sermon for July 7

The reading

Psalm 40:1-10

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
7 Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

The message (well a rough outline)

Today is our last Sunday with the Psalms. We have gone through 4 different psalms, ancient songs written to be used during worship in the temple, rooted in the individual faith experiences people’s joys and frustrations as well as the communal experiences of God’s long absence and great presence..   

Our first reading, at the start of June was Psalm 113 focused on the name of the Lord 1 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore.  Words of great faith and joy, shared when we experience good things, when things are good, the world seems fair, the rightoues are rewarded, the best person wins.  Perhaps used during a time of unexpected victory,

Then we heard Psalm 69, a desperate plea for hope in hopeless times:  1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.    Frustration, anger a time when things fall apart and God seems busy doing something else. 

Our last 2 psalms, psalm 27 last week the Lord is my light and my salvation  When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh — my adversaries and foes — they shall stumble and fall.    Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident and pslam 40 today, they combine both, the reality of waiting and the assurance of God’s promises are always good.  They speak honestly, knowing there is time when people struggle and a time when people celebrate and both of those are done in faith.

These psalms also demand testimony, I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. a sharing of faith experiences, of times we have seen and know God is with us, of times when we doubted it severely only to see God’s promises come true.  

On the 4^th of July, I was invited to my friend’s apartment in Tudor City, right across from the UN to watch the fireworks,  Jen and I have gone several times and the views of the Macys fireworks show were incredible, it is an amazing spot to view the fireworks from. Of course, that’s only true when the fireworks are on the East River near 34^th- 42^nd st.  This year, they were down near the Brooklyn bridge, a place you cannot even partially see from 42^nd st and the East river.  There is no way we could see them.  I thought something was up when I arrived at Tudor city and there were no barricades, no security checkpoints, no one asking for proof of a connection to access the area,  I just assumed it was early (despite being my normal time). when I got upstairs and didn’t see any barges or boats on the river, I assumed they were on the way, when people told me, last time they were there, you couldn’t see, I thought, well maybe the boats are bigger now or im willing hang further out the window. There was a chance we could see from the roof deck but that was closed for renovation (a long term project I thought they might finish by 9 pm on the 4^th of July despite no one working on it at 7 pm),  Pretend that we could see, despite knowing full well where the Brooklyn bridge was in proximity to us and knowing all those buildings between us would not move.   Of course, eventually, I faced reality, there would be no fireworks for us. it turned out to be a good night, great conversations with some other stubborn guests, and a beautiful, almost Manhattanhenge sunset behind the Chrysler building,

The psalms invite us to face the reality of suffering, inequality, unfairness and strife knowing that God is present with us.   That is what we announce to the great congregation (that being the whole world)