Let us pray: Good and loving God, send your Spirit to work through these words that they may bring us peace, comfort, and hope. In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer. Amen.
From psalm 16, verse one: Protect me O God, I take refuge in you. You are my Lord, my God above all other.
Yes, protect us God, today and tomorrow and into our unknown future. If we say that you are our Creator, and not just the creator of humankind, but of ALL creation, then truly you are in charge of our lives as the good above all other. And if we can turn or return, again and again, our focus on God, then the psalmist reminds us that our hearts WILL be glad. Our spirits WILL rejoice and our bodies SHALL rest in hope. Yes please. That’s what I’m looking for today and always.
Today’s psalm reminds us that God WILL show us the path that brings life. It is in the presence of God that we find fullness of joy. What sweet words from the psalmist. Just like last Sunday when Bingham reminded us to put our trust NOT in human leaders who are fallible and who fade away, but rather, to put our trust in the everlasting and perfect love of God, today’s psalm reminds us of the refuge, the sanctuary, the almighty goodness, and reason for joy, gladness and rest that we need. Where can we get that? Where do we find it? How?
It can be found in God alone.
How can we move forward through the worries, fear, and despair of our human lives? With God. God will show us the way, the path of life. God will be present. In that companionship, that support, love, and guidance, we will find our path, our purpose, and our renewed joy.
I’ve been really feeling the need to unplug from my usual news scrolling in the morning over breakfast lately. Instead, I recognize the need to start my day in the scriptures. I read the psalm or psalms for the day, a reading from the Hebrew scriptures, something from one of the epistles, and then the Gospel. What a difference it’s been making! What a much more serene start to my day. God caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, they are inspired by the Holy Spirit, living, active, and good for learning and understanding who God is, how God interacted with humans in the past, how Jesus modeled God’s loving care in words and actions, and how the first followers of Jesus sought to follow in his footsteps.
Today’s collect reminds us to listen, read, mark and inwardly digest scripture. This is for our good, for our reassurance, for mental and spiritual health. We need to inwardly digest it, to really chew it over. It is, after all, divine nourishment that fuels and build us up. Especially in tough times, scriptures offer us hope. Hope that we will make it through, hope that God knows our sufferings and is with us through them, hope that love wins, hope that God’s dream IS becoming reality,
and WILL, in the end, be fully realized. Spending time in the bible reminds us who we are, and whose we are. It reminds us what’s really important in our lives, where we can put our trust and confidence. And it encourages us to be God’s hands and feet, serving up and multiplying divine love in our world.
In today’s second reading. We are reminded of the covenant, the agreement that God made with us:
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds…I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.
God has imprinted the divine law of love on our hearts and in our minds. We have within us the ways that we are called to act and be in this world. And not only that, but God has put away our sins, those times we fell short, failing to love ourselves and others. They---Are---Gone! Such good news, reminders of God’s presence, grace, and forgiveness. And from that, encouragement: Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one what has promised is faithful. Yes! Our good and loving God is faithful. Of that we can be sure. On that we can place all of our trust and confidence, on the God who created us and our world out of love, for love, to be in love with ourselves, each other, and creation. And so, what are we to do now? How are we to act, to move forward? The Letter to the Hebrews give us our answer.
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. Love and good deeds. Together, as a community, let us move forward with love and in love, encouraging one another, and showing our world what Jesus is all about and what we mean to be all about too.
Amen.
