return to the land of our forefathers!

Well, since that’s actually happened with the establishmentof modern day Israel, a lot of Jews are asking what does it now mean when wesay next year in Jerusalem? The mostcommon answer is that Jerusalem refers to the future city --- or its Temple ---when the Messiah comes. Next year inJerusalem primarily refers to the Jewish people’s anticipation, their ongoingwait for a Messiah. Atthe end of each Shabbat Jews recite the hope that the Messiah should come"speedily in our day”. We have beenwaiting, we are waiting, we will continue to wait for the advent of theMessiah.

Friends, this morning we celebrate the fact that he hascome. His name is Jesus. He was born to Jewish virgin named Mary. He lived a life that perfectly conformed toJewish law. He willingly died as anatoning sacrifice for our sin. And he rose in power to prove beyond anyshadow of a doubt that he alone is and was and forever will be the Messiah, theOne Anointed by God beyond all measure.

We need to pray that when Jesus comes again the final peaceof Messianic redemption will be realized by Christians and Jews. In other words, while earthly Jerusalem mightfactor into God’s future plans, the church of Jesus Christ absolutelydoes! What was true for David or anyIsraelite regarding Jerusalem, is equally true for any Christian as regards theChurch. For no matter how many promisesGod has made they are Yes! and Yes! and Yes! in Jesus the Messiah. Friends, we are the Israel of God.

Jesus is not merely the rejected once and future King of aspecific race--- He is the Savior of the world, various tribes from everynation will bow before his throne to worship him in spirit and truth. Therefore,I would challenge you to pray for the peace of the church, this church,that church, every slightly seasoned different slice of the whole pie. I would challenge you to pray for the churchof Jesus Christ--- and that would be the man sitting to your right --- as wellas that woman sitting to your left --- before thePresence of God.

All Nature Sings (Psalm 65)

2011-12-05T12:45:00.001-05:00

If I wasn’t a talker bytrade, I’d consider taking a vow of silence. Inmy ministry I have spoken too much and listened too little. It would do my soul good to listen --- to Godand for God ---rather than prattling endlessly in an attempt to explain the unexplainable.

It’s late in the game, but I’m trying to be quiet as Ilisten to the clink and clatter of the world, the tick-tock of the clock, the plip-plopof the rain, the snap and crackle of my cereal, the laughter of mylittle boy, the heartbeat of my wife --- the stirring of my own inner man. Maybe the quiet will help me hear the stillsmall voice of the Spirit? Because howcan we be holy when our souls are so harried ? How can we bewhole when our lives are so worn?

I don’t know if it’s an American phenomena,or just part and parcel of an evangelical understanding of worship, but why dowe always think that more is more, than bigger is better, that the loud, loud,busy, busy, rush, rush of our daily lives is somehow more spiritual than thehush, hush of reflective solitude? "We praise God louder than you, we praise Godyes we do!" " Shout to the LORD all theearth!" Such is the command. Blow the shofar. Such is the command. Strike up the band --- and boogie-oogie-woggie! Such is the command. Surely the Great God of the universe isworthy of our best --- crashing symbols and eye-popping multi-media, butsometimes all the noise obscures rather than clarifies. Besides, God is not found in the earthquakeor the firestorm. God is not found in thewhirlwind or the thunder --- but in the simplicity of a barely heard word.

Nothingprepares us to meet with God like silence. I’m not talking about an absence of outward clamor, but the calmness ofan uncluttered interior life that allows room for God and invites him into thehidden places of our heart. But most people are too proud or distracted toembrace silence. Or perhaps we fear thatsolitude will only echo off the emptiness within.

Ihave spent most of my life trying to fill the silence of empty rooms, seekingto be understood rather than to understand. But perhaps it would be better to "drinkin the silence of God from a stream in the woods?" Maybe it would be better to join the throngsof God's people as we praise him with our silence. What? How do you praise God in silence?

How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me --- withoutwords? How can we debate and disseminatebiblical truth, apart from language? Actually, we can’t. In a phraseborrowed from John Calvin "we must commit our doctrine to the peril of words."

Language, even sign language, is one of thegreat gifts of our humanity. Butoccasionally we need to be reminded that praise is not only for God but fromGod. Praise is a gift God gives himselfrather than a service we render. Inother words, it’s what God does for us, not what we attempt to do for him, thatmakes our songs beautiful. Whether as part of the hallelujah chorus, or throughfaith-filled silence, our world constantly sings to God.

Let me direct yourattention to a masterpiece of poetic praise. Psalm 65 is a hymn ofthanksgiving, an agriculturally-themed song of gratitude for a bumpercrop. But Psalm 65 is also afull-fledged worship service, a celebration of life as grandand roaring as Niagara Falls, as well as an ode to the Life-giver as silent asprairie grass bending in the breeze of a star-filled night.

Iam not a Hebrew scholar, but it seems to me that many traditional translations fail to capture the vitality ofthe original language. Therefore, I’mgoing to quote Eugene Peterson’s intelligent paraphrase of Psalm 65, and I’m goingto ask you to listen.

Psalm 65

Silenceis praise to you, Zion-dwelling God,

And also obedience.

You hear the prayer in it all.

2-8We all arrive at your doorstep sooner

or later, loaded with guilt,

Our sins too much for us—

but you get rid of them once and for all.

Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest

at home in your place!

We expect our fill of good things

in your house, your heavenly manse.

All your salvation wonders

are on display in your trophy room.

Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer,

Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser,

Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash,

of mobs in noisy riot—

Far and wide they'll come to a stop,

they'll stare in awe, in wonder.

Dawn and dusk take turns

calling, "Come and worship."

9-13Oh, visit the earth,

ask her to join the dance!

Deck her out in spring showers,

fill the God-River with living water.

Paint the wheat fields golden.

Creation was made for this!

Drench the plowed fields,

soak the dirt clods

With rainfall as harrow and rake

bring her to blossom and fruit.

Snow-crown the peaks with splendor,

scatter rose petals down your paths,

All through the wild meadows, rose petals.

Set the hills to dancing,

Dress the canyon walls with live sheep,

a drape of flax across the valleys.

Let them shout, and shout, andshout!

Oh, oh, let them sing!

Somecommentators think Psalm 65 is a song celebrating the harvest season; othersthink it was written in response to the end of a specific period of drought. Manyassociate David’s words with the Day of Atonement. Actually, all three elements seem woventhroughout this joy-filled remix of God’s revelation. Psalm 65 reads like a deep bucket filled tothe brim and splashing over with the water of God’s faithfulness. In fact, the exuberance of David’s voice putsall the other harvest psalms to shame. Psalm 65 is an amazingly well-crafted, happy, happy, outpouring ofevocative words.

ButI thought you said this psalm was about silence. The song ends with a three-fold shout, shout, shout! Yes. But more about that later. Let’s begin at the beginning of this mostworshipful of psalms with a call to worship.

Psalm 65: 1 -2. A Call to Worship

Hey,that’s how you begin your particular service week in and week out. Praiseawaits YOU, our God, in Zion; to YOU our vows will be fulfilled. You who answerprayer, to you all people will come (NIV). TheHebrew literally reads “silence is praise to you, O God, in Zion.” The word silence is found four times in theOld Testament. Fear elicits silence. Ignoranceelicits silence. But so does worship.

TheHebrew term used in Psalm 65: 1 conveys the idea of waiting orconfident rest, so the thought that praise awaits God makessense, but literally praise is silent before God because sometimes nothingneeds to be said or can be said or should be said to add to the majesty of themoment. Psalm 65: 1 pictures a multitudeof worshippers who have come to Zion in hushed anticipation of meeting with God.

Psalm 65:1 is the corporate expression of what David saysindividually in Psalm 62: 1 --- "For Godalone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation." Sometimes silence is the bestcall to worship. God is deserving of morethan our well-meaning babbling. Our silence acknowledges the greatness of God as well as our personalsubmissiveness. There is atime to make a joyful shout to God, but silence rooted in a consciousness ofGod’s presence prepares our hearts to encounter our Creator in deep andmeaningful ways. So, "let sacredreverence check our songs and praise sit silent on our tongues."

By way of application, maybe the true call toworship begins before you ever enter some sanctuary? Maybe we should spend lesstime on Sunday morning cheerily chatting about nothing of consequence, or checkingour text messages, or planning our afternoons, or gossiping with our friends, ornursing our bad attitudes, and more time preparing to hear from the Creator ofthe universe as well as the Lover of or souls? In Psalm 65 the LivingGod is presented as both.

Silence is praise. Obedience is praise. God hears our gratitude in words and silence. But ultimately, it’s those deeds we do to theglory of God that speak the loudest. The whole reason God welcomes praise in this psalm isbecause of his own righteous deeds --- the outpouring of his graceupon his people --- those ways God himself has provided for our need.

Tobegin with God has provided for our forgiveness. David’s psalm of worship contains a confessionof sin as well as an assurance of God’s forgiveness (verses 2 – 8). At our church we confess our sin each and everySunday ---- not just because we want to be honest beforeGod, not just because we trust in his willingness to forgive, but because weknow that our salvation has been won! God has secured reconciliation.

Crookedness and perversion engulf us all. But God you bring wholeness. God you grant restoration. When we were overwhelmed by sins (verse 3) you forgave, literally you "covered over" our transgressions. The word translated as “atonement” only occursthree times in the psalms, which is why many scholars link Psalm 65 with theDay of Atonement, that day when the High Priest offered the lifeblood of anunblemished lamb in sacrifice for the sins of the people. Christians believe that Jesus is the Lambof God who takes away the sin of the world. By the way, there is abroadness of scope, an inclusiveness, to this psalm that is breath-taking.

ALL people will come and bow before the one who answers prayers and atonesfor sin. God invites the nations intohis house. God welcomes Jew and Gentile,black and white, male and female, everyone whose sins He has graciouslycovered, forgiven, and cast away as far as the east is from the west.

