Tag Archives: G*d

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 6, 2015
Tags: G*d,   

Lord, Give Me Space? — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image      November 6, 2015

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.
I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
Psalm 4:1ff

“This Psalm is a companion for our times of doubt. Even more, the Psalmist is a teacher who models for us 1) a way out of distress by articulating who God is and how God is for us, and 2) a way of responding to God. Regarding the first, the Psalmist rehearses all that he trusts to be true about God. Clearly the Lord is one who is in conversation with those who believe in him (verses 1, 3). Moreover, claiming that the Lord sets apart the faithful for himself justifies the distance the Psalmist feels between himself and others (verse 3). The Lord is trustworthy (verse 4) and provides peacefulness and security (verse 8).

Two other descriptions are noteworthy. First, God gives room when we are in distress (verse 1). This is a curious phrase which may become a central theme in your preaching this week. To “give room” originally alluded to “release from a tight noose at the neck (cf. Psalms 18:19, 118:5).” It was “a symbol of freedom before wide horizons (Genesis 26, Psalm 31:9, and Isaiah 60.5).” This is opposite of the distress mentioned in verse 1, a word which is used for “a constricted larynx.”1 The Psalmist is acknowledging the Lord’s willingness not to micromanage, to give him room to question, to let him work out the insecurities surrounding his belief”. (Working Preacher website, Commentary on Psalm 4 Shauna Hannan)

The Psalmist declares to the Lord: “You gave me room when I was in distress”. We often wrongly believe that when the Lord has seemingly left us for a time, we believe we are being punished. The Psalmist is stating that the Lord gives us space, the Lord refuses to micromanage our lives, and allows us to ponder what is happening both in our lives and in our faith lives. There is a recent study out about parents who micromanage their children’s lives, also called “helicopter parenting”. Here is just a snippet of their report:

“Being a parent can be tricky. Some parents are too relaxed, and some too overbearing. But some are helicopters, hovering over their kids’ every move. Julie Lythcott-Haims, a former dean at Stanford University and author of “How to Raise an Adult,” says parents who hover could be ruining a future generation, being too over-protective and doing so much for their kids that it’s keeping their children from becoming fully functional, independent adults. “When kids grow up, they can’t do for themselves,” Lythcott-Haims told ABC News. “They don’t have life skills. They don’t have the skills needed in the workplace and they have much higher rates of anxiety.”
(How Helicopter Parenting Could Be Ruining a Generation of Children, by ABC NEWS)

We have seen or experienced these parents, and often we wonder out loud “How are these children going to learn to cope?” The Lord understands this and the Psalmist is declaring to us that though the Lord never leaves us, that the Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps, yet the Lord allows us to struggle at times and uses this as a teaching mechanism. Our trust secures our salvation, but does not secure a G*d who sits on our shoulder like a parrot telling what to do at all times and in every situation. The Lord gives us room to question, allows us time to struggle with options, and allows us to work out our insecurities around our faith. The Lord hears all prayers, knows all things, but is not a helicopter “parent” – TBTG.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 2, 2015
Tags: G*d, King   

Who Is The King Of Glory — Rev. David J. Schreffler

image              November 2, 2015

“Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.” Psalm 24:7-10

“Psalm 24 was a processional psalm built in a call-response format. 24:1-2 was a universal call to worship YHWH. He created the world and all its inhabitants; he controlled the flow of the water which defined the dry land. The questions of 24:3 set up the response: if YHWH was the God of all, who should follow the procession to his Temple? 24:4-5 answered the questions with a definition of the faithful. The true believer followed the Law completely (“has kosher hands”) and worshiped with a single intent (“has a pure heart”). The believer’s relationship with YHWH was reflected in his relationship with his neighbor; he does not aspire to a false ideal and does not mislead with false oaths. In return, this believer would enjoy blessings from his Maker.

In 24:7-10, the subject of the psalm shifted from the follower to the worship of the community. The psalm called out to the Jerusalem twice to raise it’s voice in praise, then phrase the response with a question: Who is the King of glory? (24:7-8a, 24:9-10a). The call to Jerusalem (“lift up your heads, O gates, lift up, O ancient doors”) could not refer to the city gates because a fortified entrance that rose upward did not exist in the ancient world. The response to the call defined YHWH, the King of glory, as a warrior deity (“YHWH, strong and almighty, YHWH, strong in battle”). The God of Israel triumphed over his foes. In sum, Psalm 24 was hymn of victory sung by a jubilant procession. We can easily see this psalm on the lips of the army as it returned to Jerusalem after a successful campaign.” (Following the King of Glory, Larry Broding, word-Sunday website)

Who is the king of glory? We do not have a history of good relationships with kings in this country. We are a people, the people of these United States, born out of a rebellion with a king. So when we call G*d the “king of glory”, I am not so sure we know how to live into this relationship. To be fair, should we consider our G*d our “king”, or is there another word we should use? This is usually part of my conversation when Christ the King Sunday rolls around. They even have renamed this festival “The Reign of Christ” Sunday. I don’t believe this clarifies the issue. We have no kingdoms in this country, except “The Magic Kingdom”, and we have not had someone reign over us as Lutherans since the 17th century. So, I ask again, is there a different word, other than King, that can describe our relationship with G*d? We could use Father, but that word has its detractors. Friend is out because G*d is more than just our friend. How about we just talk about G*d in the terms of what G*d does – G*d is the author of life, the presence we covet, and the savior we all need. The important thing is not what we call G*d, whether it is King of Glory, or King of Kings, or even Creator, Redeemer, or Sanctifier. What is important is how willing we are to name G*d as the ruler of our lives?

Pastor Dave