July 19, 2009 Message

Psalm 89:20-37; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
“Always Means Always”

In our reading from Mark (6:30-34,53-56), Jesus is concerned about his tired disciples who have returned from having gone out in pairs to put into practice what he had taught them. They were sent into action, to teach, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick. (vv. 6-13) Now they have returned energized, and at the same time exhausted. They have come back eager to share stories of everything that has happened but they are worn out. What to do? They deserve a break, so Jesus takes them to an ‘out of the way’ place for some much needed rest and relaxation. This time away with their Lord is a welcomed relief.

But the people won’t let them be. And before long, they show up where Jesus and the disciples have gone. Jesus is concerned for the disciples but he is also compassionate toward the crowd of people that have swarmed after them on foot. Even as the disciples rest, Jesus continues to care for the people who come to him, the sick and the lost, those looking to be healed. He isn’t upset or angry that they keep coming to him for help. Nor does he ignore them. He continues to care for them. It is in Jesus’ reaction to these people that the true nature of God is revealed. God’s love never tires; God’s compassion never takes a break; God’s concern is never held back. God never leaves us stranded or alone. God is always here for us.

It’s like those times when parents are exhausted, but the baby still cries. You don’t ignore the child in need. Responding to a crying baby in the middle of the night when sleep is at a premium is an unconditional, sacrificial kind of love – a God kind of love. That is how Jesus reacts to all the needy people who just kept coming! He continues to be there for them.

God revealed in Jesus Christ is the same God revealed in today’s reading from Psalm 89. This is God who makes David and his descendents, and people like us, someone more than ordinary – someone very special. This is God who finds us, claims us, strengthens us, protects us from our enemies, loves us, and lifts us up. And this is God who promises to always be there for David. Ours is the same promise given David’s descendents – when God assured them, “mess up and there will be consequences (you may not like), but even then, God says, I will not renege on my pledge to you or take back my promises, ever.” “It shall be established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies.” (37)

This psalm was probably written sometime after 587 B.C. as a response to the Israel’s devastating situation. Jerusalem is wrecked, the temple is destroyed, Israel’s leaders are dead or imprisoned, the people are in exile, and hope is hard to come by. For the exiles in Babylon, whose faith in God has been ‘watered down’ and weakened by their situation and who now begin to question God’s promise to Israel to always, always be there for the people. God has not been real to them for some time now, but only talked about. They are losing their faith. Their state of mind is much like that found in “Love Among the Ruins” (a Robert Browning poem from 1855) that speaks of fond memories of what once was and will never be again.

Where the quiet-colored end of evening smiles,
Miles and miles
On the solitary pastures where our sheep
Half-asleep
Tinkle homeward thro' the twilight, stray or stop
As they crop--
Was the site once of a city great and gay,
(So they say)
Of our country's very capital, its prince
Ages since
Held his court in, gathered councils, wielding far
Peace or war.

So psalm 89 is needed in answering the question, “Where is the evidence of God’s steadfast love in the midst of ruin and overturned lives?” Where is God when all seems lost? Where IS God then! Finding T.S. Eliot’s “still point of the turning world” (from “Burnt Norton”) is what all of us must do when faced with the task of finding an answer where…

…Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards;
at the still point, there the dance is,
…Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
“At the still point, there the dance is,…where past and future are gathered. And there God is also.

Tradition understood this promise to be irrevocable and it came to be represented physically by the temple built by David’s son, Solomon and the earthly place where God resided. The temple had been a constant reminder of God’s promise to preserve and protect God’s chosen people. What do you do when the one place you’ve always been told will last forever lies in ruins? What do you say when the unthinkable has happened? What do you believe when God seems to have left the building and is no where to be found? What then!?

You question the covenantal relationship, don’t you? And that’s exactly what the people of Israel did. There is this huge question in their minds concerning what their future and whether God would be there for them when they most needed help. At the time, it certainly didn’t seem like God was taking care of them. So there had to be a reason. Maybe God was breaking the covenant and calling the whole things off!

Every parent understands unconditional love, but to a child, what does love look like when it seems love’s promises haven’t been kept? It is painful. It hurts. It is a scary feeling of being alone and abandoned. Faith only when things are going well in our lives is too weak to withstand life’s ups and downs and is certain to collapse under the weight of life’s harsh realities. Psalm 89 tries to remind us that the long-lasting and unwavering faith of the Bible has, at its core, a relationship. How we define or understand that relationship is the basis then of what we really believe and trust God will do.

Verse 35 is pretty clear; it says what God will and will not do to David (or to anyone else). God is God. God is truth. Of course God does not or will not lie, which only reinforces the promises God has made to David and his descendents – even if they mess up. God will “not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness.” The same goes for us. There may be some tough times, but God will not be “false to my faithfulness.” God is to be trusted. God does not lie.

And still this statement may not calm our worry or make us any less anxious. There has been for some of us, a time or two, maybe even today, when we have felt God has lied to us. Or we have wondered how our situation, as bad as it is, could possibly have been what God had promised. Be honest. We have thought that, haven’t we? And so God says, through the Psalmist in verses 20-35, “This is what I will do.” and “This is what I will not do.” What God will not do is lie – to any of us. That is the truth.

God promises to be here for us, for me and for you – no matter what. God will do that! Because God will not lie to David and God will not lie to you! That is good news indeed! Trust God to keep God’s word.