Christian,we have so much to be thankful for, so much to sing about, so much toshout out in joy to our neighbors, so much to ponder and reflect upon insilence.  God placed his love upon us. This psalm proves meaningful to those of us who have seenand heard the essence of God speaking through his Son, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will giveyou rest.”

Jesus, God the Son, praised God throughhis life every day. He died obediently upon the cross. And he roseagain ---- all to make atonement for our sin. Blessed (verse 4) are thoseyou choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the goodthings of your house, of your holy temple.  God’s goodness leaves us breathless, gasping for the right words. (Verse5) You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hopeof ALL the ends of the earth and ofthe farthest seas. From sea to shiningsea the righteous deeds of God speak in ways that words just can’t.

WhenJesus spoke, he spoke with the authority of the Father. His words have been recordedfor us in Scripture. But we arecommanded to believe in him because of what he did. We are saved from selfishness becauseof his selfless actions.   And I find itinteresting that when Jesus was given the opportunity to admit in acourt of law his true identity, he chose silence. Jesus did not feel compelled to cast hispearls before swine, state what should have been obvious, or defendhimself.   Jesus could be silent beforehis foes because he knew the Father was his rock and salvation.

Davidalso recognized God as his rock and salvation. So, he sings --- God can be trusted. God should be praised. God willbe praised.

David isn’t arguing for the omnipotence and sovereignty of God. He’sjust stating the facts. God and God alonequiets the turbulence inside our souls and out there in the dizzy world. Just like Jesus muzzled the wind and stilled the waves, God reveals hisgoodness and power through his control over nature.

God and God alone stills the surging sea, theroaring waves. God and God alone shutsthe mouth of the noisy mob. The whole earthis filled with awe at the wonders of God; where morning dawns, where eveningfades, God calls forth songs of joy.

Beginning in verse 8, the psalmistpersonifies nature. In fact, what’s sointeresting about Psalm 65, the heart of the Psalm, the sermon or main lessonif you will, is the way inanimate objects give praise to God. Yes. ThePriests and Old Testament sacrificial system show us that God is willing toforgive sin, that he desires a relationship with his people, but we wouldn’tunderstand the biblical concept of atonement apart from some sort of special or writtenrevelation. The forgiveness of sin, thatspiritual blessing that ultimately comes through Jesus, is hinted at in verses8 – 12; however, it’s the universality of God’s general revelation, theoverwhelming abundance of God’s goodness as seen and heard in nature thatdominates David’s poem.

The willingnessof God to meet our material needs is the happy melody undergirding this song. That’sthe sermon --- our summons to action. Becausewhether we choose rapt silence or not, the rest of creation continuallytestifies to the unspoken glory of God.

David (verses 9 – 13) exhortsus to copy creation in our thanksgiving to God. Again, the NIV and other translations dull the images of theHebrew poetry down and turn the psalm into mundane prose. God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Meh.

No. You see some folks are so attuned to God thatthey can actually hear nature itself praise its Maker. They see what God himself sees when he looksat the hillside dotted with daisies or meadows paved with roses --- amasterpiece of creative expression that thrills the Creator's heart and ought todelight ours as well.

Godcares for the land and waters it. MaybeIsrael had been enduring a drought, a parched and infertilebarrenness? But you God have and do and will water the land with the firstrains! You will deck her out with showers. You fill the rivers with living water. You water the crops.

It's those little drops of rain that makethe flowers and the rutabagas and the spinach to grow. It’s God who drenches the furrows, or floodsthe tracks of his glorious chariot, with life-giving water. It’s God who softensthe soil to receive seed (verse 10)that leads to an abundant yield.

Inthe same way God has provided for our spiritual needs, he has also provided forour daily bread. And while the lattermight seem less important than the former, they both cry out for praise. Drenchthe plowed fields, soak the dirt clods with rainfall as harrow and rake bring herto blossom and fruit. You, God, crownthe year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance, literally yourpathway drips with fat, the juicy, juicy richness of fat.

Folks,we are fat with the blessing of God. And a lot of us are going to get fatterthis Thanksgiving week. As a nation, as individuals, and as a church we have grown fat with theblessings of God --- and yet as noisy and busy and rushed, rushed as we can beit seems to me the one time we choose to be silent, the one time we can’t comeup within anything to say is when we sit around the Thanksgiving tableand try to recount (as tradition dictates in my house) the one thing, just onething we’re grateful for this particular year.

Thegrasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. Lookat the rose petals strewn throughout the meadow. It’s beautiful. It’s God. So, let the hills dance. Let the valley sing.

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

themountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

andall the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

(Verse 13) Let them shout, and shout, and shout! Oh, oh, letthem sing! But, you know what,? Hillsdon’t dance. Valleys don’t sing. Trees don’t clap. Not the last time I listened. The sun doesn’t shout. The stars don’t break out in four-partharmony. Daisies don’t recitepoetry. Rose petals can’t wax eloquent,and yet they do. You see the psalmistpersonifies nature, inanimate nature, to such a degree that the whole gratefulworld lifts its voiceless song to the Creator in silent, though nonethelessreal and all the more honest, praise, praise, praise!

We’re not used to listening for God through thevoice of creation. We’re not really usedto acknowledging --- except through the repetition of some trite blessing ---that everything we have and everything we are, spiritual and material, comesfrom the hand of a spectacularly magnanimous Creator.

William Wordsworth put it this way:

“THEworld is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay wasteour powers:

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, asordid boon!

The Sea that bares her bosom to themoon;

The winds that will be howling at allhours,

And are up-gathered now like sleepingflowers;

For this, for everything, we are outof tune;

It moves us not.

Nothing moves us ---not really. So jaded. So noisy. So ungrateful. We are.

I am reminded of the now famous illustrationshared by the late D. James Kennedy. It’sthe story of a leper, a real man with a real name --- which I can neitherrecall nor find. But he lived isolatedin a leprosarium for most of his life. He learned of God’s love for sinners through missionaries. He embraced the mercy of God like onlysomeone who truly understands he’s a beggar can --- and Jesus became his oneand greatest treasure.

Gradually, the disease took this man’s handsand his feet, his eyes, his ears, and his voice. But from time to time he would sit up in bedand thrust the nub of his arm repeatedly into the air. A visiting missionary asked the doctor whythe man did that. The doctor replied,"That is the way, the only way really, he expresses his praise and gratitude toGod."

At that end of this psalm the created world gives God a fist pump. That’s what nature continually does --- dayin and day out to the glory of God. And in some sense that’s how Godresponds in kind. Psalm 65 invites us tohear something we have perhaps never heard: Creation singing.

Youknow poets work in words, but the goal of Psalm 65 is to make us sensitive tothis unheard sound. In fact, that’s what the congregation upon entering thesanctuary does at the beginning of Psalm 65 . The psalm,which began with “silence,” also ends in a real, yet silent, song. Sometimes silence is praise. Praise --- that’s what we chosen and forgivenand blessed children of a Living God should be doing as well. Byall means use words, music, harp, lyre, every gift of speech and expression Godhas given you. But remember silence singsas well.

Depression (Psalm 88)

2011-11-29T11:00:00.001-05:00

I asked the patient if shewas anxious about her upcoming operation. “No”,she replied. “I never worry. Don’t you know that worry is a slap to theface of God.” I agreed in some measure, but I found it oddthat “patient anxiety” was the reasonthe nurse had requested a chaplain in the first place. As we conversed and later held hands to pray,I realized this tough-taking lady perceived any admission of weakness,especially spiritual weakness, as a betrayal of her faith.

The woman seemed to be saying, “I am impervious to pain because I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” I don’t doubt that faith helps her embracelife in its uncertainty. She seemed to have a time-weathered temperament,and I know her generation is made of sterner stuff than mine, but somethingabout this woman’s chirpy defensiveness made me question if she really believedshe could entrust herself --- maybe even her real human fear --- to God.

I don’t know. I do know that emotional honesty makes usvulnerable in ways that can be personally uncomfortable --- not to mentioneasily exploited by others. You need tofind the right time and the right way, as well as the right person, before unburdeningyour heart. And yet the reality of thehuman struggle, fear and doubt and loneliness, proves common to us all. That’s why I love the psalms. I appreciate the emotional openness withwhich King David and others poured out their heart to God.

Buckle up and pull down that safety bar because the psalmsare a roller-coaster ride through the gamut of human emotion --- joy and sorrow,spiritual desire and despair. God’s mostbeautiful poetry is written upon the wounds of human flesh.

We have all been wounded, bruised by life, inone way or another. And no doubt we’vecrushed the spirit of some fellow sojourner, with malice aforethought or not,on occasion. You cannot escape the factthat we have each been wounded in body and soul. And while I believe it’s counter-productiveto deny those wounds, I also believe that as Christians it’s wrong to wallow inthem.

Several years ago a member of the church gave me someadvice I’ll never forget. He said, “Darrell, you’ve shown us the struggle, nowshow us the victory!” Life is hardand must be faced bravely, and this is that one place beyond all others ---(i.e. the church, the body of Christ, the fellowship of the faithful) --- wherewe should talk about stuff like sickness and death and suffering and anxietyand depression and insecurity and broken relationships openly and honestly, butthis is also that one place beyond all others where we should do so in the knowledgethat Jesus, our Savior, is victorious and reigns.

As Henri Nowen wrote, “Openwounds stink and do not heal.” You see, the church is the one place beyond allothers where the wholeness offered in Christ should be experienced. And when that healing doesn’t happen in somemeasure, it points to a deeply-rooted spiritual problem. Obviously, Jesus isn’t the problem. We are. We are often too self-protected, too proud, or too self-righteous tocreate a community founded upon the shared confession of a common brokenness--- as well as a common faith.

Time is short. Theclock is tick, tick, ticking. Few of ushave the luxury (whichis rather selfish when you think about it) of bemoaning the ways thing shouldbe but aren’t. No. We need to look reality squarely in the face--- name our need --- confess our powerlessness --- and humbly claim God’spower and grace.

