Among Us And Through Us

 Among Us and Through Us

Mark 1:29-39[1]

I’ve been here long enough for you to recognize that I have certain phrases that I use every week in worship. What you may or may not realize is that I do that on purpose. Each of them makes a theological point that I believe is important for us to be reminded about regularly. One of those phrases occurs in my prayer after the sermon: “Eternal father, creator of all the heavens and the earth, continue to bring your kingdom among us and through us.” There’s quite a bit packed into that short prayer, and it would take more than one sermon to discuss all of it. What I’d like to focus on today is the prayer for God to continue working “among us and through us.”

Everything we do as a community of faith rests on what God is doing among us and through us. Jesus defined what God is doing with the phrase “the kingdom of God.” After all we’ve heard and learned about this, it may still elude us. The kingdom of God refers to everything God is doing in this world to right all the wrongs, to free all who are oppressed, and to fill the lives of those who are afraid or who have lost hope with the joy of a whole new way of living. We may think of it as “salvation,” but it’s not just something that affects us spiritually. It’s about transforming everything and everyone so that God’s will may be done “on earth as it is in heaven.”

As I mentioned last week, Jesus not only preached the message that “the kingdom of God has come near,” he also enacted it. We saw that Jesus had the authority and power to bring the presence of God’s kingdom into people’s lives. This week we see an extension of that ministry in that Jesus heals not just Peter’s mother-in-law, but also “all who were sick.” Our lesson for today tells us that “the whole city” of Capernaum was gathered at the door after the sun went down, marking the official end of the Sabbath day. And while we’re told that Jesus healed “many,” we ought not make too much out of the contrast between “all” and “many.” Very likely, “many” was just another way of saying he healed them all.

Mark’s Gospel is notably brief in recounting Jesus life and ministry. And this episode is no exception. We’re left to wonder what happened. Did he simply “speak the word” and perhaps “wave his hand” over the whole crowd, and they were instantly cured? We might be tempted to think so. But that wasn’t the way Jesus typically operated. Luke’s account of this event says it this way: “he laid his hands on each of them and cured them” (Lk. 4:40). The idea is that Jesus healed each and every person who was brought to him, perhaps ministering to them until the wee hours of the morning!

Now, some of us might have just as many questions about the reports in the Gospels regarding Jesus’ healing miracles as we do about the idea that he expelled the powers of evil. We may wonder why Jesus healed people like Peter’s mother-in-law, but didn’t heal a loved one for whom we may have prayed. I don’t know why our cherished friends and family have to suffer, sometimes for a long time, and may never find healing. Despite the fact that we’re all familiar with various traditional “reasons,” I’ve often said I don’t think there is any way to truly answer the question “Why?” It’s one of those mysteries that rests in the hands of the God who reigns over all our lives with grace, mercy, and love.

What I do know is that the miracles of healing that Jesus performed in his ministry had a purpose. Just like his power to set people free from the evil that afflicted them, so also his ability to heal those who were ill brought the presence of God’s kingdom into their lives. While we may not see “spectacular” miracles today, I would insist that Jesus is still at work among us, bringing the kingdom of God into our lives. And when the kingdom of God comes into our lives, we are transformed by God’s grace, mercy, and love so that we can live new lives of faith, hope and love. God’s work in our lives enables us to become people through whom God works in the lives of others. The presence of his kingdom “among us” leads to the impact of God’s kingdom “through us.”

Our Gospel lesson has a surprising ending. After a night of using his power and authority to release the people of Capernaum from all the ills and the evils oppressing them, Jesus spent several hours alone in prayer. Peter and the others finally “chased him down” to bring him back to the crowd that was doubtless waiting for him back in town. But Jesus knew he had more important work to do: to “go on to the neighboring towns” to preach the good news of the kingdom there. He knew that he had a task to fulfill, and that was to bring the presence of God’s kingdom to all who would receive it.

We here today are among those into whose lives Jesus has brought the presence of God’s kingdom. We have experienced the transforming power of God’s grace, mercy, and love. And we are on the path of discovering what it means to live new lives of faith, hope, and love. But I would say most of us tend to take for granted the presence of God’s kingdom in our lives and the impact that has on our world. While the transformation we witness in the lives of those around us may not seem “miraculous” in comparison with Jesus’ ministry, I would say it is real nonetheless. When take a closer look, I think we will see that God not only continues to work “among us,” he’s also working constantly “through us” to bring his grace, mercy, and love into the lives of those we encounter.

