Psalm 46:1-11
1God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2Therefore we
will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in
the heart of the sea; 3though its waters roar and foam, though the
mountains tremble with its tumult.
4There is a
river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most
High. 5God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God
will help it when the morning dawns.
6The nations
are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. 8Come,
behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has
brought on the earth. 9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10“Be still,
and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the
earth.” 11The Lord of hosts is with us; the God
of Jacob is our refuge.
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Last
week we talked about how Advent looks in two different directions. We look back
to Jesus’ birth in the manger and we look forward to the end of history when
Christ will come again and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom
of our. In some ways, that is setting the cosmic scene for our Advent
experience. Today I want to look at Advent more personally and practically.
Waiting
is a key idea of Advent. During Advent we prepare ourselves for Christmas, but
we’re not preparing for something we have any control over. We’re waiting for
Jesus kind of like we wait for a train or a bus. Nothing we can do can make
Christmas come any faster (not that we’d want it to), and nothing we do can
make God’s kingdom come any faster. We have to wait.
We
usually think of waiting as passive, as passing time until whatever we are
waiting for arrives. There’s a lot more to it than that, though. For one thing,
if we’re waiting for something we trust that it’s going to happen. We wouldn’t
wait for a bus unless we were pretty sure it was going to arrive. Not only do
we trust that the thing we’re waiting for is real, the thing we’re waiting for
is also our main focus. We can do other things, but whatever we’re waiting for
takes priority when it arrives. It’s helpful to think about waiting for God in
the same way. We can trust that God is real and worth waiting for. We can also
remember that God is the point of this season and of our life. All the other
things in the season are important, but God is the purpose for our waiting, the
reason for our hope and our existence.
Our readings for today shed some
biblical light on waiting, in this case, waiting for the Lord. Psalm 46, which
John just read, is a meditation on trusting God. It begins and ends with the
affirmation that God is our refuge, our safe haven. It expands on that by
reminding us that we can trust God to take care of us even when life is
chaotic. Even if the world were to melt away, God would still be with us,
leading us through.
Both the images of chaos and the
picture of a river running through the City of Jerusalem suggest God’s judgment
at the end of history. When the Prophet Ezekiel sees a vision for the restoration
of Jerusalem there is a river of life flowing from the temple. The river in
this Psalm takes me there, to a peaceful stream and God’s restoration in the
future.
The chaotic images of mountains
shaking and the earth changing remind me of Jesus’ words about the judgment
last week. Even when everything falls apart God is there. Thinking about God’s
judgment like we did last week can be unsettling. This passage reassures me
that even then, God will take care of us. If God can hold us together when the
mountains shake and judgment comes, it’s safe to say we can trust him to get us
through Christmas shopping and baking too.
Along with the images of chaotic
change in the earth, there are images of God bringing peace by force. The
psalmist imagines God breaking bows, shattering spears and burning the shields
with fire. We usually thing of peace as gentle, but we are so attached to
violence that God will have to be assertive to end war and establish peace. One
day he will do that. One day the weapons of war will be destroyed, all people
will be at peace and our warriors will be able to come home. I pray that day
comes soon.
Interestingly, right along side the
images of making peace the psalmist calls God the Lord of Hosts. That is a
common title for God, but it’s not necessarily a peaceful title. Hosts in this
case isn’t talking about hosting a party of providing hospitality. Instead
Hosts means assembled forces, like an army. The image is one that stresses
God’s power as the ruler of the armies of heaven. In a world like ours so full
of selfishness and violence we need a strong God to keep us safe. We need a
powerful God to curb our self-destructive ways and build a peaceful kingdom.
The Psalm closes with a call to
patience and trust. Speaking for God the psalmist tells us: “Be still and know
that I am God.” That one line would make a great refrain for all of Advent.
Whenever you feel overwhelmed by the rush of the season or the demands that
feel endless, pause for a second and remember God’s power and calling: “Be
still and know that I am God.” When you feel like you have too many
responsibilities and that you can’t do it all, hear God’s assurance: “Be still
and know that I am God.” We are not steering this ship; God is in charge and we
are in good hands.