I have been exploring songs I havenever sung, specifically psalms I have never studied. Today’s psalm is a song I never wish tosing. In fact, upon my first, second,even third reading I had to ask, “Why inthe world is this psalm even in the Bible?” Does it bring me comfort? No. Does it make my spirit soar with intimationsof my heavenly Father’s goodness? No. Psalm 88 is the darkest, loneliest cry you’llfind in the Old Testament. The words flow from a place of emotional pain thatonly a few of you will be able to relate to.

Now I’m no stranger to worry or doubt, butwhen push comes to shove I’m fairly chirpy in my belief that “the sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar thattomorrow” they’ll be a heaviness hanging over your soul that you can’tshake or bear one day more. Take it away. Take me away. I can’t go on, and I don’t want to.

Psalm 88 is an unrelenting, discomfortingly honest psalmabout depression and despair. There isno happy --- praise God and pass the apple pie --- ending. We want --- we demand --- our happy endings. But sometimes we do not get them --- not inthis life. We pray, we plea, we cajole,we beg to hear the comforting voice of God --- and nothing echoes in the earbut silence.

Allthe other psalms, even psalms of lamentation and grief, end with the author’seye firmly focused upon God, or evidence of his faithfulness. Not Psalm 88. Psalm 88 pretty much concludes with thephrase, “Hello, darkness my old friend,you’ve come to haunt me once again.”

Do we dare read it? And why is Psalm 88, now officially my mostdisliked section of Scripture, even in the Bible? Did some faithless, sad-sack slip it inbefore the censors of all things encouraging could snip it out? I don’t know. Sometimes in life that’s the best you get --- hard groundupon which true spirituality must blossom. Sometimes we must be brave, stand tall, and find God in his absence.

PSALM 88

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According tomahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 LORD, you are the God who saves me;

day and night I cry out to you.

2 May my prayer come before you;

turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles

and my life draws near to death.

4I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am like one without strength.

5I am set apart with the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

whomyou remember no more,

who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,

in the darkest depths.

7Your wrath lies heavily on me;

you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.

8You have taken from me my closest friends

and have made me repulsive to them.

Iam confined and cannot escape;

9 my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, LORD, every day;

I spread out my hands to you.

10Do you show your wonders to the dead?

Do their spirits rise up and praise you?

11Is your love declared in the grave,

your faithfulness in Destruction?

12Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,

or your righteous deeds in the land ofoblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help, LORD;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14Why, LORD, do you reject me

and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and beenclose to death;

I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

16Your wrath has swept over me;

your terrors have destroyed me.

17All day long they surround me like a flood;

they have completely engulfed me.

18You have taken from me friend and neighbor—

darkness is my closest friend.

It’sjust like they used to sing on Hee-Haw --- “Gloom, despair and agony onme. Deep, dark depression excessivemisery. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’dhave no luck at all. Gloom, despair andagony on me." So, why IS this psalm included in Scripture?

I don’t imagine you go to church to leave depressed. The music should move you withmelody, the preacher ought to tell a joke, holler a little bit, impress youwith a Hebrew or Greek phrase, turn your eyes toward Jesus, and afterwards everybodycan head down to the Olive Garden with a little more lilt in their step. That’s the way it should be --- but that’snot the way it always is.

Hey, speaking of jokes. Did you hear the one about the pastor? He was all worked up talking abouttemperance. “If I had all the beer in theworld, I’d take it and throw it into the river!” he roared. Thecongregation nodded with approval. With even greater emphasis he added, “And if I had all the wine in the world, I’dtake it and throw it into the river!” The people clapped and cried “Amen.” Finally, he concluded, “And if I had all the whiskey in the world,I’d take it and throw it into the river!”

Ashe sat down, the song leader stood up and cautiously announced, “For ourclosing song, let us sing Hymn #365: “Shall We Gather at the River.”

That’sfunny, unless your grandfather was a raging drunk. I used to think it was funny the way mygrandmother apparently conked my Dad on the noggin with the high heel of hershoe. But I wonder how many ways herbehavior wounded that man? Why is the author of Psalm 88 SO wounded? It’s not likehe’s blaming God really, he’s just stating the facts, ma’am.

By the way, this melancholy little ode is attributedto Heman the Ezrahite whose name literally means “faithful”. There are severalHemans in Scripture. There’s Heman thegrandson of the prophet Samuel. Heman, amusician, seer, and all around wise guy who lived during the reign of KingSolomon, as well as Heman the son of Zerah, who was the son Judah conceivedwith his daughter-in-law, Tamar, in his old age.

Zerah also had a far less moody son namedEthan, who apparently composed Psalm 89. Therefore, the author of this psalm would seem to be Judah’s grandson.That would make Heman and Ethan brothers, and not technically part of the Sonsof Korah other than the role they played in the composition of these psalms.

Heman only wrote one sorta spiritual song ---praise God --- and why is this barely God-centered whine --- poor, poor,pitiful me --- included in Scripture, anyway? Where is Heman’s faith? Hisgloom, despair, and excessive misery hardly provide us with an example tofollow.

That’swhy some would say that Psalm 88 gives us an example not to follow. The man’s affliction, some sort of on-goingsickness experienced since childhood, the loss of his friends, his obsessionwith death, especially the pit or the underworld, literally “Sheol”, a gloomyafterlife reminiscent of the New Testament’s version of hell, must have resultedfrom unrepentant sin in Heman’s life. Thereis no despair like the despair of someone out of sync with the will ofGod. If Heman were a true believer thenhe would end his lament by acknowledging the faithfulness of God. Bottom line: Heman’s darkness is the consequence of rejecting the light.

OK. I think such a judgment is extremelyjudgmental, conditioned by a craven need to always assign a cause to an effect,and a dangerous desire to squeeze all the scary mystery right out of life becausewe want to control God and others. Ialso think it’s wrong. In my fallibleopinion the preacher who draws this unwarranted conclusion is no better thanJob’s friends. Interestingly, several ofthe phrases in this psalm are reminiscent of Job’s remarks.

Other’swould say that we really shouldn’t try to understand this psalm apartfrom the rest of Scripture, particularly the New Testament. There is some merit to this view. You must absolutely read the Old Testament throughthe lens of the New Testament. AsChristians we understand that the only reason the hell of that first GoodFriday can be called “good” is because of the triumph of Sunday, resurrectionday.

Thereality of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection give redemptive value to all oursuffering, those light and momentary trials as well as what may seem like yearsof agony. Ultimately, every happy,horrible, or heinous situation, as well as every Christian sermon comes down towhether the gospel is true --- or not. Youknow, as in “we are convinced (are you?)that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present northe future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in allcreation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in ChristJesus our Lord. Amen.”

Ican’t disagree with Paul, but I don’t think Psalm 88 can only be understand inthe light of the gospel, and I don’t think that’s why it’s in the book. The knowledge of our future hope does not takeaway the reality of our present pain. And there’s something about your present pain in and of itself that isspiritual, even redemptive, in nature.

Byway of application, we really need to be careful before we rush in to slap thehappy face of God’s love on the forehead of someone in pain, physical or mentalanguish. Chirpy platitudes --- nomatter how true --- ring hollow if the bearer of that good news isn’twilling to enter the fire of the other’s suffering. Don’t tell him whathis illness means, don’t presume to understand God’s will in a matter thanmight be perfectly clear to you but makes no sense to her at all --- until youyourself have learned what it like to crawl on your knees through the jaggedshards of a shattered world.

Thankfully, Jesus the Christ of God did justthat. That’s why a few scholars viewthis psalm as Messianic in nature. Inother words, like Psalm 22, elements of this poem capture the spiritual tormentJesus, the man from Nazareth, endured when he was crushed by the weight of yoursin on the cross. Author Jack Kelleyshares the following story, “I’ll neverforget the day when I first stood in the dungeon beneath the home of Caiaphas,the High Priest of Israel. I’d been bringing tour groups to Israel for severalyears, but a major renovation project had kept the site closed each time.

As we descended into the dungeonFreddie, our Palestinian guide, quietly took one of our number aside. When wewere all crowded into the small room at the bottom of a steep stairwell some 15feet below ground level, he informed us that the stairs had been added later.On the night of His arrest Jesus had been lowered by rope into this tiny room,also used as a cistern. He spent the night there, alone in the dark. At sunriseHe would be taken to Pilate, and from there to Golgotha.

As we stood there crowded together,Freddie suddenly shut off the lights, plunging the room into total darkness.Then he had the person he had taken aside read Psalm 88 to us through theopening at the top of the dungeon. The shocked silence quickly gave away tounabashed weeping as we all experienced a little of what our Lord must havefelt that night, the total isolation and despair of an unjustly condemned man.”

Psalm 88 vividly describes feelings of despair and unjustcondemnation. Psalm 88 also vividlyconveys the essence of that horrible, horrible cry our LORD uttered from thecross, “My God, my God why have youforsaken me?” Certainly we can findcomfort in the fact that there is no experience common to man, emotional orotherwise, to which our Savior cannot relate. But Psalm 88 is seldom, if ever, listed among the Messianic Psalms. And I don’t think that’s why it’s in thebook.

What is it? Why can’twe stand to have our spiritual truths end on a minor chord? We just have to interpret this bleak, littlepsalm in a way that makes sense to us. We have to redeem, rewrite, re-configure the song to match ourexpectations. We demand our happy ending. But sometimes people don’t get it or can’tsee through the reality of their present experience to perceive it. So, why can’t we just let this psalm be whatit is?

OK. Whatis it? Well, on one level it’s anencouragement to anyone who has ever battled depression. You might think depression is a spiritual oremotional issue --- and it can be ---but it’s also physiologically and chemically based. For the person going through clinicaldepression it can be an absolute hell on earth. In many ways, Heman’sconfession reads like that of a man struggling with depression.

