Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
June 21, 2009 Message
Psalm 9:9-20; Mark 4:35-41
“Relax”
Psalm 9 offers thanksgiving for the help God has given God’s people as well as a request for God's continued support. Sometimes we forget the praise, often found in the Psalms, came out of life situations, like those we often face. And although we may not know the details of what has happened into today’s psalm, its context would lead us to believe it was a time of great national concern - maybe an impending danger from foreign invasion or something similar. The image of God as a stronghold suggests the need for something more than military defenses or a fortress into which the people might retreat when the invasion occurs.
True, there has been a momentary victory (over an unnamed enemy) because of God’s help. But now, the faithful must put an even greater trust in God. This song of praise and thanksgiving assures Israel that in the Lord, there is a refuge for those who are discouraged, a retreat for those who are troubled, a safe place for those who are fearful and anxious. The psalmist declares that all who suffer will be lifted up and rescued – no matter what problems they face. No one will be forgotten or left behind. In the Lord, there is hope. So, relax.
Ultimately, the psalmist's hope rests on his trust in God (vs. 20). Isn’t that where our hope is to be also – in our trust in God? And yet there are times, aren’t there, when our trusting is way too little and we are anything but relaxed. The enemy is at the gate again – and we are anxious and worried and fearful for all that might happen.
Today’s gospel lesson from Mark has Jesus lying asleep in the front of a small fishing boat during a storm. The disciples wake Jesus and ask him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?” They were cold and wet, miserable in everything going on around them, and maybe even a little resentful. They felt like they were going to die. So they asked Jesus, “Do you care?” “Do – you – care?”
Remember earlier when the story of Jesus calming the storm was acted out? We played the part of the waves, the ship, or the frightened disciples. We stood in the boat and asked the sleeping Jesus, “Don’t you care that we’re all going to die?” And it was then Jesus got up and calmed the storm, and we knew, didn’t we, that he cares. It felt good.
But what about those times when the storm is not calmed? What about the times we struggle and there is no relief from our burden, no relief from our anxiety, no relief from our fear, and no relief from our tears? What about the broken heart that does not mend or the agonizing grief that refuses to go away? What then? Does God really care?
If we assume Jesus cares only if the storm is calmed, we have a huge dilemma of faith. What does it mean when Jesus doesn’t calm the troubled waters? Does he not care? Or does he care, but is powerless? If we have come to believe Jesus will lift all our burdens, will solve all our troubles, will heal all our wounds, what do we say when the storms of life continue to rage? Does God care?
St. Augustine once wrote, “”As a vessel on the sea is exposed to a thousand dangers – pirates, quicksand, hidden rocks, tempests – so man in this life, is encompassed with perils… ” The Reverend Ruth Harper Stevens, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, says, “The bottom line is this: “Does Jesus care when my marriage remains on the rocks, when my disease is no better, when my prospects of finding a job are no brighter…” It’s during those times - in the midst of whatever it is in our lives that threatens to take us down and won’t go away - we ask under our breath: “God, do you care?”
The disciples asked Jesus the very same question: “Do you care?” And Jesus responded. He calmed the storm. But the story is not about his calming the storm. You see, the story doesn’t end there. After he calms the sea, Jesus turns and asks the disciples: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” You see, Jesus cared about the powerful waves beating on the outside of the boat, threatening to take it and all those inside it, down. But his ultimate concern was with the disciple’s fear and lack of faith - the faith that they would be all right. And worst than that, they lacked faith that Jesus cared whether or not they would be all right.
What is it you fear today? Do you have faith Christ cares for you? According to the Apostle Paul, if we have faith in Christ, we believe there is nothing in life or death that can separate us from the love of Christ. Do you believe that? Isn’t Paul telling us that if we have faith in Christ, regardless of what is happening around us, we can know Christ loves us and that he cares?
The disciples weren’t there yet, and perhaps, neither are we. It’s a matter of trust. At the heart of faith in God is trust, not just belief. To trust someone is to have confidence in them. If you don't have confidence in your car to get you to wherever you are going, it's because you don't trust its reliability. Same deal with God. If you don't trust God, it's basically that you don't have confidence in God. Perhaps, then, it’s our confidence we really need to grow. But how do we do that? Carey Nieuwhof of Connexus Community Church of Toroto, Canada writes in his blog, “When we apply what we learn from God – all the crazy counterintuitive stuff - it stretches us deeply. When we get stretched, we have to trust God. And when we trust God, we grow (in our faith).” The inner peace all of us seek, then, has nothing to do with the absence of trouble, but everything to do with the presence of faith. So relax.
