January
16, 2019
Well
Homily
Psalm
29
Please
pray with me,
May
the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable
and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our
redeemer. Amen.
May
the Lord give strength to his people!
May
the Lord bless his people with peace!
Thus,
says our psalmist from tonight’s reading at the end of Psalm 29.
This
comes at the end of the psalm where we have heard of many places God has been
or God is.
The
voice of the Lord is in over the waters, in the sound of thunder, in the
flashing flames of fire, and in the shaking of the wilderness. The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to
whirl, and strips the forest bare!
God
is in the midst of the noise, the wind, the earthquakes…in all things
loud!
I
don’t know about you, but I like God in the peace of the sunrise over a calm
lake and the and in the sparkling of the stars on a dark night. I think for me there is more comfort in
knowing God in those peaceful (to me) places rather than in the chaos of wind,
thunder and fire.
But
then again, it is good for God to be there, too.
Because
it is in those moments of trouble, struggle or chaos that I need to know that
God is present and will not be moved.
On
Sunday morning, as I finished a run in in the freshly falling snow, I knew God
was there as my feet crunched the snow and as I stopped to hear the snow
falling on my jacket. I like that dark,
early morning quiet time…it’s holy. I
look for God there and see God there.
On
Sunday morning, as I was two pages into my sermon at the late service, and all
of the sudden saw page four…I was a little shook up. I saw the sentence and knew it was not time
for that page yet…and then saw that it was page 4 not page 3. Pastor Bill was adamant that he had NOT
switched the order of my pages. I was
smiling and trying to get myself back together, and then laughing and again,
trying to get myself to focus. I took a
big breath and jumped right back in, the sermon continued, as did the rest of
worship, as did the rest of the day.
Yet
in the middle of what seemed to me like eternity when I was trying to realign
myself with my sermon God was there in the most holy and grace-filled way.
In
the middle of what could have been a moment of sheer panic and distress, I felt
comfortable, and looking back, I feel like God was there, no I know that God
was there, but I felt God’s presence in the people in worship at that
moment. That moment was holy and filled
with the most gracious people and space that I have ever encountered.
It’s
really hard to put it into words, but there was something freakin’ amazing
about this space in that moment.
You
all were (and are) the presence of God in this place.
Anne
Lamott in her book Stitches writes,
“When we agree to (or get tricked into) being part
of something bigger than our own wired, fixated minds, we are saved.
When we search for something larger than our own
selves to hook into, we can come through whatever life throws at us.”
Whether
it was the wind or the Holy Spirit or me who accidentally shifted those pages
in Sunday’s sermon, we’ll never know.
But I do know this, that this greater community – you all saved me in
that moment. You held me in an embrace
of love and grace that I could never fully thank you for…because that’s how
grace works…when we least expect to receive it, there it is!
My
prayer for you all and the people of this place is the closing words of
tonight’s psalm:
May
the Lord give strength to his people!
May
the Lord bless his people with peace!
May
you all feel the strength that God has given to each of you to know that you
are able to hold others in love, forgiveness, understanding and grace.
May
you know that you are a force of love that is making an impact in this community
and world by proclaiming God’s love and grace.
And
may you know that the strength of God shines through you when you extend a word
of forgiveness, a handshake or hug of peace and through a smile. That strength lets those around you know that
they are loved, supported and cared for no matter what they are going
through.
May
you also feel blessed by God’s peace.
Know that as you reach out in love to others and perhaps wonder if you
are falling short, or maybe you are just not feeling strong enough…may God’s
peace surround you and uphold you when you are in need. May it be seen in the presence and love of
others.
And
now may the Lord give strength to his people, may the Lord bless his people
with peace and may that peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.
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