Obviously, the ancient Israelites didn’t havean understanding of depression as disease, like we do. And yet the Hebrew title of this psalm,“according to mahalath leannoth” apparently means something like “concerningafflictive sickness” Heman’s fallen andhe can’t get up. He’s in a hole and hedoesn’t know how to crawl out. He knowsand believes enough to cry out to God, but he literally can’t discern anythingbut his own internal alienation. Whileall the other Christians are praising God at the pep rally for Jesus down thestreet, all Heman can muster is a “Hello,darkness my old friend, you’ve come to haunt me once again.”

I’ve never personally struggled withdepression. I’m kind of unipolar --- asin mostly manic – and I’m seldom down for too long. I also tend to beimpatience with folks I might perceive as killjoys. Wakeup and smell the coffee. God isgood. It’s a beautiful Sunday inNovember. The air is brisk. The sun will come out tomorrow – but notalways and not for everyone.

Like the television commercial says, “Wheredoes depression hurt? Everywhere. "And who does depression hurt? Everyone.” You see, the psalms speak to every condition of the human experience, andI think that someone dealing with depression might find a lot of comfort in thefact that at least one of the biblical writers --- gets it.

Maybeyou’re old school and think depression is a spiritual problem. Maybe you’re new school and think it can becured with a pill. The fact remains itis what it is. Which brings me to thereal reason I think Psalm 88 is included in the canon of Scripture --- becauseit is what it is --- a reminder that life doesn’t always turn out like wethought it would --- that difficult problems don’t always respond to easyanswers --- that our prayers often seem to go unanswered, and that whetheryou’re clinically depressed or not --- whether we know better in our head ornot, our practical experience of life’s pain can trump our theology so that we breakunder the weight of what we can no longer carry.

God will never give you more than youcan bear. I suppose so. Then again, maybe you should ask Job. Or Heman.

PastorEd Rea shares the following story, “OnFebruary 6, 1556 during the reign of Queen Mary, pastor John Hooper was sentencedto be burned at the stake for preaching the Scripture. As the fire was beingset in the kindling at his feet this man of God looked over to see his familyweeping close at hand. It is said that he shouted out over the roaring fire.‘Read Psalm 88. Read Psalm 88.'” Lifeis messy and sometimes things happen that do not add up. Hooper knew his familydid not understand why their prayer for his freedom was not answered, but hedid understand that sometimes events in life are clouded this side of heaven.

I’mactually glad that Psalm 88 has been included in the Scripture. Please understand this is not I’m having abad day at work kind of psalm --- but I know it will be better tomorrow. This is not I’m scared to go to the doctorpsalm, but I know God will watch over me. This is I’m not sure of anything right now. This is a psalm for the persecuted Christianwho feels all alone.

In fact, some modern day Jewish commentatorscall it "The Psalm of the Holocaust". Because there are some horrors in life that just really don’t make senseand to try and tidy-it-all- up theologically insults common sense as well asGod. Some cuts are too deep, some wounds too infected from which to everrecover.

Andin our rush to make it all right, to take away the sting, we often shut thedoor on the work, the quiet, indiscernible, holy work God wants to do withinour soul. Again, the only reason we can call the hell ofthat first Good Friday “good” is because of the triumph Jesus won on Sunday,the day of resurrection. That’s the mostimportant news --- the news you came to hear today.

However, there are moments in our lives whenthe hell of good Friday feels like the hell of an entire bad decade, because wedon’t know that Sunday’s coming, we can’t see (because of our own sin, orsomeone else’s misdeeds or that fact that things just are what they are) ---and we don’t know what it is we’re supposed to do --- except maybe pray.

Andthat’s what Heman does. I think Psalm 88is included in the Bible because Psalm 88 is included in the Bible. What? What I mean is that even though by allbiblical norms Heman’s faith seems small, his perspective seems short-sighted,his confidence in God seems almost non-existent, and he ends his plea in adarker place than where he started --- he still knows and believes enough todirect his fears and worries and doubts towards God.

Verse1) LORD--- this is the plea of a Christian, someone who understands that God’scharacter is revealed through his Name --- LORD --- you are the God, the onlyGod, who saves me; who can save me; who will save me; so save me, please! I cry to you for help, LORD (verse 13); inthe morning my prayer comes before you. What else can I do?

Someonehas said I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure thedarkness for it shows me the stars. Sometimes you simply have to endure the darkness. Look it’s a beautiful Sunday morning inNovember. God is good, and I am glad tobe alive. I trust you are as well. Besides, the sun will come out tomorrow. Then again, maybe not.

I’mglad Psalm 88 is in the songbook. It’spossible during some truly dark season of life, this gloomy little ode mightbecome your personal favorite. I hopenot. I hope and trust that you will never experience the equivalent of a personal or corporate holocaust,the kind of horror, emotional or concrete, conveyed in Psalm 88.

But if we do, we can at the very least takethat pain, that confusion, all of our wounded-ness to God, and maybe we caneven resist the need to rah-rah for Jesus or to numb away the hurt with at thatparticular moment meaningless platitudes, but maybe instead we can embrace thepain and listen to the silence , silence that echoes loud with the absence ofGod, because by doing so we might discover our souls, the connection we sharewith our fellow man, and the preciousness of genuine faith.

*Psalm 139

2011-10-29T16:54:00.001-04:00

As some of you know, I had minor surgery last week. I’m doing well. Thank you. And as some of you also know, I was anxiousabout the whole business. But I’m doingwell. Thank you. I have a few other minor procedures to worrythrough before the end of this year, but I know by the grace of God I will dowell --- because my Father in heaven knows me and loves me --- just like heknows you and loves you.

I told my Sunday evening friends that my biggest concernabout surgery was --- the hospital gown. Seriously. I didn’t want folks I sit next to at the Olive Garden or walk beside onthe treadmill at Gold’s Gym to see my increasingly scrawny butt. Vanity of vanities, but I was determined tobe the first person at Florida Hospital to undergo surgery without letting goof my underwear.

That’s probably too much information. But I’ve been guilty over the years of sharingtoo much information or coming across as too transparent. But all that is from an earlier chapter in adifferent book. I’m not the same man Iwas ten years ago. We all change. We shrink and stagnate --- or we grow. Besides, Christianity is a not some “me”-centeredreligion but a "Thou"-based relationship.

"When I wander- You!

When I ponder- You!

Only You, Youagain, always You!

You! You!You!

When I amgladdened – You God!

When I amsaddened – You God!

Only You, Youagain, always You!

You! You!You!

Sky is You,Earth is You!

You above!You below!

In everytrend, at every end,

Only You, Youagain, always You God!

You! You!You!"

I’ve enjoyed the unique privilege, as well as the decideddisadvantage, of parading my heart’s interaction with Scripture before folks week-in and week-out. I’ve learned the hardway that over-familiarity can breed contempt --- which the last time I checkedis hardly a Christ-like virtue. But thenagain people only know what I have chosen and shaped for their ears, whatother’s may or may not have gossiped about me, or what their own less thaninfallible opinions have surmised. Thetruth is --- you don’t know a thing about me.

Anymore, than I really know you. That’s probably best. I mean, I know his carefully crafted publicpersona. She’s put-together. He’s responsible. That one’s bully-like brusque. She’s sweet. He’s kind. You’re goofy, and you’re just little bit better thaneveryone else in the humility of your spirituality. But are you? Does the image you so purposefully project have anything to do with thatscared and insecure little boy or girl crying within?

We all desire to be thought more spiritual than weare. And we all need to flee the real painof living in a fallen world, so we hide. We hide from ourselves. We’rewilling to flash the truth of God’s Word in front of someone else’s face, butwe don’t dare hold it up before our own. We hide from others --- because if they knew this thought they might not like us. And we hide from God --- because we foolishlythink we can.

After their rebellious actions, our first parents tried tohide from the Creator. Jonah tried toescape God’s call upon his life, and countless saints have avoided the seriousand often necessary work of solid, spiritual reflection.

Look,pastor. Jesus loves me. He’s got my back. That’s all I need to know. True enough. Besides, Christianity was neverintended to be the exercise in navel-gazing that one might associate with, say,Buddhism.

However,Christian thinkers throughout the centuries have taught that self-knowledgegoes hand in hand with knowing God. Clement of Alexandria: “If one knows himself, he will know God.” Augustine: “Grant, Lord, that, I may knowmyself that I may know Thee.” Thomasa Kempis: “A humble self-knowledge is a surer way to God than a search after deeplearning.” John Calvin: “Nearlyall wisdom, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts,knowledge of God and knowledge of self.” Or how about King David: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test meand know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and leadme in the way everlasting.”

Many of David’s psalms singularly celebrate the Creator, the Savior, the gloriously long-sufferinglover of our souls. Given the desperatenature of mankind’s sinful condition, the Scriptures seldom celebrate thecreature, but I am enough of a humanist to believe that the glory of God ismost fully revealed in the glory of man.

Psalm 139 is somewhat unique to the OldTestament in that it exalts man/woman, as fearfully and wonderfully made. The song reminds us that even if I don’t know you, even if you don’t know me, and evenif we can’t begin to fathom ourselves --- the Living God knows us completely. We will not --- we cannot --- hide from him.

Psalm139 simultaneously provides one the most frightening and most comfortingassertions in the Bible. The Thrice-holy Lord of the universe, maker of matter,energy, all that has ever lived or breathed and enjoyed its’ being stands in yourface, right up against you, his metaphorical breath hot on your literal neck sothat you are hemmed in --- with nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. That’s kind of unnerving.

However, because it is the Thrice-holy Lord ofthe universe, maker of matter, energy, all that has ever lived or breathed andenjoyed its' being who stands in your face, right up against you, hismetaphorical breath hot on your literal neck hemming you in --- you can resteasy. For, you see, the one who knows usthe best is also the one who loves us the most.

