Words of Welcome

Note:  This sermon was shared as part of our annual outdoor service, which is less formal. Because of the nature of the text for the day, it is laid out as a more participatory sermon. Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” These opening words of the 23rd Psalm are deeply embedded in many hearts and minds. We turn to this Psalm in times of grief and doubt and fear. We look to this Psalm in the hope that the Lord is with us, restoring and protecting us, as we journey in life. Since most of us are deeply familiar with this Psalm, and because we’ve gathered for worship in a different space, I want to make this a more participatory sermon. We’ve already heard the Psalm read from the NRSV, but I’m going to read it again a couple of times from other translations, including the King James, and then I have some questions for us to discuss. 

Psalm 48 We began worship by singing “Great is the Lord.” We heard Mike sing “How Great Thou Art.” Then, we shared together in the reading of Psalm 48, which opens with the words “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God.”  Yes, great is the Lord who is “faithful and true” and who dwells in Zion! This week as we turn again to the Psalms, we encounter one of the “Songs of Zion.” These songs celebrate Yahweh’s position as the cosmic king, who rules over all things. In these songs of Zion, human kings, like David and Solomon disappear. While the people of Israel asked Samuel for a king to fight their battles for them, this Psalm declared that it’s God, and not these earthly kings and their military prowess that provide security to the nation.

Psalm 130 Children as young as three-months-old, are crying out for the comforting arms of missing parents. Most of these families who have come to our border are trying to escape violence that probably originates here in the United States. I believe that the God who redeems Israel has heard these cries of lament, and invites us to do the same. Whatever our feelings about the immigration issue, surely the cries of these children touch our hearts. If we are God’s hands and feet and voices, then we have to answer the question: how will we respond to these cries? We hear the voice of the Psalmist: “Out of the depths, I cry to the Lord. Lord, hear my voice!” The Psalmist cries out to God: “Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” This is a song of lament that’s numbered among the Songs of Ascent. These are the songs pilgrims sang as they made their way to Jerusalem. This song is darker than the 133rd Psalm, which we heard last Sunday. This song has a pen