“Acts of Mercy”
Psalm 82
Sandpoint United Methodist Church
July 11, 2010
Stan Norman
Please pray with me. May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts, and the conduct of our lives, be always acceptable to you, O God, our strength and our blessed redeemer. Amen.
Remember the Jerusalem Cross that was on the cover of our worship bulletins about a month ago? It looks like this [teaching moment on white board]. We talked about being balanced in our faith between the two great “streams of living water” that have nourished Methodists from the beginning of the movement in the eighteenth century: holiness and the social gospel. For Methodists, and for any church that is centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, there is only one kind of theology, and that is practical theology. While it is a worthy and necessary thing to study the Bible and seek to know God, we must put that knowledge of God to work serving others.
For the next several weeks we will be talking about the social gospel and what that looks like in Sandpoint. But, we will not be neglecting our need to become more holy, because it is in our quest to know God better that we will find our joy in serving others, and it is in our quest to serve others that we will come to know God better. All too often, we have become polarized as a church – focusing all our attention on social issues, or focusing all our attention on personal holiness. When we do that we lose our focus on the one at the center of the cross – on Jesus Christ. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we realize that conservatives can be reconciling and liberals can be evangelical.
Like I said, all theology is practical, our theology should serve us as we go about our daily living. Remember what the religious elite asked Jesus when they stood together in the temple before a man blind from birth: “Whose sin caused this man to be born blind, his sins or the sins of his parents?” I can picture Jesus shaking his head and saying, “You just don’t get it, do you? Sin did not cause his blindness – God doesn’t work that way. But, God will use his blindness to teach you a lesson.” Sometimes we still give in to the temptation to look at those less fortunate than us and think: “I wonder what they did to tick God off?” And, that reminds me of a story…
I was listening to Christian radio and heard a lady call in. “Pastor, I was born blind, and I’ve been blind all my life. I don’t mind so much being blind, but I have some well-meaning friends who tell me that if I had more faith I could be healed.”
The radio pastor asked her, “Tell me, do you carry one of those white canes?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered.
“Then the next time someone tells you that, hit him or her on the head with your cane, and say, ‘If you had more faith that wouldn’t hurt.’”
Our Scripture text for this morning is a Psalm – a song. The Book of Psalms was the hymnal of the ancient Israelites, and of the early Christian church. There is something about poetry and music that touches our souls in ways that nothing else can. Poetry gives expression to our deepest feelings and music interprets those feelings in ways that connect us with God, the composer of the symphony we call life. Music is not my gift – ask anyone in the choir – but I sure appreciate God’s gift of music and those who share it.
Our song for today is number 82, a song of mercy and justice, and a song of judgment and accountability. Let’s “unpack” this little song a bit this morning:
Verse 1: “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:”
We asked Helen to read this song from the most modern interpretation of the Bible, The Message, because we believe it helps us understand who God is judging for their faithfulness in this song. Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message, substitutes “judges” and “courtroom” and the “dock”; for “gods” and “divine council” and “judgment”. For us, as 21st century Americans, addicted to television repeats of “Law and Order”, this is a courtroom that we can understand. When Peterson uses the term “judges” to describe the defendants who are on trial, he is referring all the way back to a period in Israel’s history when the leaders of the Israelites were called “judges”. In fact, according to my King James version of the Bible, this Psalm refers back to Second Chronicles 19:6, where God warns the leaders of Israel: “Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.” So this Psalm is aimed at leaders, right?
Verses 2 through 4: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
As I read the verses of this ancient hymn, verse after verse of Scripture runs through my mind. Please take out your pew Bibles and follow along. Turn to Ezekiel 34, it’s around page 750, depending on what edition you have. As a pastor, entrusted with a “flock”, this passage has always held significant meaning for me. [teaching moment, Ezekiel 34:1-12, 15-16]
So, when the people go astray, God will hold their leaders accountable! Ouch! Yes, God holds those called to be judges, prophets, pastors, and leaders to a pretty high standard. But don’t get too comfortable, God holds each and every one of us who follows Jesus, to a pretty high standard. We left off with verse 16 of Ezekiel 34. Verse 17 says, “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.” What is God’s standard for judging the flock you might ask? I’m glad you asked!
Please turn with me to Micah 6:6-8. It’s about page 815 in your pew Bibles. Micah is one of the so-called “minor prophets”, but there is nothing “minor” about what Micah has to say. [teaching moment, Micah 6:6-8]
In The Message, Eugene Peterson puts it this way: What is God looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously – take God seriously.
Great verse, one of my favorites, but what does it look like in practice? Fortunately, I am not the first to ask that question. On Wednesday of Holy Week, two days before his crucifixion, Jesus was sitting with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. They asked him the same question: “At the end of the age, when you come to judge the nations, how will we be judged, what will you hold us accountable for?”
Jesus, I’m sure recalling the words of Ezekiel and Micah, responded:
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Acts of mercy, are you with me?
Let’s go back to our Psalm once more, verse 5: “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
When we neglect to do what God requires of us, it affects all of creation. Humanity is somehow an integral part of God’s cosmic plan. The Apostle Paul captures this connection between the creation and the children of God in his letter to the Christians in Rome: “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” When I think of creation groaning in pain, I think of the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and I ask myself what acts of mercy God is calling us to perform when it comes to this fragile planet that God has entrusted to our care.
Ask yourself this, “When God visits us here in Sandpoint, what makes God smile?” I believe God smiles when God finds us filling the tummies of the hungry, showing kindness to those in distress, and sharing the Gospel with those starving for spiritual wholeness. I believe God might even shed a tear of joy when God finds us taking seriously our responsibility to protect and preserve the creation that God spoke into being. God simply wants us to offer one another and all of creation, the mercy that God has offered us as brothers and sisters of Christ!
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save. Let us pray -