The disciples did have one thing right – “when the storms of life were raging” – they called upon Jesus who did care. Sure, they questioned his caring then, but later they never did. There were still things in their lives that threatened to take them down - persecution, shipwreck, imprisonment and even martyrdom. There was still pain and suffering and depression. There were still enemies at the gate. But through it all, for them, there was never a question, ever again, if Jesus cared. May it be so for us as well.
“Cast your cares on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 Let us pray…
“Relax”
Psalm 9 offers thanksgiving for the help God has given God’s people as well as a request for God's continued support. Sometimes we forget the praise, often found in the Psalms, came out of life situations, like those we often face. And although we may not know the details of what has happened into today’s psalm, its context would lead us to believe it was a time of great national concern - maybe an impending danger from foreign invasion or something similar. The image of God as a stronghold suggests the need for something more than military defenses or a fortress into which the people might retreat when the invasion occurs.
True, there has been a momentary victory (over an unnamed enemy) because of God’s help. But now, the faithful must put an even greater trust in God. This song of praise and thanksgiving assures Israel that in the Lord, there is a refuge for those who are discouraged, a retreat for those who are troubled, a safe place for those who are fearful and anxious. The psalmist declares that all who suffer will be lifted up and rescued – no matter what problems they face. No one will be forgotten or left behind. In the Lord, there is hope. So, relax.
Ultimately, the psalmist's hope rests on his trust in God (vs. 20). Isn’t that where our hope is to be also – in our trust in God? And yet there are times, aren’t there, when our trusting is way too little and we are anything but relaxed. The enemy is at the gate again – and we are anxious and worried and fearful for all that might happen.
Today’s gospel lesson from Mark has Jesus lying asleep in the front of a small fishing boat during a storm. The disciples wake Jesus and ask him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?” They were cold and wet, miserable in everything going on around them, and maybe even a little resentful. They felt like they were going to die. So they asked Jesus, “Do you care?” “Do – you – care?”
Remember earlier when the story of Jesus calming the storm was acted out? We played the part of the waves, the ship, or the frightened disciples. We stood in the boat and asked the sleeping Jesus, “Don’t you care that we’re all going to die?” And it was then Jesus got up and calmed the storm, and we knew, didn’t we, that he cares. It felt good.
But what about those times when the storm is not calmed? What about the times we struggle and there is no relief from our burden, no relief from our anxiety, no relief from our fear, and no relief from our tears? What about the broken heart that does not mend or the agonizing grief that refuses to go away? What then? Does God really care?
If we assume Jesus cares only if the storm is calmed, we have a huge dilemma of faith. What does it mean when Jesus doesn’t calm the troubled waters? Does he not care? Or does he care, but is powerless? If we have come to believe Jesus will lift all our burdens, will solve all our troubles, will heal all our wounds, what do we say when the storms of life continue to rage? Does God care?
St. Augustine once wrote, “”As a vessel on the sea is exposed to a thousand dangers – pirates, quicksand, hidden rocks, tempests – so man in this life, is encompassed with perils… ” The Reverend Ruth Harper Stevens, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, says, “The bottom line is this: “Does Jesus care when my marriage remains on the rocks, when my disease is no better, when my prospects of finding a job are no brighter…” It’s during those times - in the midst of whatever it is in our lives that threatens to take us down and won’t go away - we ask under our breath: “God, do you care?”
The disciples asked Jesus the very same question: “Do you care?” And Jesus responded. He calmed the storm. But the story is not about his calming the storm. You see, the story doesn’t end there. After he calms the sea, Jesus turns and asks the disciples: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” You see, Jesus cared about the powerful waves beating on the outside of the boat, threatening to take it and all those inside it, down. But his ultimate concern was with the disciple’s fear and lack of faith - the faith that they would be all right. And worst than that, they lacked faith that Jesus cared whether or not they would be all right.
What is it you fear today? Do you have faith Christ cares for you? According to the Apostle Paul, if we have faith in Christ, we believe there is nothing in life or death that can separate us from the love of Christ. Do you believe that? Isn’t Paul telling us that if we have faith in Christ, regardless of what is happening around us, we can know Christ loves us and that he cares?
The disciples weren’t there yet, and perhaps, neither are we. It’s a matter of trust. At the heart of faith in God is trust, not just belief. To trust someone is to have confidence in them. If you don't have confidence in your car to get you to wherever you are going, it's because you don't trust its reliability. Same deal with God. If you don't trust God, it's basically that you don't have confidence in God. Perhaps, then, it’s our confidence we really need to grow. But how do we do that? Carey Nieuwhof of Connexus Community Church of Toroto, Canada writes in his blog, “When we apply what we learn from God – all the crazy counterintuitive stuff - it stretches us deeply. When we get stretched, we have to trust God. And when we trust God, we grow (in our faith).” The inner peace all of us seek, then, has nothing to do with the absence of trouble, but everything to do with the presence of faith. So relax.