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[1] © 2021 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 2/7/2021 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

Signs

Signs

Mark 1:21-28[1]

You may find this hard to believe, but I’ve always been something of a skeptic. Especially when it comes to matters of spirituality. Whenever people use “churchy” language I wonder what it really means, if anything at all. I’m the same way with “signs and miracles.” Of course, in one sense, every new day is a sign of God’s love and a miracle in and of itself. But I’m talking about the “special” signs that some people use to bolster their faith. Bleeding statues and unusual phenomena in the sky don’t really do much for me. I’m interested in more meaningful signs of God’s kingdom at work among us.

It may not be obvious at first glance, but that is the purpose of the stories about Jesus’ miracles in the Gospels. Jesus’ miraculous deeds served as signs to demonstrate the presence of God’s kingdom.  They served as concrete examples of the message Jesus preached, that “the kingdom of God has come near.” And where the presence of God’s kingdom is, there is healing, there is freedom, there is life, there is joy.  Although we live in a time when miracles seem rare, in Jesus’ world, a world filled with domination and death, his miracles made an important point. They were meant to show that when God’s kingdom comes near, the powers of domination and death must retreat.

That’s why the Gospels put so much emphasis on Jesus’ ability to cast out demons. It’s not an attempt to convince us to believe in an unseen realm where angels and demons battle each other for the souls of men and women.  Pretty much every one in Jesus’ day and time believed in that.  The reason why the Gospels emphasized Jesus’ power over the demons was because they were the most powerful adversaries anyone could imagine. Some did resort to various magical techniques to ward off evil spirits. And there were others who were thought to be able to expel demons, though it took a great deal of “smoke and mirrors.” But for the most part people saw themselves as basically defenseless and helpless against attacks from demons. 

 In this respect “demons” represented the power of evil in the world, and it seemed to many that its power was unstoppable.  That’s why it’s important to notice two features of the stories where Jesus expels demons.  First, unlike the so-called “exorcists” of the day, Jesus did not resort to elaborate rituals to compel the demonic spirits to leave.  As in our Gospel lesson for today, he simply spoke the command and they left.  Second, the stories where Jesus expels demons often conclude with a description of the person fully restored to health and wholeness of mind.  In other words, Jesus actually succeeded in setting them free from whatever it was that was afflicting them!

I think that’s why the people who witnessed these events were amazed by Jesus “authority” and power.  Compared to the impostors who used “every trick in the book” and charged handsomely for it, the presence of God’s liberating kingdom in Jesus simply released those who were living under oppression from the chains that bound them.  In a very real sense, Jesus “practiced what he preached” by effecting the healing and liberating presence of God’s kingdom in the lives of those who were subjected to the powers of evil.^[2]

It may be hard for some of us to swallow stories of demons being expelled, but the point is to show that God’s kingdom is truly present. And the good news of the gospel that “the kingdom of God has come near” is that Jesus established a “kingdom” and a “lordship” free from any kind of domination—patriarchal, political, moral, or religious. Thus the sign of God’s kingdom is not one of slaves cowering in fear of an absolute monarch who is able to wield power and hold lives in the balance, but rather the sign of God’s kingdom is a community free from all oppression, where we are all beloved children and friends of our merciful Creator and crucified Lord, living in the freedom and joy and life of God’s presence.

In fact, I would say that one of the key defining elements of the “kingdom of God” is freedom.^[3] But the kind of freedom that defines the kingdom of God has very little to do with “rights” or entitlement.  True freedom is about being free to love, free to serve, free to hope and dream, free to create. It is not about being “free” to do whatever you want with no consequences, but being free to be who you were intended to be by God. True freedom is about fulfilling God’s purpose in creating us in the first place. True freedom, the freedom of God’s kingdom, is about enjoying God’s life and God’s love in a community of people who are free to love and to serve.