Thepoem I quoted earlier --- "You, You, You" --- was written by Jewish philosopherMartin Buber and refers to the fact that the psalmists so often addressed Goddirectly. You have searched me. You have known me. Youdiscern my going out. You hem me in. You, you, you love me in spite of allthose reasons I’ve given you not to.

Psalm 139: 2 – 4 are reminiscent ofGod’s command to Israel to think upon his Word when they sit, when they rise, andwhen they go about their day to day routine. Well, in the same way God’s people must cherish his law, God cherisheshis people. We are on his mind at alltimes. He is not up there, out theresomewhere. God is right here in front ofme, beside me, all around and within. And such knowledge is too, too much.

Isit too much because it’s too mind-boggling to comprehend? Or is it too muchbecause it feels like the ultimate invasion of our privacy? Shut the curtain. Close the door. Stand back. All those physical flaws, those ever-proliferating scars and certainsigns of aging which I really don’t care about much anymore but remain vainenough to wish to hide from others --- God knows. God knows. He knows your physical flaws. He knows your emotionalweaknesses, and he knows your spiritual failures. You are my friend --- sans hair dye, sans make-up, san that BrooksBrothers tie --- absolutely naked before God.

Scholars sometimes debate whether David, likean exuberant child, is rejoicing in the omnipresent watch care of his lovingCreator. Or is he more like a wary teenage chafing at the inescapable scrutiny of a nosy celestial parent? It’s probably the former, even though theidea of being “hemmed-in” has negative associations. Armies hem you in. Back-street muggers hem you in.

Infact, Job complained against God, "Willyou never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?" (Job7:19). You’re too close. I can’t process it all. That’s because God’s relentless disciplinehad taken Job’s breath away. Leave mealone, please.

But nobody really wants God to leave themalone, do they? Time teaches us all that it’s betterto face suffering, hand and hand with God, than taste fleeting pleasures in hisabsence. Besides, is God ever reallyabsent anywhere at any time? Psalm 139 underscores the commitment of God. He is near, and he cares. David doesn’t feel constrained by God’spresence. He feels loved.

Davidemploys the Hebrew word “yada” or “to know” seven different times in thispsalm. This rich Hebrew term hasdiffering connotations from the intimacy of sexual union (as in Adam knew Eve) to the simple affection of a mutualrelationship. However, the idea of intimacyclings to the Hebrew term “to know” like scent to a rose.

Someone knows you. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD,know it completely (verse 4). Someoneknows you --- your darkest temper, your foulest mood, you most loathsome,vengeful desires --- and loves you still.

It’sbeen said that masquerading as a normal person is exhausting. Ain’t that the truth! So, give it up. You are not a normal person.

Youare not the normal person you so wish others to believe that you are. You are pock-mocked and down-right rotten with sin, your unique and uniquely destructive, hurtful,selfish God-hating ways. Sorry to callyou out. But it’s true. It’s a truth about ourselves that we have toface if we would come to understand the grace of God, particularlyas revealed in the suffering face of God the Son,Jesus. While you were still a sinner,Christ Jesus died for you.

Tolive in the presence of God --- and where do you intend to go --- the churchdown the street --- that bible study for respectable old folks --- good luckwith that --- where do you intend to travel to escape the Living God’somnipresent, awesome, awful, teeth-shattering power? You can acknowledge that you’re a stinking sinner(no matter how much people fawn over you)and live ---- or continue to deny your depravity and die. How’s that for some old time revivalist preaching?

To live inthe presence of God necessitates that we acknowledge our selfishness. If we say we are without sin we deceiveourselves and his truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive usour sins (because Jesus enduredthe penalty for those sins when he died on the cross) and purify us from some --- no --- half --- no--- three-quarters ----no --- all, all, all of our unrighteousness.

Yousee to live in the presence of God we not only have to acknowledge the sad andsorry state of our spiritual life apart from God’s grace, but we also have toembrace and believe the beauty of his pardon and acceptance. Once forgiven, fully and forever, God’sawesome, awful presence isn’t something to be escaped, but something to bewelcomed.

Wherecan I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you arethere.

IfI rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

eventhere your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

IfI say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

eventhe darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

You are well-accepted in the Beloved, myfriends, uniquely called, uniquely gifted, and uniquely created, a one of akind human snowflake, a testament to the limitless creativity, grace,imagination, and wonder of a living God. In order to be healthy spiritually you have to accept yourself as God accepts you. And you have to do so with authenticity.

Itold the nurses before my surgery that I was taking a chaplaincy course at thehospital, and that in order to fulfill our sensitivity training we each had todonate an organ. I did try to view myprocedure as a learning experience, so that when a parishoner undergoes an operation,minor or major, catches a disease, or faces a scary diagnosis as a fellowhuman I might better understand that pit in the middle of their stomach aswell as better direct them to the most human of all human beings, God the Son,who really does understand our every fear and concern --- not to mentionthe motives behind them.

I’vebeen reflecting upon the possible root cause behind my occasional bouts withhealth anxiety. I think it stems fromthe fact that I’ve lost so many friends and loved ones to cancer, and because ofmy own diagnosis with melanoma twelve years ago. They caught it relatively early, but thedoctor told me I was just a few millimeters away from an entirely differentprognosis. I’ve lived in the shadow of those words, andI’ve often feared the cancer would come back.

As a pastor, I've tried to be there when folks find themselves in the midst of a health crisis, but I don’t think I’ve always entered fullyinto their pain. I’ve put up a protectiveshield (often by using humor) to keepfrom facing my own fear. But to be anauthentic person, an effective minister, you have to face your fears and entrustthem to Christ.

Youalso have to grapple with your core identity. Most people define themselves by what they door did. I am a teacher, a preacher, abutcher, a baker, a candlestick maker. Iserved our country. I served ourgovernment. I just served --- and oftenwith little to no recognition. Wife. Husband. Father. Mother. It’s all good. But you’re so muchmore.

Othersdefine themselves by what they have --- their ever-decreasing assets in aturbulent economy, their beautiful soprano voice, their organizational skills--- that pedigree, degree, or mastery of anything that sets them apart. However, many find their sense of identity,their worth or significance, in how others view them. Like me. Love me. Leave me. Hate me. It hardly matters in the end.

Becausethe only thing that really matters is how God views you. And you my friend “are fearfully andwonderfully made. God Almighty createdyour inmost being and knit you together in your mother’s womb. All your days have been written in his scrollbefore one of them came to be” (Psalm 139: 13 – 16).

WhenDavid says we were fearfully made he literally means that we were lovingly,reverently fashioned by God. God himselfstood in awe at what he accomplished through the creation of man, this too, toomortal flesh still made after the image of the divine. And a better translation for the word“wonderfully” might be strikingly, shockingly put together.

The human body is an amazing thing. Bruises heal. Scars fade. Even within thecourse of a week, and we are each far stronger and more resilient than we think. And where do you even begin to touch upon themystery of the human soul, that life-force that God breathed into you and you andme?

Youwere shaped and framed by God. God's eyes beheld your unformed substance. "Eachof us was reverently, wondrously, strikingly, remarkably, differently made --- inways that are beyond human understanding."

Psalm139 reminds us that life is sacred. AndPsalm 139 reminds us that God holds all of life in his hands. You are not onlyprecious in God’s sight because he fashioned your miraculous body. Christian, you are precious in God’s sightbecause he chose you to be his child before the creation of the world.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hasgiven unto us. Behold, what manner oflove the Father has given unto us. Thatwe should be called the sons and daughters of God. " We are the blood-brought, radiantly righteousand precious in his sight, children of God. That is our deepest identity and the source of our truestauthenticity.

ThomasMerton says it best: “There is only oneproblem on which all my existence, my peace, and my happiness depend; todiscover myself in discovering God.” Until you understand how much God loves you, how well-accepted you arein the beloved you will never find spiritual wholeness. Moreover, you will never be able toaccept and love others.

There are basically two kinds of people inthe world. Those who lock others incages (and ultimately themselves), and those who set them free. The Phariseesdid the former. Jesus the latter.

“The small man

Builds cages for everyone

Knows.

While the sage,

Who has to duck his head

When the moon is low,

Keeps dropping keys all night long

For the

Beautiful

Rowdy

Prisoners”

Iwish I knew who penned that because I would give them credit for making me yearnto be a "key-dropper", a man who longs to set people free --- "Go, I release you --- rather than keeping them entrapped in abitterness they cannot break.

HenriNouwen writes, “Until you understand how much God loves you, you will always bedemanding love, using your own power to prove that you are loved, or feeling sounlovable that you are miserable. Thegreatest trap in our lives is not success, popularity or power --- butself-rejection. We reject ourselves whenwe do not believe who we really are. Wechoose to believe lies about our identity rather than embrace our core truth--- that each of us is beloved of God just like Jesus was.”

Nouwen goes on to say, “Self-rejection is thegreatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voicethat calls us 'Beloved'." Christian you are beloved despite of what you do orhave done, what you own or lack, or how others may or may not perceive you. You are beloved because Jesus, God the Son,lived for you and died for you and rose again from the dead for you. You are beloved because God says that you arebeloved. You stand worthy of his watch care, surrounded by his holy presence at alltimes --- his light pushing back your darkness.

It's enough to make you want to rise up and proclaim, “Idon’t give a scrawny rat’s patootie what those people or those people or thosepeople think about me anymore!" because I am well-accepted in the beloved!

Searchme, God, and know my heart;

test me andknow my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead mein the way everlasting.

*(This message was much influenced by Stephen W. Smith's excellent "Soul Custody". )

John 17

2011-10-11T16:07:00.000-04:00

The hour has arrived --- his flesh will betorn --- his heart will be crushed --- his spirit will be soiled ---thejudgment of God Almighty will crash upon him like a wave.

