July 12, 2009 Message

Psalm 24; Mark 6:14-29
“Who Is God? Who Are We?”

Two weeks ago, we drove out to Colorado for a family vacation in Estes Park. It had been twenty plus years since the last time we made the trip together, only this time, rather than being in the back seat, our son was in the car ahead of us on I-80 and our daughter in a third car coming from Arizona. And with them, this time, were their children and spouses. Everything about the trip was great - our going, our time there, and our return home. And everywhere I found myself to be, I continually witnessed evidence of God’s creation – in the plains and rivers along the I-80, in the transitional sand hills and foothills of western Nebraska and northeastern Colorado, and in the tree and snow covered mountains of the Rockies. There was an underlying realization that all of this was God’s – not mine or anyone else’s. There was a sense of timelessness, and man’s inability to exert control over anything in a lasting way. God’s hand was in everything - even in the family that had grown over time from four to eleven. Perhaps you have had similar experiences during your times away.

The psalmist, today in Psalm 24, sings a song of praise, remembering that God created everything, and having done so, everything – the whole earth and everything on it – belongs to God.

The granite mountains, flowing rivers, flat plains and rolling hills are all God’s. The bountiful crops grown in rich, black or irrigated, sandy soils are God’s as well. The gardens we plant, tend and come back to are Gods. Everything in the world we think is ours IS all God’s. Even us, and those we love, are God’s. Everything belongs to God. And because it does, nothing is beyond God’s power or outside God’s control.

If we believe the earth is the LORD'S and everything in it, then how could on this earth ever be ours? If God is the owner of everything, how could God not be the owner of everything we have – rather than us? That is true of what everyone has – whether it is a little or a lot: it all belongs to the Lord and not to any of us.

The people of ancient Israel understood this; when they came to Jerusalem to worship, they would remember God’s ownership of the creation. They acknowledged that everything— including all of the stuff they possessed—was not ultimately theirs to do with as they wanted. It all belonged to God. And they were accountable for using God’s stuff in ways that were pleasing to God.

Is that our understanding of God and things? Or, has our God changed? Became less powerful? Incapable of creation? No longer Lord of all (and owner of all that is)? I don’t think God has changed. God’s people understood themselves not as owners, but as stewards of all that God had entrusted to them. Don’t we, as Christians, believe that despite what our culture tells us, we don’t really own this stuff that is ours? But instead, are accountable before God for how we use the resources God has entrusted to us?

As stewards, we are to manage these resources for the owner’s benefit. They belong to God, not us. It's our job to find out what the owner wants done with them, and then do it. God has entrusted to us a lot of things to take care of. What we might ask ourselves is: what does God want me to do with these things that are not really mine? What am I to use them for? And, we need to ask that about everything.

We need to ask this about all the ‘stuff’ we have. How much of God’s stuff am I or my family entitled to when it all belongs to God and has only been entrusted ti our care? How much am I to keep for myself?

We need to ask this about our money. What does God require of my giving to the church? Am I giving in a way God wants me to? What does justice demand of me when it comes to the poor and needy?

We need to ask this about ourselves – our time, our gifts and talents. All these belong to God as well and God has entrusted them to our care. Am I managing the time and gifts I have the way God wants me to?

And we need to ask this about our church as well. It belongs to God also and has been entrusted to our care. We need to ask: are we managing it the way God wants us to? Is the church able to do or be involved in what God has intended for it or is it being held back or misdirected by our negligence instead?

It is tough knowing if we are doing the right things or managing things the way God wants us to. And yet, the apostle Paul provides some very good direction when he says, “So… whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31) Of course, to manage everything for the glory of God means we no longer manage everything for our sakes and our glory and our pleasure and our advancement and our enjoyment.

There is only one king. “The King of glory, the Lord, strong and mighty.” Psalm 24:7-8
Sometimes, like Herod, we get it all wrong. We think only about ourselves and holding on to what we have. We don’t like what we have done but still we go on as we have. Herod thought there should be only one king, one person in control, one person who owned everything – him. He really never understood the kingdom Jesus taught about or “the king of glory, the Lord, strong and mighty” of which the psalmist sang.

The people were talking about the new teacher in town. Some said, “It is John the baptizer, raised from the dead, working in him.” Or, “It is Elijah?” Or, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” (Mark 6:14-16) Herod feared the power and control he might lose, never realizing the kingdom to which all, including him, were being invited.

We are God’s creation, God’s children. We belong to God – all of us. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;” Psalm 24:1 And yet, we fall short. We seem so far from God. We think of what God has done and of God’s power, and we wonder how anyone might consider us God’s children; or how we could ever be close to God. We do our best to live good lives and be good people, but we know we fall short - compared with God’s goodness, God’s faithfulness, God’s holiness.

And still, God invites us here to worship. That is the good news – and still… God invites us to open our hearts to welcome God into our lives. And still, God invites us into God’s kingdom to live the life we were intended to live. God is the King of Glory, the Lord of all. Jesus was right. The kingdom is near. It’s as near as the next moment and only as far away as our last breath. The kingdom is ours if only we would reach out and embrace it. Or as Thom Shuman writes in his prayer for today:

Every moment, we have the chance to breathe in your goodness and grace;
every hour, we have opportunities to share your love and hope;
every day, we have occasions to rest in the comfort of your heart.
In you, we discover the fullness of time, Delight of the Ages.

In every challenge we face, we can find the strength to persevere;
in every person we meet, we can find the blessing you have sent;
in every need we encounter, we can find the help you would have us offer.
In you, we discover the fullness of life, Companion of our days.

In every conflict of our lives, there is your healing we can offer;
in every brokenness we experience, there is that reconciliation we can receive;
in every difficulty which makes us stumble, there is that dance of hope you would teach us.
In you, we discover the fullness of faith, Promised Spirit.

God in Community, Holy in One, in you we discover the fullness we long for.

Today’s scripture teaches this about God: God is Lord; everything is God's; nothing is ours. There is only one king – one person in charge – (and it’s not Herod or any of us). God provides what we have and entrusts it to us to use for God’s glory, not ours. May we generously and joyfully use God's gifts to do God's work through this, God’s church.