The disciples did have one thing right – “when the storms of life were raging” – they called upon Jesus who did care. Sure, they questioned his caring then, but later they never did. There were still things in their lives that threatened to take them down - persecution, shipwreck, imprisonment and even martyrdom. There was still pain and suffering and depression. There were still enemies at the gate. But through it all, for them, there was never a question, ever again, if Jesus cared. May it be so for us as well.
“Cast your cares on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 Let us pray…
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June 14, 2009 Message
Psalm 72
“Honest To God”
“Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.” (1-2)
This song is offered on behalf of a new Hebrew king, on whose shoulders the prosperity, success and health of a nation would rest – or so the people thought. So, what is its importance for us, as we are neither Hebrew nor king – or one on whom success or failure rest? Or are we? Maybe each of us, for just a short time this morning, could put ourselves in the place of this king and listen to the prayer of the psalmist as if it were for us. “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness…”
Do you hear the poet’s song: his petition for your long life, your influence on more and more people, and for an even greater reputation. Be cautious though. Don’t let the poet’s overstatement of things for you - your longevity, extended power, and durability of fame - obscure or cloud the main point, which is: the king lives under the scrutiny of God. The king does not have the final say – God does. You are only God’s helper.
Today’s gospel reinforces that it isn’t the king of this Psalm or the one who sows the seed - or any of us – who has the final say in the outcome of things, it is God. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” (Mark 4:26-27) Some things are beyond the understanding of even kings.
The people were God’s people, and therefore entitled to a rule of righteousness; the poor were God’s poor, and thus entitled to the rule of God’s justice. They still are. Leaders tend to forget that, even today. Looking at people as only ‘constituents,’ they get caught up in the mandates given them by their consistencies, forgetting their real mandates for rule are from God – to provide justice for all God’s people.
Psalm 72 offers the revelation that if the king rules with justice and righteousness, the troubles of the poor will cease and the whole of God’s people will prosper. If the people should live together lovingly under God’s rule – then their “well-being” and blessing would follow. Some would say that is the true meaning of shalom, of God’s peace and that it is God’s purpose our fellowship include everyone and that we share our love and concern with those who need it.
God’s justice, righteousness, and peace have always been important. The ideals of justice, prosperity for the people, and the cause of the poor have lost little, if any, weight after all these years. This psalm, more than any other, says it is the duty of those in positions to do so to help and care for the poor. It emphasizes God’s concern for social justice and helping the needy - which by the way always has been a Methodist thing!
Psalm 72 is thought by some to be a messianic text. In other words, it reveals the reign of the coming messiah. It says that the rule of God's Chosen One will be a kingdom that will last forever. His rule will be as refreshing as springtime showers. He will defend the poor and help the needy. When the Lord Jesus returns he will take away the evil in the world and set up a peaceful kingdom. Those who are godly and do what is right will flourish (do well) under his care. And yet the great Protestant thinker John Calvin warned against our considering this poem’s message as simply a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ to come. For him, we are not to wait!
Those in positions of power and leadership, including the church, are to put into practice acts of justice reflecting God’s justice. Praying the same prayer as the psalmist, we are to ask for God’s peace, justice and righteousness; which is a way of saying, “give our leaders honesty… so that they can be, in everything they do, “honest to God.” And then, as examples, their honesty will become characteristic of the people as well. Like the mustard seed mentioned today in Mark, our acts of justice, our care and concern for others, will multiply and grow - ever enlarging the kingdom of God.
In the 'mays' of this prayer, there is a sincere and passionate appeal for God’s way to be the king’s way, the people’s way, and our way.
1. May God’s righteousness flourish, and God’s justice abound in you… as long as the sun and the moon are in the sky. May it always be! In these words, we find hope that God’s “right way of living” shall never be broken during the king’s lifetime or that of his descendants.
2. May righteousness (God’s way of doing things) be for you, “like the rain that falls on the mown grass, like the showers that water the earth!” – timeless, predictable; and life renewing as you adopt for your lives God’s foundational values of kindness and concern for all God’s people.
3. May everyone honor and respect you not because of what you can do for them, but because of what you will do for “the needy… the poor and voiceless… and those who are weak as you keep them from being stepped on and used – all because, they do matter.”
4. May there be more than enough for everyone everywhere… more than enough justice for even the underdog… more than enough prosperity for even the poor… and more than enough peace for all creation.
