Father of Heaven, and universe beyond. Lord today we humble come to you to ask that you forgive our missing the mark of following your ways, as we learn to forgive others. Please teach us your ways and grow us closer to you in this life Father. Thank you for our very being! Amen
Message: Blessed are You, To Live in the Lord!
When I was thinking of titles for today’s Message, I initially thought of The Courtship of my Eternal Father, but that felt a little too much like “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”, and that was a TV show 50 years ago. A little dated, and a little like plagiarism. Then I thought about a title of: Our Job is Forgiveness, and Business is Good! But the focus was too much on us for today’s thought, and not nearly enough on the source of all of our ability; the Lord. But I may use it down the road, on a different Sunday.
Then I thought about a truth that we can all believe and live in: Blessed are You, To Live in the Lord! No joke, just fact. So; Blessed are You, To Live in the Lord! Amen! And amen a thousand times! Today we’ll talk about why.
You know as scary as the World is right now, it has always been full of danger and fear, with people like you and I as the common denominator. Going all the way back to the children of Israel in the Old Testament days, fear with adversity and the people of God overcoming their fears with the Lord has been a way of life, and a source of our being blessed, to live in Him. Reminding me of what Isaiah said in Isaiah 2:3;
3 Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The Law; love God with all we have, and other people. And when the Lord teaches us His ways, everything begins to change when our hearts are open to His promptings and guidance. So instead of chutzpah and pazazz, I’ll cling to my Lord this morning as we reflect on how our blessings are rooted in the greatest source, and power there is.
And, with the way things are going around the world right now, this is the perfect time for us to just stay the course with what was suggested for today in the Lectionary schedule, much of the Christian Church of various Denominations use. A lectionary is a reading/worship schedule aimed at helping people like me to use more than just my favorite Bible verses for Worship Services throughout the year. It is the Lectionary that brought us to today’s Call to Worship (Psalm 27), and the Message Reading (Luke 13:31-35), and both are perfect for our reflection and edification today.
Beginning with as just mentioned today’s Call to Worship, David’s Psalm 27;
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation-
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life-
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
*Side Bar; I can’t help but think of Ukraine with whole families being terrified, abused and killed, coupled with the boys from Russia drafted into something way bigger than many comprehended along with their mothers crying each night and one is greatly saddened. This is when turning to our Lord is essential. David is instructing us that the Lord is our stronghold and salvation. To take heart, because there is evil in the world, but it’s not what they do that matters, it’s what we put our faith in (our God), that counts. Continuing with verse 4;
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
**Side Bare again; Notice the ultimate goal for David is to dwell in the house of the Lord and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. If you achieve this my friends, everything else will take care of itself in the course of eternity! To include wars and rummers of… Picking up again at verse 5;
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
*** Another Thought; Every timeDavid mentions his enemies, I reflect on where much of my enemies and adversity reside, and invariably I am led back to my own selfish, fear strewed, inconsiderate mess of humanity that is me. In English, I am my own worst enemy, period! It is God who can elevate us above and beyond the limits of our pettiness, to overcome the day of trouble that David is speaking about. And maybe that day is something beyond the temporary times that we are living in presently. In the ultimate dimensions of eternity with Him. Regardless, God will be there. Continuing at Verse 7;
7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Savior.
****Interrupting Again; I am moved by the way David’s language becomes more intimate with the Lord, as he begins to know more about God’s plans for him. We all get to experience this closeness to the Lord, as we learn to let go more and more and to float down the stream of God’s graciousness. The further in we go into God’s World, His existence, and His reality, the more essential being in relationship with Him becomes for us, because now we are beginning to comprehend a little of His greatness!
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
13 I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Finally; David’s Psalm, shows us the source of his hope in life. Once we have risen above ourselves (our biggest enemy), we are now ready for a deeper more personal relationship in and with our Lord. By the way, I can’t be a good son or daughter, a good spouse, or friend, until I have learned what love is; in a real relationship based in and with our Lord. It is that relationship that builds confidence in good overcoming evil, and guides us in seeing God’s goodness in the midst of the mayhem we are witnessing in our dysfunctional world, government, and society.
By reading David’s testimony of the Lord in his Psalm, and really digesting it with the help of God’s Holy Spirit, we begin to get a better idea of how we can learn to cope, survive, and live; with all the hurt, sorrow, pain, suffering, malice, envy, chaos, turmoil, dysfunction, death, and horror that pervades our lives at times. As the teacher of old instructs in Ecclesiastes 1:9;
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Unless I might add, it is something our Lord is doing in the World of His own volition and game plan. And since that be the case, our Lord is in complete dominance over all He has created including our own free will given by Him who knows all. This is why we come to our God, to search for real meaning in our lives, as we learn to proclaim our own little victories along the way. Kind of like the children of Israel, who time and again had reason to invoke Psalm 118, in their day-to-day worship of God. I want to read a fraction of that psalm for reflection today. Reading Psalm 118:17-29
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Side Bar; When we are in a relationship with the Lord, we are much better equipped to comprehend some of His actions in our world (even in bad times), and they truly become marvelous in our eyes. Now, here comes a key point for me today, continuing now;
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Once more; becauseif someone comes in the name of the Lord, it is either our Lord, or one sent by Him for our sake and the benefit of others! And when we walk in our Lord’s footsteps, we take on that mantle even if in just moments and briefly. Hence today’s title; Blessed are You, To Live in the Lord! Continuing, now at verse 27;
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Indeed; it does and God is consistent throughout all of scripture. In fact, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord is a hallmark of all the Gospel connecting directly with you. God has come in His own name to redeem the world. Bringing us back to today’s Message Reading from Luke 13: 31-35;
31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
*You guessed it, Side Bar; I just love how our Lord replies by provoking Herod and then by declaring nonchalantly in so many words: I will keep healing people; today, tomorrow, and the next, until I reach my goal. By then I’ll be in Jerusalem, and besides; you guys always kill the Prophets in downtown Jerusalem. IE…God’s City! And then laments for the lost people of … the city of God. Continuing now verse 34:
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
And when that is proclaimed… Well, that’s when the Lord’s earthly walk / mission will draw to a close with the offering of His own life for yours… Transitioning for eternity a new thing. Foretold by Him, and realized by us…
Today’s message passage is rife with lament, sarcasm, and fact of the matter from our Lord to all of the know-it-alls of life. (You know who they are, those too smart to believe in God, and those too wrapped up in chasing themselves.) The Lord’s instruction is coupled with His dedication to perform His mission of salvation to a world enveloped in denial, and self-absorbsion both back then, and in the here and now.
Suffice to say, regardless of if it was back then or right now, our Lord is greatly saddened for the way many of us have chosen to run our lives into the ground. For those dyeing, and killing in the battlefields of the moment, whether those battles reside in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Rwanda, or in the recesses of our individual hearts, our God grieves for us.
Today, we have it within us to come in the name of the Lord, each time we look beyond ourselves and for God and other people, our neighbors. By caring and sharing, with and for others in healthy ways in the service of our Lord. My hope, wish, and prayer for all of you today, is that you will dedicate yourself during this time of reflection Lent (as the days grow longer), to reflecting on what it means to come in the name of the Lord in this day and age. For when we do, we will be even more in and with our Lord. A little more and more each time. Then I will be privileged to say the obvious; Blessed are You, To Live in the Lord!
Benediction; Isaiah 40:13-14, 21-22
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.