This is the Day
Psalm118:1-2, 14-24[1]
I wonder whether we have the capacity to be amazed any longer. All
our various sources of information have placed not only events happening around
the world literally at our fingertips in real time. We also have access to
images from the far reaches of galaxies that previous generations could not
even imagine. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s a good thing to have access to
information from around the world and images that show us the beauty of the
cosmos. But I wonder whether the steady stream that we have become accustomed
to consuming in our social media feeds has saturated our capacity to find
anything wonderful or marvelous.
Of course, this isn’t a modern, first-world problem. Part of the
human problem is that we have a tendency to let ourselves get caught up in what
we deem urgent. That sense of urgency often gets in the way of our ability to
appreciate what is truly important. And it also gets in the way of our ability
to marvel at the wonders around us: the beauty of a sunset, the miracle of
shrubs and trees putting out blossoms, the enthusiasm and energy of a child.
And, unfortunately, this spills over from our “normal” lives into our
relationship with God. When we can’t even be amazed by the events of the world
happening around us, how can we expect to sense any mystery or wonder or awe
about something like Easter?
Our Psalm for today is one that is familiar to us. At least one
verse is. If you go to any Christian gathering anywhere and say the words,
“This is the day the Lord has made,” you know that that audience will respond
with “we will rejoice and be glad in it.” And you can count on that because
that’s the way the King James Version rendered that verse 400 years ago. That’s
a long time to set a precedent. I think for many of us, that refrain from Psalm
118 serves as a reminder of the wonder of creation. Some of us may like to use
it on a daily basis to remind ourselves that all of our lives are in God’s
hands, and that God is still working at creation every day. It’s a way for us
to receive a new day as a gift from God. All of that is good.
In fact, in many churches it has been traditional to introduce
worship with this call and response. That tradition started long ago for a
particular reason. As the day that was originally the first day of the week,
Sunday was the day on which Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.[2]
And so, to begin worship with “This is the day the Lord has made, we will
rejoice and be glad in it,” was a way of calling attention to something special
that God has done: raising Jesus from the dead. And with that special act, God
has given us all a hope that continues to sustain our faith come what may, even
in the face of death itself.
I’ll have to confess, however, that I don’t think that the
scholars who translated the King James Version got that particular verse right.
The whole of Psalm 118 is about the work of God’s salvation. From the beginning
refrain, which affirms that “God’s faithful love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1-3,
NLT), the whole Psalm is a
declaration of thanks to God for what he has done. And what God has “done”
above all is to provide the gift of “salvation.” More than that, the Psalmist
praises God because “he has become my salvation” (Ps. 118:14, 21). Apparently,
the Psalmist was in such dire straits that he thought he was going to die. But
instead, as he affirms, God “became” his salvation, and delivered him from the
danger he faced.
So unexpected was this reversal of his fortunes, that the Psalmist
quotes what very likely was a proverb in that day: “The stone that the builders
rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (Ps. 118: 22). This proverb
celebrated something that happened time and again in the history of God’s
relationship with his people: one who was seemingly rejected was honored by
being chosen for a special purpose. The Psalmist certainly had not lost the
capacity to be amazed. In fact, this reversal was so astounding he says in the
next verse: “This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Ps.
118:23). Because the whole context of the Psalm is about what the Lord has
“done” on this day, I prefer the translation in the NIV (and others): “The LORD
has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” (Ps. 118:24,
NIV).
It is fitting that this verse is one that is chosen to be read on
Easter Sunday.[3]
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the one event above all in which God
demonstrates that “he has become our salvation.” In this most dramatic way, God
demonstrates that “his faithful love” truly “endures forever.” Easter Sunday is
the day on which it is truly right to say, “the LORD has done this, and it is
marvelous in our eyes. The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today
and be glad” (Ps. 118:23-23, NIV)! Jesus, the one who was written off by Jewish
and Roman authorities alike as just another messianic pretender, was “the stone
the builders rejected” who had been exalted in his resurrection to the right
hand of God and has “become our salvation.”
This is a message
that most of us have heard over and over again all our lives. Sometimes that
kind of familiarity leads us to cherish this message, and sometimes I fear it
leads us to discount it. After all, we have so many other, newer, more pressing
matters right at our fingertips. In the midst of all that “static,” this is the
day for us to remember the truly amazing message that is the basis for our
faith and our lives. Not only on this Easter Sunday, but throughout the Easter
season, we can remember that this is the day on which God has acted to break
through all the vicious cycles of life that can seem to bind us in despair. In
fact, one could say that every Sunday is the time to remember that “this is the
day” on which our Lord Jesus Christ has “become our salvation.”
[1] ©2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan
Brehm on 4/21/2019 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
James L. Mays, Psalms, 380.
[3] J.
Clinton McCann, Jr. “The Book of Psalms,” New
Interpreters Bible IV:1156.
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