This too is to be our ‘song of hope’… our prayer that God’s justice will prevail in this world and God’s kingdom come. And prevail it will… as this wondrous seed of God’s justice and righteousness, planted in each of our hearts, "grows up to become the greatest of all shrubs, putting forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” I have no idea just how it is going to happen, but I trust it will… because I don’t have the final say, God does!
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. (18-19)
“Honest To God”
“Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.” (1-2)
This song is offered on behalf of a new Hebrew king, on whose shoulders the prosperity, success and health of a nation would rest – or so the people thought. So, what is its importance for us, as we are neither Hebrew nor king – or one on whom success or failure rest? Or are we? Maybe each of us, for just a short time this morning, could put ourselves in the place of this king and listen to the prayer of the psalmist as if it were for us. “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness…”
Do you hear the poet’s song: his petition for your long life, your influence on more and more people, and for an even greater reputation. Be cautious though. Don’t let the poet’s overstatement of things for you - your longevity, extended power, and durability of fame - obscure or cloud the main point, which is: the king lives under the scrutiny of God. The king does not have the final say – God does. You are only God’s helper.
Today’s gospel reinforces that it isn’t the king of this Psalm or the one who sows the seed - or any of us – who has the final say in the outcome of things, it is God. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” (Mark 4:26-27) Some things are beyond the understanding of even kings.
The people were God’s people, and therefore entitled to a rule of righteousness; the poor were God’s poor, and thus entitled to the rule of God’s justice. They still are. Leaders tend to forget that, even today. Looking at people as only ‘constituents,’ they get caught up in the mandates given them by their consistencies, forgetting their real mandates for rule are from God – to provide justice for all God’s people.
Psalm 72 offers the revelation that if the king rules with justice and righteousness, the troubles of the poor will cease and the whole of God’s people will prosper. If the people should live together lovingly under God’s rule – then their “well-being” and blessing would follow. Some would say that is the true meaning of shalom, of God’s peace and that it is God’s purpose our fellowship include everyone and that we share our love and concern with those who need it.
God’s justice, righteousness, and peace have always been important. The ideals of justice, prosperity for the people, and the cause of the poor have lost little, if any, weight after all these years. This psalm, more than any other, says it is the duty of those in positions to do so to help and care for the poor. It emphasizes God’s concern for social justice and helping the needy - which by the way always has been a Methodist thing!
Psalm 72 is thought by some to be a messianic text. In other words, it reveals the reign of the coming messiah. It says that the rule of God's Chosen One will be a kingdom that will last forever. His rule will be as refreshing as springtime showers. He will defend the poor and help the needy. When the Lord Jesus returns he will take away the evil in the world and set up a peaceful kingdom. Those who are godly and do what is right will flourish (do well) under his care. And yet the great Protestant thinker John Calvin warned against our considering this poem’s message as simply a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ to come. For him, we are not to wait!
Those in positions of power and leadership, including the church, are to put into practice acts of justice reflecting God’s justice. Praying the same prayer as the psalmist, we are to ask for God’s peace, justice and righteousness; which is a way of saying, “give our leaders honesty… so that they can be, in everything they do, “honest to God.” And then, as examples, their honesty will become characteristic of the people as well. Like the mustard seed mentioned today in Mark, our acts of justice, our care and concern for others, will multiply and grow - ever enlarging the kingdom of God.
In the 'mays' of this prayer, there is a sincere and passionate appeal for God’s way to be the king’s way, the people’s way, and our way.
1. May God’s righteousness flourish, and God’s justice abound in you… as long as the sun and the moon are in the sky. May it always be! In these words, we find hope that God’s “right way of living” shall never be broken during the king’s lifetime or that of his descendants.
2. May righteousness (God’s way of doing things) be for you, “like the rain that falls on the mown grass, like the showers that water the earth!” – timeless, predictable; and life renewing as you adopt for your lives God’s foundational values of kindness and concern for all God’s people.
3. May everyone honor and respect you not because of what you can do for them, but because of what you will do for “the needy… the poor and voiceless… and those who are weak as you keep them from being stepped on and used – all because, they do matter.”
4. May there be more than enough for everyone everywhere… more than enough justice for even the underdog… more than enough prosperity for even the poor… and more than enough peace for all creation.
This too is to be our ‘song of hope’… our prayer that God’s justice will prevail in this world and God’s kingdom come. And prevail it will… as this wondrous seed of God’s justice and righteousness, planted in each of our hearts, "grows up to become the greatest of all shrubs, putting forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” I have no idea just how it is going to happen, but I trust it will… because I don’t have the final say, God does!
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. (18-19)
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