From the Pastor |
Psalm 85
This Advent season is a time of preparation… a time to remember and reflect… on what was… what is…and what is yet to come. A time to remember that Christ has come… is come… will come again… Past, present, and future… That is why Psalm 85 is perfect for this Sunday of Advent… this Sunday of peace. This psalm contains three distinct parts: First, the psalmist looks to the past… to the wondrous things God has done. Then he moves to the present… to the reality of how Israel has angered God… But then he moves to the future and the hope that comes from God’s promise. What was… what is… and what will be! The psalm is filled with promise in the midst of a time of waiting and uncertainty. Reflecting on the past is important. It helps us to understand the present. This time of year tends to bring memories to the forefront of our thoughts… These memories can be a great source of encouragement, or they can bring us pain and dishearten us… either way… it is the past that shapes who we are today. In Psalm 85, the author remembers when God the writer recalls a time when God truly did show favor to the people of Israel. A time when God set aside God’s anger and restored Israel… looking favorably on the land, restoring fortunes, and forgiving their sins. This is what we do during Advent… we look to the past to point our way forward… We hear of the prophets declaring that one would come to “prepare the way…” and we look to the gospel’s picture of John the Baptist as he does just that… calling out to the people to “repent”… to turn back to God. Pointing us to the one who has come… the long awaited Messiah. Then the psalmist moves us to the present… to a time when things do not seem to be going as well. A time of uncertainty and suffering for the people of Israel. It seems that God is angry with the people. So the author cries out: “Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” And then he pleads that God will “Restore us again… and put away your displeasure toward us… Show us your unfailing love, Lord, and grant us your salvation.” Is our present any different? Even as we look to the past and all God has done throughout history and more personally… for us… We look at the suffering and turmoil that is all around us today, and have to wonder… Will God be angry with us forever? We too plead with God… “Restore us… show us your love… grant us you salvation.” But even with the suffering and apparent anger of God in the present… the psalmist has not given up hope in the promised future of God… a future where salvation is near… where God’s glory will be with us. He writes of how “hesed” meaning love, goodness, kindness and loyalty will meet together with “emet” which means faithfulness, truth, reliability. “Sedek” meaning righteousness, justice, deliverance… will kiss “shalom” which means peace, completeness, well-being. The language is intimate; the wondrous embrace of God’s graciousness. Through this embrace, the Lord’s loving kindness is revealed, the land becomes fruitful; and righteousness comes creating a path for the Lord’s feet. This is the path of God… the “way of the Lord” that is being prepared in the wilderness. It is along this path that we can find that love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace meet, and join together… springing up from below and looking down from above. This path begins with the act of listening. “I will listen to what God the Lord says…” These words are a reminder that we can’t simply sit back and wait for God to act… we need to pay attention to God… to listen as God speaks to us now… in the present. Being faithful to God… trusting in God’s promised future. It is God’s voice that speaks Shalom: a word of peace. When we read this Psalm through the scope of Advent, we find it resonates clearly with the promised hope and peace that is fulfilled in Christ… who brings us forgiveness and restored life; who leads us into truth. The one who was… who is and who will come again. By looking both to the past, remembering what God has done… and to the future promised by God… we can look to our present with eyes that are clear… we can look at our lives and this world… with all its pain, injustice and suffering… and we can find the peace of God. For as Jesus said “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” [John 16:33] For in Christ, love and faithfulness… righteousness and peace, come together… in harmony with one another. And through Christ we find a God whose glory is seen in the world, and where true peace can be found… not only in the future but today. Because, The Peace of God that is not absence of conflict, or a place where there is no noise, trouble, or pain. Peace is what we receive that enables us to find a calmness of heart, soul and mind even in the midst of all those things… it is God’s peace that enables us to get up each day and continue the work of Christ Jesus to bring hope, peace, joy and love to the world… bringing healing and wholeness to others. Peace that will ultimately transform this world and bring God’s kingdom into our reality. Amen
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Yeon Shin
|