So, Jesus lifts his eyes towards heaven andprays. Throughout his ministry, Jesus offered prayers to God. Jesus spent hoursin lonely places pouring out his soul to the Father. However, only a handful of these prayersare recorded for us in Scripture. That’swhat makes the prayer located in John 17 such a treasure. To read these wordsis to breathe in the rarified atmosphere of a holy, intimate communion.

WhenI was a young believer, I memorized this prayer. I would stand outside my Chapel Hill apartment, crane my neck to the sky(supposing heaven to be somewhere in that direction) and speak the wordsof this chapter out loud. What better way to get close to the Father than by prayingthe words of his Son?

Theprayer found in John 17 takes us into the throne room of God. In less than tenhours Jesus will be stretched out in the sun to die. His lifework will be completed before the dayis done. The last words of historicalfigures, particularly their prayers, resonate. Scholars debate whether this is a one-time (and rather verbose for our Savior) monologue or a Spirit-inspired theologicalcompilation composed by the apostle John. Whatever. In John 17 we are given aglimpse into the very essence of the relationship between God the Father andGod the Son.

John17: 1 – 26

Whodoes Jesus pray for? In verses 1 – 5he prays for himself. (Verse 1) Father, the time has come. Give me the strength to finish the task. I want to make you look good.

People seldom have any trouble praying forthemselves --- help me, me, me, me! However, when Jesus prays his motives aren’t selfish. He lives to seeglory redound upon the Father. Let the world see who I am because then theywill see who you are. But because the glory of Jesus is linked to the welfareof the eleven men in whom he has invested so much time, the bulk of this prayer centersupon his friends.

Whodoes Jesus pray for? In verses 6 – 18,Jesus prays specifically for his disciples. He prays for those who were chosen to testifyabout his words. I have revealed you to those (verse 6) that you gave meout of the world. They were yours and you gave them to me. And yet in prayingfor the spiritual success of the disciple’s testimony, the LORD Jesus is alsopraying for us. On the darkest night of his life, the Savior was praying --- foryou.

Hemakes this clear in verse 20. My prayer is not for my disciplesalone. I pray also for those who will believe in me because of theirmessage. In those hours leading up tothe stripping of his dignity, the bruising of his muscles, the shedding of hislifeblood, the corruption of his purity --- you, my friend, were on the Savior’sheart.

Youknow, I was unfamiliar with the apostle’s creed growing up. I heard it thefirst time at a Presbyterian church. As anProtestant, I was somewhat thrown by the phrase the “holy catholic church”---what you talkin’ bout? Until someone told me that catholic means “universal”.

Whenwe speak of the church universal, we are referring to all the men and women andchildren (Catholic and Protestant) who until the end of time will bygrace respond to God’s word and trust his Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesusdied for his own.

Therefore, Christ’s requestis not the vague, wishful thinking of an optimistic man --- not a "pretty-please"petition for a faceless mob of folks who might believe. NO. Jesus makes a concrete request regarding specific individuals whobelong to the church universal, who have been united to Christ through aspiritual rebirth, who are dependent on God’s mercy, who are sustained by God's grace, who are alive in God's hope, who are won by God's love, and who areholding forth against the powers of darkness.

TheChurch universal includes the withered peasant woman who carries her icon intothe Greek Orthodox church, but leaves her burden with the Christ of God. TheChurch universal includes that foot-stomping Pentecostal pastor in San Paulo, Brazil. The Church universal includes middle-aged divorcee who finds genuinefellowship with her friends and Jesus at the Mainline church of something oranother in the U. S. of A. And the Church universal includes thatandrogynous teenager, covered with tattoos and body piercings, who gave hislife to the LORD at a heavy metal Christian concert.

Weget that, or do we? In other words,Jesus is not praying for Episcopalians, Lutherans, Independents, Baptists,Charismatics, or even practically perfect Presbyterians. Rather, Jesus prays for a great numberof unique individuals chosen from every tribe, tongue, and language group ---from diverse social, economic, educational, and cultural backgrounds --- folkswith differing gifts, temperaments, aptitudes, and abilities. Jesus ispraying for those who hear and respond to the gospel call. Who is our Savior pleadingfor? Jesus intercedes on behalf of hischurch! But WHAT is his request?

Heasks to please the Father in death as he did in life. He asks to please the Father by impartinglife to men. Now this (verse 3)is eternal life that they may know you the only true God. Jesus’ mind has turned toward heaven. Father, I entered the hell of this rebelliousplanet because I love you, but I’m ready to go home. Father (verse 5) glorify me in yourpresence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jesus makes itclear that as far as he is concerned heaven is a relationship. Heaven is intimate communion with the Father.

I don’t wish to totally imply that there isn’t somepopping, snapping, hissing lake of fire somewhere beyond this veil of time andspace , but surely the most potent pain of hell is the pain of isolation ---alone, all alone with your twisted, bitter, ungrateful, hateful, screamingheart forever and ever and ever.

Hell is the emptiness of sex without love.Hell is the hangover that lies at the end of the bottle. Hell is a nausea-inducing endlessroller-coaster ride of self-indulgence. Hell is the ultimate consequence of every alienating, selfish choice wehave ever made. Hell is asoul-disfiguring disease that never runs its course. It doesn’t end. It won’tend. Hell is burning, gnawing loneliness. And for some it has already begun.

Heavenon the other hand, perhaps replete with golden streets and fluffy clouds, isexceeding social. It’s that moment, thatperfect moment that seems to last --- that you wish to last forever and everand ever. Think holding hands and connecting with the love of your life whilethe sun dissolves into the ocean blue. I don’t know. However, I doknow that Jesus said that he came to bring life and that such life is possibleonly for those who know God.

That’s why Jesus came. Jesus came to make God known. Jesus came to save us from the consequence offoolish choices. And Jesus prays thatthe work of salvation he would soon complete upon the cross would beeffective.

Butin order for his work to be fully effective the men he had chosen to tellothers about his love must stand firm. So, what does our LORD pray for? He prays that God will protect his disciples. Jesus occupied himself with a band of sometimes dull-witted,hard-headed, weak men/women. Jesus prays thathis confused, tired, heavy-hearted friends would continue to labor in hisabsence.

Iwill remain in the world no longer (verse 10), but they are in theworld. Holy Father, protect them by thepower of your Name. Jesus knows betterthan anyone how dangerous this world can be. And Jesus knows better than anyone the malicious intent of God’senemy. My prayer is not that you takethem out of the world (verse 15) but that you protect them from evil,literally the Evil One, the rebel intent on killing, stealing, and destroyingsouls.

Jesusdoesn’t ask that God make the disciples life a proverbial rose garden. Hedoesn’t ask that they be spared faith-proving hardships or refining trials,but he does ask that God would watch over and protect these men ---just like hehimself has done every day for three years, and that when their time comes, when thehour of crisis, the moment of testing is upon them, that their testimony will not fall to the ground. Jesus asks that God would protect as in keepas in make these men persevere in their convictions and love ---for him and for each other.

Sanctifythem by the truth (verse 17). Set them apart. Make themdifferent. When the world sees themlet the world see me, and Father when they see me let them see you. As you have sent me into the world, I havesent them. Jesus prays that hisdisciples would lay a strong foundation for the church.

Whatdoes Jesus pray for? He prays that the Church would be ONE as in unified. Does the wordunity scare you? Cults and new ageweirdoes talk about oneness. However,the concept lies at the core of biblical Christianity, and the night before hiscrucifixion Jesus is deeply concerned about unity.

Jesusis not praying for some sort of institutionalized or organizational unity. Noris Jesus talking about uniformity, that cookie-cutter brand of Christianitythat we all wish to impose upon others (join us because we talk alike andwalk alive and never ever fight unless you make us mad when you refuse to talkalike and walk alike). NO. God delightsin the diversity of his creation, yet he wants us to be ONE.

Evenin the unity of the Godhead there exist eternally three persons --- God theFather, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And it is that relationship, that communion enjoyed withinthe Trinity that is the model, the foundation and fountain of the church’soneness.

Actually,Jesus isn’t commanding us to be one. If we are believers we already are one.You have been united to Christ, and you have been united to fellowbelievers. We are a family, brothers andsisters, who have been adopted together into the household of God.

God is our Father. Jesus is our elder brother. Sometimes this unity is explained by means ofa tree. Jesus is the vine or the trunk---we are each the branches. Perhaps, the most recognizable illustration ofthis unity is that of a body. Christ isthe head. We are the body. He is the brains of the outfit, and we arethe hands and the toes and the eyes and the ears all working together toglorify God.

Webring glory to God when we live in unity --- but --- but? “Did you know that the Church of the HolySepulcher in Jerusalem was supposedly built on the site where tradition saysJesus was crucified and then raised from the dead? This holy shrine for various Christiandenominations serves as a place of spiritual vitality and power for many people.But for others the power of the gospel which overcame the grave isn’t ondisplay at the church of the Holy Sepulcher, but rather contentious clusters ofChristians each claiming the sacred site as their own.

Someonehas said, 'It’s more like a war--zone where this group claims thispart of the church and that group claims that part.' In fact the church hasbecome such a battleground that for the last hundred years or so, they haven'teven let Christians have keys to the place. Instead, a certain Muslim familyhas been charged with keeping the keys, and when things get really bad, theyjust lock it up!” (can't remember my source)

The history of the church screams schism, separation, and sectarianism. And to a lot of people the church’s witness --- all our talk aboutreconciliation and peace and love and unity ring hollow.

Nowyou can rise up and call me ecumenical (I’ve been called worse), but thesolidarity of the church not only enables us to witness effectively --- it IS ourwitness. Not a peace at all costskind of unity that undermines strong foundations, but a unity based on acommon commitment to the truth of the gospel. The oneness of community thatChristian churches enjoy should serve as a foretaste of heaven. Jesus saidthat our love and our unity (and it’s hard to separate one from the other)remains THE hallmark of his presence.