The
Psalms have a great range of emotions. No matter what you’re feeling, there’s a
Psalm for you. There’s an idea that Christians are supposed to be cheerful all
the time, but that’s not realistic or biblical. Sometimes we feel afraid or sad
or angry. Christmas can be a tough time for that because there’s a pressure to,
“Get into the holiday season.” The holidays often make us feel stressed out
instead of joyful. They also often remind us of the people we love who have
died or the relationships that have gone sour.
Psalm
130 starts out with sadness and trouble right at the front. We don’t know the
Psalmist’s situation, so we can put ourselves there whenever we feel low.
Listen to these words of prayer from a troubled soul, then take a few moments
of silence to reflect and let the words sink in:
Psalm 130
1Out of the depths I cry to you,
O Lord. 2Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the
voice of my supplications! 3If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand? 4But there is forgiveness with you, so that
you may be revered.
5I wait for the Lord, my soul
waits, and in his word I hope; 6my soul waits for the Lord more than
those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
7O Israel, hope in the Lord! For
with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8It
is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Along with starting in a dark
place, this Psalm begins with a recognition that we don’t call on God because
of our goodness. We are all sinners. If God marked iniquities, in other words,
if God kept score of what we do wrong, no one would be righteous. Instead, God
forgives us so we can all truly love and worship God.
There’s
a different image of waiting in this Psalm. Psalm 46 talked about being still,
a patient image of waiting. In Psalm 130 the waiting is impatient, almost
desperate. There’s a solid knowledge that we can trust God, but there’s a
desire for the wait to be over, for God to bring restoration and redemption
quickly. The image in the Psalm is a night watchman waiting for the safety of
day and the end of his night shift. We can also imagine a child waiting for
Christmas, knowing it will come, but straining to see the sun creeping over the
horizon that says the day is finally here.
From
a practical perspective, another great thing about this Psalm is that it’s very
short. If it speaks to you this morning, it would be a very manageable passage
to spend some time with and memorize. Then when you feel in the depths you
could call up these words of hope anytime.
We’ve heard about patent waiting
and impatient waiting. Our last passage tells us about the new strength we find
from waiting on God. This passage from Isaiah was the theme of the PC (USA)
General Assembly last summer. With meetings sometimes long into the night, it
was important to remember that God renews our strength. With conflict and
tension over church policies, we needed frequent reminders that God is
ultimately in charge. We need those reminders now too. In this season of
constant motion we can find time to stop and remember what the season is about.
Instead of shop ‘til you drop, we can wait on the Lord and put our trust where
it belongs.
Isaiah 40:28-31
28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the
earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29He
gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30Even
youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31but
those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
It’s challenging to carve out time
or attention to wait on God in such a busy season. When our to do list keeps
getting longer it almost feels irresponsible to take any time away from
“accomplishing things.” Part of the key for me to wait on God more during
Advent is taking advantage of small opportunities in the day. If you have a
smart phone, there’s a great Bible app that can make standing in line or
waiting for the coffee to brew good devotional time. Sometimes just a few
minutes with the Bible as you start your day can help you turn to during the
rest of the day.
I usually listen to music or news
in the car, but sometimes the world seems so full of words that my mind and
soul need silence. A 20 minute drive can become an oasis of calm and stillness.
A run or walk can become a time of reflection either with music or with just
the sounds of nature.
The idea I’d invite you to come
back to often in the week ahead is that we’re waiting on God. There’s so much
pressure for us to get things done. There’s a place for our desire to do
things. I’m pretty confident that God’s not going to do your Christmas shopping
or cook Christmas dinner, so it’s OK to take responsibility for those things.
The key is to remember that those things are not ultimately the most important.
If the Christmas brunch you or I
prepare for friends and family is just oatmeal and coffee, that’s OK. Your
guests will be glad to be together, grateful for your relaxed presence and happy
someone else is cooking. Finding the right gift for someone is not going to
bring world peace. It’s not going to make or break a relationship. The things
that really matter are in God’s hands, and God can handle it. So rush around if
you need to, but don’t let the rush overwhelm you because the greatest gift is
already ours. Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage; wait
for the Lord.
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