(Graphic is St. Vitale - Jeremiah, mosaic panel on the spandrel of`the north wall of the chancel depicting Jeremiah opening a scroll. Date: 521-547, Basilica di S. Vitale; Ravenna, Italy)
Lectionary Scripture - Psalm 40:1-11 NRSV
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 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.
Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. 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.
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 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. Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
“Here, See What's Written”
Psalm 40 is part of the lectionary scriptures for this coming Sunday. It’s a psalm that speaks to me. In it, there are words and phrases I take to heart in times of crisis. Those phrases are the ones that witness of waiting patiently upon God, seeking for God to hear cries for justice and God’s nature being inclined toward answering those petitions. Lastly, perhaps most importantly, there are the psalmist’s affirmations that even in the desolate pit or miry bog of some situation or circumstance, God comes and lifts us out of it, putting our feet back onto secure ground, pointing the way ahead, and getting us moving.
Like the psalmist, I witness that God has done the above in my life -- time and time again. And with each time, a new song has found its way into my heart. It’s much like a professor friend of mine who when we have our long chats, he will recall a song that touched him at a particular point in time in regards to some life situation. The situation might have been a crisis, something challenging, or a moment of utter joy. For each of those, he bookmarks the experience with a popular song that captures what he has been through. It’s a rather amazing thing he does and from our thirty-three years of friendship, when those moments occur for him, I’ve learned that in this way he makes a spiritual connection to the sacred and divine which ministers to him.
In my life, when there have been those times of the desolate pit and miry bog and God lifted me out of such things and placed me securely into healthier circumstances, blessings have multiplied beyond what I would have thought possible. When I found it necessary in the early 1990s to leave full time ministry and return to public mental health practice, I had no idea that within three short years I would go from being a night shift psychiatric crisis worker to care-managing all adult mental health services in our county. It seemed nothing less than what the psalmist affirms that God multiplies wondrous deeds and blessings. In the end, I knew that God had been with me and my family from that point of disruption in our lives to points of new opportunity. Even mental health colleagues would observe and comment on this and knowing my background in ministry would ask that I officiate at weddings, funerals, visiting and blessing the sick. I remember one occasion that a colleague approached me and urged that I start my own church. Out of loyalty to my current faith tradition, I pleaded, “Please don’t tempt me. You have no idea how often I have thought of doing so.” To which my colleague replied, “There are people in this community Brad who would like to see it happen and would support you.”
We ministers are criticized at times for sharing our life experiences. There are those who grossly generalize and tell us that no one wants to hear such stuff. They tell us to quit sharing so openly and limit ourselves to expounding on scripture. In my experience, I find that this criticism mostly comes from folks who have long histories of being churched. Interesting how the witness of a psalmist’s life story from so long ago and the witness of a modern disciple are considered by some churched folks as incompatible.
For the non-churched, research tells us the sentiment is exactly the opposite. The non-churched want to hear our life experiences and need to see our lives in action so they can determine our spiritual authenticity. This is why I share and witness as I do. The purpose is not self-aggrandizement, but rather to offer a contemporary witness as did the psalmist offer his witness to his circle of influence so long ago. Together, we boldly testify, “Here I am, in the scroll of the book it is written of me…….”
What is it that will be written in the scroll of the book of life regarding you, your story and your witness, what your life became because of God’s influence, and what your life accomplished for the Common Good. A small glimpse of that came during dinner with my father one evening long ago in my young adult years. He said a rather intriguing thing during our time together. He told me that God made known to him that I would one day enter full-time ministry and that my denomination would ask me to do so. He then expressed hope that I would not do so. He said that such a life would be full of trial, conflict, deep heart-wrenching sacrifice, and ultimately quite hard on me. He then said that should I decide to do so any that God would always be with me and that efforts by others to diminish, undermine, or harm me would in the end not stand. He then said, “God will protect you. God will see you through.”
From time to time, I stop and think regarding the things my father said. They have buoyed me up and allowed me to hang in there with touch situations longer than perhaps I should have. His words carried me through heartbreak and times of abandonment, especially by people who I thought were in my corner and had my back. On that note, I recall words from an evangelist’s blessing I received years and years ago. It’s a sacrament in my faith tradition that we liken to a personal page of scripture to guide one’s life. In the blessing, one of the most powerful things I experienced and felt were when the evangelist said, “May he have the courage to serve you, even when others do not, even if he must serve alone as did Daniel in other days.” Sometimes it has been a very lonely road and when I feel that way I think back to those words and think back of Daniel and then I’m able to move forward again with God “making my steps secure”.
Trusting God and finding courage as the psalmist urges makes a difference in how the world perceives you and it’s what the world wants to know about you. A couple of years ago at a dinner roast in a judicatory that I served for sixteen years, a colleague I barely knew from another judicatory came to provide guest ministry. At one point during the meal, he stood and commented that I have a reputation among my colleagues “for taking things to the mat” when necessary. When I heard that I was touched. I was touched for the simplicity, eloquence, and imagery of my colleague’s statement. One thing for sure is that my colleague had no way of knowing that I wrestled in high school! What an incredible thing to say, especially from someone who barely knows you. Maybe that one will make its way into the scroll of the book the psalmist mentions.
So I share the above in my posting this week to honor words from Psalm 40 that say we should not hide in our hearts the witness of God’s saving help. Instead we must take opportunity to speak out to the great congregation of God’s faithfulness and God’s deliverance and acknowledge that even in times of trial we have a heavenly parent who will be there for us no matter the challenges we face. So to the congregation that reads this blog let me end with saying, “Here I am, see what’s written…...”
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