Title: Looking for God
Scripture: Psalm 19, Exodus 20:1-17
3/23/03 Third Sunday of Lent (Yr. B)
Rev. Joy Haertig
“Lent is a time to take the time to let the power of our faith story take hold of us, a time to let the events get up and walk around in us, a time to intensify our living unto Christ…” (Ann Weems)
The season of Lent offers us an invitation to look for God in the world. Certainly we do this year around, but Lent is a time when we are invited to do it with deeper intention and focus. Traditionally we look to Jesus and the events that lead to his death, we let those stories “walk around in us” seeking to understand what his life and actions tell us about the character and will of God, and the cost and joy of being his disciple. But as I studied the assigned readings for this week, I was drawn to the Psalm as an additional guide for helping us look for God and the Ten Commandments from the book of Exodus.
In just 14 verses the psalmist moves from the revelation of God in nature to the revelation of God in sacred scripture, to the mysterious workings of God in the mind and heart of the believer.
This morning I want to look at the three areas which the psalmist lifts up as places where God is revealed.
The first 6 verses of Psalm 19 proclaim and celebrate the revelation of God in heavens, sky and sun. The psalmist begins by walking outside and reading the face of creation as though it were an open book. (Fred Craddock)
Preacher and teacher, Fred Craddock, wrote so beautifully about this portion of Psalm 19 that I feel called to share his beautiful words:
“Whose heart has not joined the psalmist…in this chorus of praise to the Creator? Who has not in spring, when the world is a poem of light and color, delighted in the meadows turning somersaults of joy and “butterflies fluttering up from every little buttercup”? Or in dry hot summer, when clouds dark and heavy gather on the hill, soon thundering like a herd of buffalo across the valley, making glad the gardens and sending out the children to splash in the puddles? Or in the autumn with leaves aflame, poised between summer and winter, warm enough but yet prophetic of snow? Or in the winter when trees now shivering naked beg heaven for a blanket and down it comes thick and white, turning even a garbage can into an altar in praise of God? There is no square inch of earth so barren that the observing eye cannot see, in the lower right-hand corner, the signature of the artist. And overhead the stars sing and faith hears faintly the rustle of a wing.”
As the psalmist proclaims, creation is certainly a place where we can linger and behold the glory of God!
The psalmist also knows that creation is not enough. We need a resource that wrestles with the fundamental questions of human life. Where have we come from? Where do we go? How do we live together with our neighbor? Why are we here?
For the psalmist, the gift of sacred scripture is the next place where God is revealed: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul: the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple…”
These are words of someone who has found that scripture is more than just a coffee table decoration! The writer is referring to the Torah, the Jewish word for the first five books of the Bible that includes history, biography, story, poetry and law. For the writer, the Torah offers a whole variety of gifts from God to the one that seeks to understand and live them out. According to the psalmist, the Torah revives, makes wise, causes rejoicing, enlightenment and its truths endure. As Christians, our sacred scriptures include the wisdom and truths we find in the New Testament as well as the Old, the two are linked together - though we may struggle with some of the language and style of the Hebrew Scriptures, the new is not intended to replace the old.
Jesus himself proclaimed that he did not come to abolish the laws of the Hebrew Scriptures, he came to fulfill them. He came to show us that at the heart of the law, decrees, precepts and commandments is the law of love. For me, Jesus is “the word made flesh” - I look to the stories of his life and see what is intended by the law, decrees, precepts and commandments of our faith. (“Oh, so that's how you do it!”)
Let's look briefly at the Ten Commandments from the book of Exodus. The Ten Commandments are only a small portion of the Torah, but the wisdom that is contained within them is indeed enlightening and their truths endure. They have had an enormous impact on both religious and secular law throughout the ages. The Ten Commandments are about the principles of relationship - the principles of love. The Hebrew people had been delivered from slavery in Egypt; these commandments were seen as a gift from God as a profound guide for building a new community. One scholar I read believed that they were written as negative statements because they helped shape the communities recognition of those kinds of conduct that simply ruined life with others. Written in this way, there is less room for maneuvering around what is intended!
The Ten Commandments reveal to me a God that cares about relationship, community, a God that longs for humanity to live as neighbors.
Though we may not choose the same language today about God, we cannot deny how practical these 10 fundamental principles are for life. They address God's authority in our lives, the human need for rest, protection of dignity, sanctity of human life and its covenants, respect, being truthful and seeking to maintain boundaries around greed (covet).
I read an article this week from the Washington Post by Bobby Ross Jr. about George Kelley and his wife Marion who started a Ten Commandments Project in Nashville, Tennessee. The two started this project after a part-time cook killed seven workers at three Tennessee restaurants and there had been an increase in reports of violence of teenagers against teenagers. The Kelley's believe that the nation has lost its conscience so they are paying $10.00 to every child that memorizes and recites The Ten Commandments, hoping that they might think about this ancient moral code when tempted to lie, steal or get involved in wrong doings. So far nearly 7,000 children nationwide have participated, they hope to persuade 10 million total. Perhaps it is not such a bad idea to consider teaching our children in our homes, these ten basic principles of relationships as a way to live in response to God's love for us. We liberals have left memorization behind - but perhaps we have lost something in doing so.
It has been a part of the Hebrew/Jewish tradition to teach their children beginning at a very young age, the Ten Commandments, memorizing one for each finger. How many of you remember memorizing the commandments?
Let's take a look at them this morning by using a litany from a curriculum resource. Consider how they are the basic principles for building community. (Resource: Seasons of the Spirit)
Do not worship anyone but God!
Let us celebrate God!
Do not make false images.
There are enough undiscovered images of God to fill our souls.
Do not use God's name for evil.
Be creative in honoring God.
Observe the Sabbath.
Take time for all things, including God.
Respect your parents.
Value the experience of those who influence your living.
Do not kill.
Share the wonder and value of life with others.
Do not commit adultery.
Respect the gifts of intimacy.
Do not steal.
Enjoy the freedom of sharing with others.
Do not lie.
Explore how to uphold people's dignity, rather than destroy them.
Do not covet.
Value what you've got because God has given you plenty.
Thus far the psalmist rejoices in God being revealed in nature and scripture.
The third and last place where the psalmist proclaims we can find God is to turn inward. We are invited to take a good look at our own hearts and lives, searching for places that need healing and change, and humbly dedicate our gifts to be used for the glory of God. So often we humans use our faith to point fingers of judgement at others while the psalmist seems to understand that God calls us to look in the mirror of our own souls.
Lent is a season where we are invited to intentionally look for God. While we must turn to Jesus' story on his way to Jerusalem and the cross, let us also search for God's revelation in nature, in the wisdom of our ancient scriptures and within our own hearts. Amen.