August 21, 2023 — Psalm 115 

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; 

eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats. Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them. O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the LORD,  both small and great. May the LORD give you increase,  both you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth. The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD  from this time on and forevermore. Praise the LORD!” 

“Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk” 

Psalm 115 is a hymn of praise to G-d who is above all things — who is the creator of all. While G-d is not seen in any anthropomorphic manner — yet we see G-d in the things G-d created — and the evidence of G-d’s power — and through the Son, Jesus, who brings salvation.  

The Psalmist attacks those who worship false gods and idols, promoting the first of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them.” (Exodus 20:4-5) 

I am reminded of the battle between Elijah and the priests of Ba’al on Mount Carmel. Elijah challenged them to have their gods consume a sacrifice — and so they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” (1 Kings 18:26-27) 

We worship one G-d — who was, is and is to come, the almighty. And we continue to read the Psalms in our worship, and use them in our prayer life — for they remind us of the greatness of our G-d. 

Let us pray: 

Lord God, creator and ruler of the universe, you have entrusted the care of the earth to its peoples. Grant that your children, surrounded by signs of your presence, may live continually in Christ, praising you through him and with him, now and forever. 

Amen. 

Pastor Dave

August 20, 2023 — Pentecost +12A — Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28

“Jesus] called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”] Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”

Who deserves G-d’s love? This is the question we must ask today — who deserves G-d’s love? We all have some boundaries we establish when we think about who deserves G-d’s love. Some might say that only Christians deserve G-d’s love. Others might say only heterosexuals deserve G-d’s love. Others would say people like Idi Amin and Pol Pot or even Jim Jones certainly do not deserve G-d’s love.  Some would say only “non-sinners” deserve G-d’s love.

Well, if we believe what Paul teaches, that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of G-d”, and “There is no one who is righteous, all have turned aside” (Romans 3) well then, who is saved? If we have to earn G-d’s love by doing, acting, living, believing in a certain way — and Paul is right, then we are all doomed. If we have to earn G-d’s love  — we cannot do enough, believe enough, or live rightly enough. So, nobody DESERVES G-d’s love. And yet, here is the kicker— while we are not deserving of this love, yet, we are ALL DESERVING of G-d’s love. Can I get an AMEN?

My friends, it is time to change how we think about how G-d should love,  or to whom G-d should or should not delve out G-d’s love — that is none of our business — it is way out of our league. G-d loves us all — it doesn’t matter who we are – how well we drive — how honest we are on our tax returns — no matter what sins we have committed — what good we have failed to do — G-d loves everybody. We need to stop telling G-d how to do what only belongs to G-d.

When a sinner, or a Gentile, or some other “lost soul” says “Lord, help me”, well, Jesus confirms they enter the “no judgment zone” — period — end of the conversation. G-d’s love is for all — because G-d created all things — so G-d loves us all — period.

Now some will reject that love — but G-d still loves them, I believe that. We can go ahead and judge others — but our opinion does not matter. So why spend so much time, energy and seconds of our lives judging? Instead, let’s get on to loving, and living lives of compassion.

Pastor Dave