EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 3 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Aug. 18, 2020. This was the 20th digital service we performed after our church was shuttered because of the COVID pandemic.
So, I have a question that I would like you to think about here in the coming minutes.
When is the last time you were consciously grateful for something? I mean the last time you actually sat down and thought about all of the things for which you are thankful, and that maybe too often you take for granted?
Or better yet, I'll ask it this way: Can you name the last time you specifically thanked or praised God for what you have? ... I'll be honest, today's Psalm that we read really made me cast a critical eye on myself as I know my praise habits, especially in recent weeks and months, could use a boost.
Now, admittedly, when I take a look at these texts, I skip right over the Psalms, because most of the sermons I am inspired to preach come from the day's gospel. But something in today's gospel really struck a chord with me this weekend as I studied these texts. I'll give you a little context that might help. This weekend I took a full-fledged, three day weekend, which doesn't happen very often. And because I had the time, and no obligations, and quite frankly it was a selfish, little birthday present to myself. It just happen to be my birthday yesterday.
And I will further share with you that for most of these three days, I did a whole lot of nothing. ... Well, I did a lot of things, just not a lot of work. And Shelley, bless her heart, fully embraced it. There's even several times where when I started to work on a chore, she shooed me away and go do something else. And so I lived it up, so to speak!
But it also gave me a lot of time to spend not doing work. So I got to spend time in some of my favorite places, especially the office that I have created at home for myself, that Shelley refers to as my nerd version of a "Man Cave." And I got to hang out at my fireplace patio, which I absolutely love. I walked the dogs. And I had a whole lot of time to be in my own head with these texts.
And after reading the Psalm, it struck me that I'm a very lucky man, and far too often my mind goes to the negatives in my life, the worries in my life. And I forget that I have so many blessings. And I wonder if some of you out there right now maybe can relate. Especially in the last weeks, maybe the last few months.
I recognized this weekend, after reading the Psalm, and seeing the praise this psalmist gives, that I don't do enough of praising our God. In these days from the continued fallout from the pandemic, and a shaky economy, and massive civil unrest. Layer in on top of that last week, and the decisions that were made about our immediate future of our church weighed heavily on my mind, and the worries about bringing people back to church, and our own families' kids and going back to school, and the care of our loved ones who might be in high risk categories.
You look around and you see the uncivility all around us, and frankly, it's just hard some times to realize that we actually do have so much to be thankful for. ... We actually do have so much that we could praise God for, as the psalmist does in our Psalm today.
I alluded early on in the introduction to our service tonight: As I dwelled in the past week on the decisions that we made as church leaders, I'd forgotten the silver lining of the expanded audiences that we are drawing because of technology just like this. And to that, I think the psalmist would say, "I will give thanks to you, oh Lord, with my whole heart."
Now, I don't think it's that the writer of this particular Psalm is naïve, and does not recognize that all is not right with the world. In fact, they even write in the Psalm, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe." ... Does anyone else among us right now look around and see us amid trouble?
But the writer goes on: "You stretch for your hand against the fury of my enemies. Your right hand shall save me." ... Can anyone among us tonight, who is listening, or Sunday morning ... is anyone else in need of saving?
I think I know that feeling that the psalmist is striving for. ... This particular psalm is a terrific reminder to all of us that even in the midst of our most troubling times, we have to keep praising. We have to keep thankful, and we have to keep grateful. There is so much scientific evidence about the benefit of being grateful, and what it does for our morale, what it does for our mental health, what it does just for our health in general.
But I be the first to admit, and raise my hand, Faith Family, that it seems these days I'm going to the Lord with an awful lot of lament, and a lot of grievances, and a lot pleas to help make things better and turn them around. ... And probably not a lot of praise.
Our circumstances right now are weighty. Our personal circumstances often times feel crushing. And given our collective circumstances now as a country, there's no doubt about the fact that we are living through disconcerting times. But this is no time to give up on the praising of our God. The psalmist reminds us that, in fact, it's the exact right time to be praising our Lord.
Oh the pandemic has me down. ... Well, praise God, because I know He can help us find a vaccine. And praise God for the doctors and the nurses, and all of the emergency workers who are working on our front lines to protect us in the past months.
Well, we can't return to in-person worship right now. ... But you know what? ... Praise God that he helped us buy technology a year ago that we needed to stay connected right now. And we had it in our midst when we got shut down in March, and it's continued to be a lifeline among our congregation, and allowed us to do services, and allowed us to grow an audience that would never have been able to participate with us in person.
Well, but, Devlyn, I see a lot of tension all around me. And there's instability, and there's violence, and there's hatred. ... But praise God, because He can help us to learn again to love our enemy.
But, Devlyn, I miss the old ways. I want to return to normal. ... Well, praise God, because God is the one who can reveal to us a new normal. And possibly a new normal that addresses so many injustices that so many have lived with for decades, if not hundreds of years.
I could go on, but Faith Family, wherever you are, whatever your dark clouds may be right now, I can assure you there is a reason to praise God. I know that there could be times where it is really challenging to find the reason to praise God. It doesn't seem easy for me right now either. In fact, I am thankful because I had three days this weekend, three solid days away from the rat race and all of my normal duties in a given day to allow this psalm to work its good on me.
So, how about you tonight, Faith Family? ... What are your dark clouds right now? ... And how possibly? How could you use them to praise God instead? How could you use them to be grateful instead of worrying? ... Because as this psalmist tells us tonight: "When I called you answered me. You increased my strength within me." ... And that is what our God does for us. That is in His promise to each of us.
And that is the Good News for this Tuesday night, Aug. 18, and Sunday morning, the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Aug. 23. ... Amen.
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