"Show Me
the Path"
a condensed version of the
sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, March 1, 2009 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of
Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.
|
Praying the Psalms
Lent – the word comes from The German and Dutch words for spring (Lenz and Lente) and has a very close relation to the Middle English verb "lenten": meaning, "to lengthen." Here in the Northern Hemisphere it happens as the days are lengthening.
In other languages this season, instead of relating to the lengthening of days, relates to the Latin word "quadragesima" for "40 days" before Easter. In Spanish: cuaresma, In French: carême
Lent is the time for us to prepare spiritually for Easter. It started this past week on Ash Wednesday and spans 40 days (minus the Sundays) leading up to Easter.
40 -- the number that symbolizes spiritual journeys home
Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness before he started his public ministry
The people of Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness as they inched towards the promised land.
Both Moses and Elijah fasted 40 days on the mountain – sustained by God’s presence as they prepared for what was to come.
And so -- we’re beginning our Lenten journey together.
And on that journey – even when we’re not together in one place, we can do something as a community.
Pray the Psalms.
The Psalms are raw and honest expressions of the heart of the writers. I’ve said before that they don’t work well as ‘proof texts’ of God’s promises, but they do open a window of authenticity to the state of our hearts as we continue on a journey of faith.
Some Psalms are very comforting. Others are uplifting. Many are sad – even tragic. Many have parts to them that sound very ‘unChristian.’ We usually avoid those parts when we’re reading the Psalms out loud.
Not today.
Psalm 25 is written as an acrostic – Each line represents a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We’re only looking at 10 verses today, so we won’t get the acrostic flavor. But since the acrostic relates to the Hebrew alphabet, we probably wouldn’t have gotten the flavor, anyway.
This acrostic tends to jump around a bit – it doesn’t have a continuing theme or lovely poetic flow of one verse to the next. But it still is filled with raw emotion. Here’s how I understood Psalm 25 as I read it over and over this week
All week I asked questions about the parts of this reading that bother me.
Does God disgrace the ones who don’t follow him? Does God need a reminder about showing love? Does God need buttering up? Does God need a guilt trip?
I felt like I wanted to pray part of the prayer and then discard other parts of it.
Let the wantonly treacherous be ashamed
That sounds like the words of Sean Penn at last week’s Academy Awards.
"I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support."
Those were harsh words – uncomfortable for those who support gay marriage and live with the tension of differing views. Maddening for those who do not support gay marriage and think that any position that supports it is contrary to scripture.
It doesn’t sound nice -- it sounds vindictive. But it does express a real, raw emotion
Remember your mercy and of your steadfast love . . .
God doesn’t need a reminder from anyone about steadfast love. I think that this reflects the covenant relationship with a ruler and a subject -- the subject reminds the ruler of the covenant (in this case the one of steadfast love) I think the intention of the writer is difficult to grasp without that idea in mind. Maybe it’s more of a reminder from the writer to themselves that God is all about steadfast love.
And the statement expresses something real and raw.
Don’t remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions
This one is lots easier to grasp, eh? And it expresses something real and raw.
During this Lenten season – let’s pray the Psalms together. Over the next few weeks I’ll preach sermons that focus on Psalm 19 and also Parts of Psalm 107. So during these weeks of Lent, why not spend time reading, pondering, exploring and praying – with real and raw emotion – Psalm 25, 19 and 107.
It won’t feel like a regular "Dear God – thank you for, please help . . . " prayer. It may not feel like it’s a "proper" prayer. But it will be a way talking to and listening to the soul nudges that God gives. And that is prayer.
Join me this Lenten season praying the Psalms. Talk to God with real and raw emotions. Listen for what God whispers. Ask God every day – "Show me the path."
Close with prayer.
© 2009 Union Congregational Church, All Rights Reserved