Icame across a telling illustration this week. Scott Sayes writes, “J. R. R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ringincludes a scene that failed to make it into the movie. The eight who accompanythe ring bearer on his journey are men, hobbits, dwarves and elves. In order todefeat the power of the Dark Lord, these historically divided groups must worktogether towards a common goal.

As the fellowship approaches Lothlórien, anelven region, the elven guard refuses to let Gimli the dwarf pass without ablindfold. The resulting tension threatens to divide the fellowship. ButAragorn, the group’s leader, suggests that if one of them must face thisindignity, they will all pass through blindfolded. Legolas the elf protests:'Alas for the folly of these days! Here all are enemies of the one Enemy,and yet I must walk blind, while the sun is merry in the woodland under leavesof gold!'

'Follyit may seem,' says Haldir. 'Indeed in nothing is the power of theDark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all thosewho supposedly oppose him.'" Andthat’s why Jesus prays.

Actually, WHY does Jesus pray? I mean he was God and all that. Why? To show us how important itis for us to lift our eyes to heaven and do the same? Why? Because he loved the Father? Why? Because he loves us? Yes. Above all, Jesus prayed because he cherisheshis church and because the church is the vehicle through which God is mostglorified.

Jesus prays that through our unified witness the world mightbelieve in him (verse 21). Jesusprays, “May they be brought to complete unity (verse 23) so the worldmight know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have lovedme." Whether the evidence of Jesus’ loverises like the smell of a sweet perfume to be used by the Holy Spirit to drawothers towards the Savior or remains the stench of death confirming individualsin their rebellion --- our oneness brings glory to God --- and it is Christ’sgreat, all-consuming desire to glorify God.

Father, let me finish mywork. I want to do a good job. Father,protect my disciples. They’re important to me. Father, unify my church. Let them experience the wonder of heavenlyoneness. Each of these requests is just another way of saying --- “Father,glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you” --- which provides the nucleusaround which the spiritual energy of this petition revolves.

I'll conclude with a question. Do you think God answered Jesus’ prayer? Some would say --- no --- not yet. Look atthe thousands of Christian bloggers duking it out over theirinterpretation of some fine --- or it’s not very fine at all if you ask me! ---point of doctrine? You do have to standfor something. But when push comes toshove over questionable issues, I stand for assuming the same position ---on our knees --- as we humbly debate the truths of the faith once handeddown. But seriously, did God answerJesus’ prayer?

Think about it. Does the Father say, “Obe quiet you whiner – I’m so tired of all your little petitions.” It’s inconceivable that God Almighty would orcould turn a deaf ear to the earnest requests of his beloved Son, the apple ofhis eye. If you have the faith to believe anything, then believe that thisprayer has and will be answered in the full.

Jesus glorified theFather in life, and Jesus glorified the Father in death. His work is finished. God did not leave him in the tomb. Jesus has been exalted to the pre-eminentplace in the universe. He has been given a Name above every other name, and atthe sound of that Name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess thatHe is LORD.

Christ disciples finished their work aswell. They might have bumbled about attimes, but by the grace of God they persevered. They were protected from the enemy. They were sanctified by the truth. They laid the foundation of the New Testament church. And by the Spirit’s aid they wrote the Scriptures that are read throughout churches across the world.

On the night Jesus prayed this prayer hehad a handful of men and women committed (or kind of committed) to hislifework. Today there are roughly 2billion men and women who claim to be Christians. Now they may not all be earnest evangelicalsor blessed Baptists or practically perfect Presbyterians –-- I’ll let God sort that out –-- butconsider how the Spirit-inspired testimony of those first disciples has changedthe world.

As Christians we are a short-sighted, pessimistic people living inpessimistic times --- “The world is going to hell in a hand-basket." “What’sgoing to happen with the economy?" "What’sgoing to happen in the 2012 elections?" I’msure such stuff matters to God, but Jesus hardly hooted at the Herod’s of thisworld. However Jesus seemed tremendously concerned about his church.

Friends, Jesus asked that the gates of hell not prevail againsthis church. It is impossible that they will. The church is and will beone. The church triumphant has and will continue to give testimony to gloryof Jesus Christ, and one day the knowledge of God (which is eternal life) will coverthe earth like the ocean.

Me In My White T-shirt

2011-10-04T17:57:00.001-04:00

Me --- October 2011

I don't like having my picture taken, but why not? Life is short ,and I'm getting older and older (don't we all), so I leave to my somewhat sad legacy these few sermons, my glorious offspring, and two pictures of me in my favorite white T-shirt (and one day I might add a song or two --- singing is my purest passion --- if I just make the time.)

Hagar

2011-09-15T13:38:00.001-04:00

I used to think thatthe Holy Bible was filled with holy characters that did holy things as anexample for us to follow. Not so much. The Bible, especially theOld Testament, is populated by a fairly unholy horde --- flawed folks who werefortunate enough to benefit from the mercy of a Holy God.

Abraham, the father of the faithful,and the patriarch of three world religions --- Judaism, Islam, andChristianity --- could be a coward, a compromiser who played fast and loosewith the truth. His wife, Sara, sometimes seems a shrew, a jealous harpy, hell-bent onsecuring her will her way. And thedeplorable disdain, at least by modern standards, they both showed the thirdparty in one of the more tawdry domestic dramas detailed in the entire Bible,proves downright embarrassing.

Our spiritual forebears, Abraham andSara, ultimately stand as grand examples of faith, not to mention the grace ofour thrice-holy Creator. But sometimesthey seem like awful people. I can’ttell you the number of awful people I’ve encountered during my years as apastor. Sure the things they did wereperfectly acceptable in their time and culture --- but that doesn’t make themright. Just put yourself inthe sandals of the slave girl who experienced the emotional roller-coaster ofAbraham and Sara’s faith struggle first hand.

Of course, I am talking about Hagar. Hagar is a relatively minor character who nonetheless plays a major role in biblical history. We tend to dismiss Hagar, whose nameliterally means stranger, because shewas a stranger, an Egyptian, from a race of people who would prove a continualthorn in Israel’s side.

We tend to dismiss Hagar because she was aslave, someone to be seen only if needed and never heard. We tend to dismiss Hagar because the heroesof our story, Abraham and Sara, dismiss Hagar. In fact, even God seems to dismiss this slave girl as a disposable pawnto his penultimate plan --- though notcompletely. Remember that. And we tend to dismiss Hagar because in theNew Testament the apostle Paul tells us that Hagar serves as a symbol of fallenmankind still laboring under the burden of the law.

However,upon re-reading her story (as found inGenesis 16 and 21), Hagar actually comes off as the hero in a messy householdaffair, or at least a character we could, and perhaps more importantly, SHOULD empathize with.

I thought about turning our narrative into athree person play entitled “Two WildWomen and One Wooly Man”, but I didn’t find the time. Abraham and Sara had a lot of time, a wholelot of time to wait for the son, that heir promised by God. But days turned into months turned into yearsand the child of promise through whom the whole world would be saved nevercame.

And Sarah grew old. Her barrenness compounded by menopause. At first Abraham tried to make his nephew his heir, but that didn’t work. Later,Abraham assumed his servant and friend Eleazar would become his heir. But God said --- NO. Wait. Wait.

Butat the start of Genesis 16, Sara has tired of waiting. Enough of this nonsense! Do Ihave to do everything around here?

Genesis 16: 1) Now Sarai,Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave namedHagar; so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go,sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” It seems Sara had acquired Hagar duringthe family’s unpleasant stint in Egypt (Genesis12). Jewish scholars actually conjecturethat Hagar was the daughter of the Pharaoh that Abraham, in a moment ofcowardly compromise, duped. Take her! She’s better off with you than with me. Maybe. Maybe not.

Still, a slave is a slave is a slave. I imagine Sara and Abraham treated Hagar well,but Hagar is a commodity, personal property, someone who must do what she’stold when she’s told no questions asked. I find it interesting that neither Sara or Abraham ever addresses Hagarby her name --- she’s either the slave girl --- or that woman.

Anyway,Sara whines, “The LORD has kept me fromhaving children.” Do you think Sara’sblaming God for her predicament? Peopletend to blame God when they don’t get their way. I do. You do. Or maybe Sara’s simplystating a fact --- because if you believe in a sovereign God, then God HAD intentionallyprevented Sara from conceiving in order to build her faith while accomplishinghis will.

Butit’s really hard to figure out what God’s up to when you’re confused andhurting. In her defense, Sara justwanted to help God out. She wanted achild. Her motives aren’t entirelymisguided. The practice of bearing achild through a surrogate or concubine was culturally acceptable --- though ithad not been sanctioned by God in this instance.

God’swill done God’s way will never lack for God’s blessing. You’ve heard that before, right? However,Sarah is driven by desperation and tries to accomplish God’s will in her ownway. She allowed her fallen instinct tolead; and in doing so she made a mess of everything.

Accordingto the custom of the day, Sarah wants Abraham to take her slave girl and make ababy. If you think about it --- this wasalmost a sacrificial act. It must have hurt Sarah on some level. Marry her. Love her. Give her a son becauseI want you to be happy Abraham, and I want our God to be glorified through thegift of this promised child. It all sounded so good at the time, and yet it wasbreathtakingly presumptuous --- and self-serving ,as in I- capital-I will build a family through her, not to mention the fact that Hagarhad no real choice in the matter.

Maybe, Hagar was eager even to improve hersocial situation, from slave to wife, from a nothing and a nobody to near mistressof the house by crawling into bed with Abraham. I’m not going to pretty-up the not so pretty story told in Genesis 16. Infact, you might be so bold as to say that Sara conspired with Abraham to rapeHagar. I’m not trying to offend you. I’mtrying to get you to think.

Even though Abraham married Hagar, Hagarreally didn’t have a choice in the matter. And by modern standards when you don’t have a choice in mattersregarding sexual activity it's called rape. Now it’s unwise to read a moderninterpretation into ancient sensibilities, but at the very least it’s safe tosay that Hagar’s feelings, hopes, and dreams are never factored into the equationin this story. “You’re having my baby – whether you’re a woman in love who loves whatit’s doing to you” --- or not. Maybethat’s why Hagar has found a sympathetic audience among a lot of AfricanAmerican theologians, particularly women.

