Scripture Reading Psalm 27
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?
When the
wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
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.
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.
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.
Hear my
voice when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
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. Though my father and mother forsake
me,
the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me
over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
I remain
confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for
the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Here ends
this reading of the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
Message Strong & Tender
When
we say the words of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to deliver us from evil. We
ask God to protect us from harm. We ask God to watch over us like a mother hen
watches over her chicks, carefully protecting them with her wings.
We
all want to be protected from evil. In the Gospel reading for this week, Jesus was
warned by a group of Pharisees to stay away from Jerusalem because King Herod
wanted to have him killed. King Herod was threatened by Jesus and his
message. If people turned towards Jesus,
Herod would have less power. If people turned towards Jesus, Herod would lose
face with the Roman authorities, people he was beholden to in order to keep his
power and rule over the people of Israel. Herod was afraid Jesus was the
Messiah, and he was the kind of Messiah who would raise up and army and
overthrow the Romans. If the Romans were cast out of Israel, Herod’s power and
riches would have been taken away from him. And he would have been cast out
too.
Deliver me from Evil. Deliver us from
Evil.
We
have been watching the news covering the Ukraine with baited breath. We are
made sad and angry by what we see. Maternity Hospitals bombed. Children killed.
Beautiful cities turned to rubble.
We
don’t know how to make things better. We don’t know how to convince the
Russians to stop attacking. We don’t know how to support efforts for peace. We
feel hopeless.
Deliver me from Evil. Deliver us from
Evil.
In
our personal lives, we have a laundry list of worries. Will my family members remain healthy? Will I
get Covid, or get it again? Will we continue to argue about whether or not to
wear masks? Will the price of fuel continue to rise? Will I still have a job to
go to? Are my kids ok? Am I ok?
Deliver me from Evil. Deliver us from Evil.
King
David wrote many of the Psalms, including the Psalm we read today. For many years, David was not a king, but was
a wanted man. King Saul, the first king of Israel was paranoid David was
seeking to de-throne him. Saul sent his armed forces to capture David, and with
the goal of killing him. David was in hiding for years. He was a fugitive. Eventually, Saul was killed in a battle
against the Philistines. David became king once King Saul was out of the way.
In
light of David’s history, we can read the words of Psalm 27 knowing David was
talking about himself. David lived as a
wanted man – his foes and enemies did advance against him. Armies did seek to
besiege David. He lived without peace
for many years.
And,
yet, David’s request in this Psalm is that God continue to be with him. David
didn’t ask God to attack the armies. David didn’t ask God to kill King Saul…in
fact, David once was hiding in a cave and Saul came into the cave to relieve
himself….David could have killed King Saul, but he didn’t…he took the higher
path. David asked God support him, to comfort him, to be with him, not to make
everything perfect.
Deliver me from Evil. Deliver us from
evil.
When
we are scared and feel helpless, God is with us. As David declared:
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?
God comforts us in the midst of our suffering. God
is present with us in the midst of our pain. God is with us.
In
our lives, We can’t snap our fingers and make everything magically better. But,
when we are worried and feel helpless, we can turn to God and pour our hearts
out to God. God listens to us. God cares about us as individuals. And God gives
us strength to do difficult and wonderful tasks.
As
we fret about what is happening in Europe, and watch, we also see evidence of people
working together for the good of people in crisis. Thousands of people have
donated money and supplies for refugees and those under attack. People have
stepped forward to be volunteer medics, and cooks for hungry people, and
drivers of people who can’t drive themselves out of harm’s way. People in
countries that neighbor Ukraine have opened up their homes to refugees. Despite
the tragedy that is unfolding, people have bravely stepped forward to care for
people who are the victims of the war.
This
is our work as well. When we are feeling helpless, we must turn to God. When we
are suffering, we must turn to God. But, there is also a “take action” part of
our faith. God empowers us to do God’s work in the world. So, when we learn
about the suffering of other people, we are invited to work to relieve their
suffering. Christians working together
can help transform our world into the place we all want it to be and help it
become the idealized Kingdom of God on Earth.
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