Children’s sermon — We sang “Joy to the World”, Isaac Watt’s interpretation of Psalm 98, our Psalm of the day.
Sing to the Lord! Break forth into joyous song and sing praises!…why? Because the Lord is King. Because the Lord is the judge of heaven and earth. Because the Lord’s love is steadfast and he declares victory over all the earth – over injustice and evil and death and suffering — over all the nations and all creation. So rejoice! Joy to the world! The Savior Reigns!
How many of you need to hear that this morning? After a contentious election…and all the ugliness and criminal acts we have seen in its wake this week…I think most of us do. But, I’ll be honest with you …I need to hear it pretty much every single day. Because that’s not where my attention is drawn most days. No, the world fills my news feed with wars and insurrection, with nations rising against nations…with earthquakes and famine and plagues and betrayals and unjust imprisonments and executions and cruelty and suffering and pain of all kinds. All the stuff Jesus talks about in our Gospel this morning. And I know Jesus says not to be terrified…but you’ve got to admit, it is terrifying. And if I try to pretend it’s not happening…well, that just makes me a fool. There is evil in this world. People have the capacity to destroy one another and destroy this amazing creation in more ways than I thought imaginable. Over and over again, we see how the wolf devours the lambs and lion preys on the weak…and honestly, I just want it to stop. The pain is too much. Some days, I just want to ask the driver to stop this world… and let me off.
But, the Word of God in the midst of the world’s pain isn’t to give up…but simply, to press on. To not be swayed into fear or despair. But to trust God who is Lord of all. To trust…and to endure. Jesus says, ‘by your endurance you will gain your souls’.
Some days…endurance is all we have, isn’t it? We just get through this day. And the next day. And the day after that. We may not soar…but we don’t give up. But Jesus says…that is enough. I know it doesn’t feel like it. Because, you know, we want to have faith that lifts us up above the suffering and the pain….faith that lofts us to heights where we are not confronted with the carnage of the ravaged lamb carcass or the rubble of Aleppo or the exhaustion of living a life that is not what we hoped. But most of the time, our faith is just a small mustard seed of a thing sending out tenuous roots into rocky soil. Yet Jesus says…my friends, that is enough. It’s enough. By your endurance…you will gain your souls.
Enduring is holy work, it seems. And we have plenty of models of endurance throughout history, don’t we? The South Africans who endured Apratheid, and are now trying to build a just society. The blacks who endured slavery in our country and so many others…who continue to strive for equality. The Tibetans who still endure China’s tyranny today. Peoples all over the world who have endured injustice and evil of every kind for decades, for centuries, some times…but who have not given up. Who have chosen to live and to love in spite of every obstacle. And …to sing. Yes…to sing.
Sing to the Lord a new song… “let all their songs employ”. This morning, I am struck by the importance of singing…of music…as we strive to “endure”. Throughout history, some of our most powerful music has come from those who sing in the face of evil. The powerful rhythmic music of South Africa, the Irish resistance folk songs, the gospel music of American slaves, the chants of the Tibetan monks, the drum circles of Native peoples. Music isn’t just something “nice” in the background of our lives – a pleasant way to pass the time. No…Music and rhythm and song resonate in us in that place where our souls lie. On Thursday, at FFF, we talked about what gives us hope. Timothy said that for him, it was music. I think that’s true for many people. Music has an effect on us that is hard to explain. It evokes memories and it connects us to one another and to our shared experiences and shared history on a level beyond what we can just “say”. There is a reason music is at the heart of most cultural rituals and celebrations. It is life-giving. It gives us strength. It is healing…spiritually and emotionally…and even physically. Music has been used for thousands of years in ancient healing practices. And now, modern medicine is doing its own research and discovering the power music has to alleviate pain and lessen anxiety…and even boost our immune systems. Some researchers have found that music has can bring back lost functions to Alzheimers patients and help preterm babies in the NICU gain the strength they need to go home.
Music has power. It stirs our souls. So… in the face of all the hurt and pain in the world…we are invited to sing. To sing to the Lord a new song…to sing so we may the strength to endure.
I love the music of “Les Miserables” – it stirs my soul. I’m sure many of you have seen it. Early in show, the people who live in the slums of Paris sing a rousing song —
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
They are singing a song of resistance. A song of endurance and hope in the face of the bleakness of oppression and famine and injustice and poverty. That is the way the show begins. But the song is sung again at the end. After the June uprising ends in disaster…when things should be even bleaker…the song continues, though the lyrics change some:
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
No matter the circumstances…the song continues. They do not give up. They endure. They trust the sun will rise. They believe in possibility of peace. The flame of hope still burns. And their souls are saved.
This morning, we sing. In the midst of all that is going on in our lives and in our world…we sing. A song of resistance. A song of hope….that the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. A song that boldly proclaims, that no matter who rules the nations…. Christ is Lord of Heaven and Earth.
This morning, we sing. And, dear friends, in our singing, once again the beating of our hearts is tuned to the pulse of God’s presence among us — God’s presence in all creation. We sing…with heaven and nature, we sing…and our singing prepares room in our hearts for Christ’s light to shine. Maybe just a corner…but still, we sing to Lord, and some space is cleared amidst the rubble in our souls….space for healing. Space for love. And we find the strength to endure. And so ..this morning….we sing. Of Peace. Of hope. Of tomorrow. And our souls are saved. Amen.
Sermon Hymn: “How Can I Keep from Singing?”
Leave a Reply