Anyway, Abraham acquiesces to his wife’ssuggestion/demand (I told you he was kindof wooly as in passively pliable and too quick to keep the peace at all costs). Yet, it’s sort of a win-win situation forHagar. She does conceive, and Hagar’sstatus in the household does change slightly.

Inverse 4) we’re told she began todespise her mistress or more literally Hagar looked at Sara with contempt.Maybe it’s a pride-based contempt along the lines of, “Ha, ha look at me. I’m going tohave a baby, and you’re not. I’mproviding the old man with an heir, and you aren’t. I am finally something and somebody aroundhere.” Or it might have been ananger-based contempt as in, “You used me,sister, and once my child is born I know you’ll take him away, and then it willback to cleaning the kitchen and feeding the goats for me.” I think the context supports the former, but whateverthe emotional motivation behind Hagar’s contempt, Sara cannot endure the beastshe’s created.

SoSara runs to the Master of the house, “Abraham,Abraham, do something about the mess you’ve made.” Abraham, of course, does nothing because he’sa wooly, passive, pliable man who would rather avoid conflict than enter intothis cat fight, so he throws up his hand and says, “She’s your slave, deal with her yourself.”

And Sara does. Shebegins to treat “the other woman” harshly. Sara makes Hagar’s life a living hell. This is most often the way jealousy and envy play out. It’s never pretty when two women are vyingfor supremacy with one man. But make nomistake about it Sara has the upper hand in this matter. “Howdare you look at me that way? I’ll makeyou clean the outhouse with a toothbrush. I see how this is going to go. You think you’re going to take my husband from me. Think again, you Egyptian hussy.”

And when the abuse becomes too much, Hagar runs away. “I’drather die in the desert that put up with --- with her --- with him --- withthis. Nobody cares about me. I’m all alone.” But surprise, surprise --- that’s not true. And in a rather startling passage, the God ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sees the plight of Hagar, the stranger, andintervenes.

Verse 7) The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it wasthe spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and whereare you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,”she answered.

Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go backto your mistress and submit to her.” Ouch. The angel added, “I willincrease your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

The angel of the LORD, representative of God or even apre-incarnate appearance of God the Son, speaks to the Egyptian slave girl andmakes a promise to Hagar akin to the promise he made to Abraham. Think about that. He goes on to tell Hagar that she will bear ason, “a wild donkey of a man”, andthat his name will be Ishmael, which literally means, “God hears.” Rememberthat. It’s important.

God certainly sees Hagar’s sad situation. He comforts her and sends her back to Abrahamand Sara to have her baby. Amazed andhumbled, this pagan girl, who may or may not have been a believer in Abraham’sGod, gives thank to the LORD. And sheeven names him. In fact, Hagar is theonly individual in the Bible, male or female, to ascribe a name to God.

Verse 13) “You are the God who sees, you are theGod who sees me, even me, a nothing, nobody, an outcast, a stranger, yet I haveseen the God who sees me." Amen and hallelujah!” So, Hagarbears her son and everything is basically honky-dory or something like that forthe next fourteen years --- until the promised child, Sara’s very own miraclebaby, utters his first cry.

The gift of the promised child, Isaac, who’s name literallymeans laughter (given the ridiculous waythe Living God finally makes good on his promise) changes the dynamics ofwhat had to already be a dysfunctional household.

Genesis 21: 8) Isaac grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac wasweaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar theEgyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking him, and she said to Abraham, “Getrid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share inthe inheritance with my son Isaac.”

Sarawas right. Ishmael would never share inthe inheritance of her son Isaac. Shewas even right to protect her child’s best interest and the integrity of God’scovenant, but look how quickly the blessing, the grace, the free gift of Godbecomes her possession.

I also want to point out that the NIV makes aninterpretative call when using the phrase “mocking him”. The literal word comes from the root word ‘laughter”and is a play on Isaac’s name. Verse 9 could mean that the teenagerwas simply playing with or perhaps tickling his toddler brother. Maybe Sara feared the bond that mightdevelop between the two boys, who had more in common than not, and needed todestroy the potential for any future friendship? Perhaps Ishmael was roughhousing with Isaac,and Sara feared for her son’s safety. Maybe Ishmael was mocking theboy whose very presence robbed him of his hoped for birth right. Don’t know.

We do know that Sara instinctively sensed danger and that the situation needed fixing. So, once again she runs to her husband, “Abraham, Abraham, it’s time for the slavewoman and her son to go. She’s servedher purpose, that human incubator, that foreigner --- she and her son are athreat to our son’s future. Send thempacking.”

It’sfunny how Sara often seems mad at Abraham, or even Hagar, when she created thesituation. Maybe she ought to take alittle personal responsibility for her predicament. Maybe she ought to extend to Hagar the kindof grace she herself has received from God. But no, and poor passive Abraham finds himself between a rock and a hardplace once again.

You see, he’s become fond of the boy. Nothing’s said about the place --- if any ---Hagar may now occupy in Abraham’s heart. But Ishmael is Abraham’s firstborn, the only son he’s ever known, a sonto hunt and fish with as opposed to that new kid whose diaper still needs to bechanged. In other words, it’s a wholelot harder this time to acquiesce to Sara’s concerns.

Youknow, we often talk about the fact that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his sin,his only son, Isaac. But in fact, Abrahamwas asked to sacrifice both of his sons. Abraham had to let go of Ishmael aswell. And he didn’t want to. I reckon Abraham wore the pants in thefamily, it just seems, like in so many marriages I know of, that his wife toldhim when to put them on and take them off. Hey, Hagar do you mind if I gowith?

YetGod intervenes --- again. Throw themout, Abraham. It’s the plan. Actually, it’s OK. I’m in control. Verse12) it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned, but I will makethe son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

Soagain Hagar is cast into the wilderness. She’s run off from the only home she’s probably ever known. And no one --- including God --- seems tocare about her predicament. What about that promise you gave to me? Yes. Abraham gives his discarded wife and his by now teenage son a flask ofwater and a pack of nabs. But at some point during their ramblings through thedesert of Beersheba, the supplies run out and dehydration, heat exhaustion, andstarvation set in. Ishmael is the firstto succumb, and Hagar places the boy-man? underneath a bush to die.

Hagarcannot, will not watch her only son sputter his last, so she movesabout a bow shot away to await the inevitable. Hagar begins to sob, and low and behold --- in another play on words ---God hears the cry of a boy named “God hears”. However, God or the angel of God addressesHagar, “What is the matter, Hagar? Donot be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy upand take him by the hand.” And for thethird time God promises, “for I will makehim into a great nation.”

“Then God opened her eyes and she saw awell of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy adrink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became anarcher. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for himfrom Egypt.” The end. Or is it the beginning. Of what?

Andwhat are we to make of Hagar? I havehonestly never considered her point of view until now. Ithink we sometimes hold Hagar at arm’s length because she is much revered inMuslim circles. In many ways, she hasbecome the matriarch of Islam, primarily because the prophet Mohammed tracedhis descent back to Ishmael. In fact,part of a Muslims’ pilgrimage to Mecca includes activities intended to honorHagar’s courage.

Andthen there’s the way this oppressed, slave woman has become a favorite offeminist and liberation theologians – as in God lifts up the downtrodden andhumbles the mighty. Not to mention the fact that Hagar has also become a figuremuch-embraced by the Palestinians, especially those few Palestinian Christianswho identify with her outcast, dismissed, and discredited status. Hagar has even become a controversial figurein Israeli politics.

IfI might digress briefly, one of the most famous debates ever held on the floorof Knesset, Israel’s house of Parliament, was over the proper interpretation ofthese passages. Did Abraham or Sara do wrongwhen they showed Hagar the door? Orperhaps in the way they kicked her to the curb? Or were they simply doing what they needed to do and what God commanded--- to promote their best interest and safe guard the covenant? I think the implications for the Jewish Palestinianconflict are obvious.

Left-leaning Jewish politicians think thatthe Palestinian exodus and Israel’s subsequent treatment of the Palestiniansdoesn’t square with God’s call on the Jewish people or his character. More conservative thinking Jewish politiciansbelieve that engagement with the Palestinians will endanger the country. You can’t be friends with people who verywell might stab you in the back. I don’tknow. But do you see how this fairly minor biblicalcharacter has had a major impact on biblical history? However, my concern is spiritual notpolitical.

Atits most basic the story of Hagar is instructive for the fact that it’sincluded in Holy Writ at all. The OldTestament was a book written by the people of God, for the people of God, aboutthe people of God. That God would dealso graciously with this Egyptian woman, including her in his plan and promisesays volumes. Ultimately, God is the Godof all people, and the Old Testament only finds completion in the New Testamentwhere the God who sees and hears and cares is clearly revealed through JesusChrist, who laid down his life for outcasts from every nation, tribe and tongue--- and who rose again to empower sinners, wooly men like Abraham, and wildwomen like Sara --- and Hagar --- to newness of life.

Byway of application, how should you treat the outcast? Or better yet how should you view the Muslimfamily that just moved in across the street. Are they your enemies or your long-lost spiritual half-brothers andsisters? Should we prudently put up awall or extend a welcome, praying and trusting that the God who hears will openthe eyes of anyone who is trapped in a cycle of self-effort to see the grace ofGod in the face of Jesus Christ. I can’t tell you what tothink. I just know as political,economic, and religious tensions increase you may be forced to think.

Thismuch I do know. Our Savior has promisedto never leave or forsake his own. Andwe can all find comfort and encouragement in the story of Hagar, because ifand/or when you are lonely, downcast, outcast, dejected, oppressed,harassed, or hated the God who saw and heard the plight of Hagar --- sees and hearsyou as well.