That kind of freedom is one of the most compelling signs I can imagine that “the kingdom of God has come near.” Unfortunately, I’m not too sure that many people today associate religion with “freedom.” I think many see the Christian faith as something restrictive. But that’s where we come into the picture. As we live out the freedom to love and serve one another in this community of faith, we truly become a sign of the “reign” or the kingdom of God. That applies to our worship as well as our ministries. It applies to our big projects and the ones that may barely get noticed. As we worship God and serve our community with the freedom God has given us, our hope, our joy, and our love become a powerful sign that “the kingdom of God has come near.”

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[1] ©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 1/28/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 104-105, 107-108.

[3] Indeed, my favorite Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann defines the “kingdom of God” as “The Kingdom of Freedom.” Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom, 191-92, 202-3, 209-222.

You Give to Them

You Give to Them

Matthew 14:13-21[1]

I’m afraid that the prevalence of visual media in our world hasn’t always had a positive effect on us. It is truly amazing to be able to see developing news stories from around the world as they are happening. The technology surrounding movie making has moved into warp speed with computer-aided graphics. Many of us take High Definition TV for granted these days. But I’m afraid that all that “watching” has made us more of a nation of “spectators” than ever before. Think about it: would you rather play a baseball game or watch a baseball game. I won’t even ask if you’d rather play a baseball game or play baseball on a video game! It may depend on your personality, and what you like to do, but for many of us, we would prefer to sit in our comfortable chairs and watch than to take an active role in life.

 It seems to me that our Gospel lesson addresses this problem to some extent. Jesus has been teaching a huge crowd: 5000 men, not counting women and children. And at the end of the day, his disciples offer what seems to be a very practical suggestion. They’re in the middle of nowhere and it’s getting time for the evening meal. Common sense would dictate that Jesus should dismiss the crowd so they can find something to eat in the surrounding towns and villages. Sounds very practical. It would seem to be the sensible thing to do. But Jesus won’t have anything to do with it! He tells them, “you give them something to eat” (Matt. 14:16)!

Of course, the disciples respond in predictable way: they ask how they could possibly feed such a huge crowd with the little food they had with them. On the surface of things it would seem impossible. But in one respect, I think Jesus might have been trying to teach them something here. They had seen him work miracles. I’m sure they had been amazed and thrilled by his miracles. And at every turn, they probably wondered whether Jesus was going to work another miracle. But they had become spectators, instead of taking an active role in the compassion of the God’s Kingdom that Jesus constantly called them to fulfill. And so in this unusual situation he challenges them to step out of their spectator role and to embrace a more active stance in their discipleship.

The story that follows is intriguing, because although it is the only miracle of Jesus recounted by all four Gospels, there is also no mention of what actually happened to make the five loaves and two fish feed such a massive crowd!  Some have suggested that the example of generosity inspired those in the crowd to share their food with others.  We don’t know that.  Popular movies have depicted it as an instantaneous miracle—Jesus lifts the food in a basket to heaven to bless it, and when he brings it down the basket is overflowing with loaves and fishes.  But we don’t know that either.  We really don’t know and may never be able to explain how Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish.[2]

What we do know is that initially the disciples wanted to send the crowds away.  After all, the whole reason why they got in the boat and went to a deserted place was to be alone.  Perhaps, in their characteristic “little faith,” they were afraid there would not be enough food.[3]  Probably a pretty reasonable concern!  At the end of the day, all that we really know about this miracle is that Jesus gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 

This brings no closer to explaining this story. But I wonder if it could be that it was in the act of the disciples being willing to step out of the relative comfort of a spectator role and taking a more active role in the work of the Kingdom that the miracle occurred.[4]  We still don’t know that for sure, but it does seem significant that the disciples who wanted to send everybody away turned around and served their food to the hungry crowds.  And it would seem that the miracle happened somehow in the giving.  By stepping out of a spectator stance and taking an active role, the disciples became channels for God’s miraculous work.  Perhaps one of the lessons is that true miracles happen in ways we can never explain. 

We’ll probably never know for sure exactly what happened that day by the Sea of Galilee.  But I think we can know that when we stay comfortably on the sidelines, adopting the role of a spectator, not much happens. When we get stuck in our fears that there will not be enough or perhaps what we have to give isn’t good enough, all there will ever be is a bunch of hungry people.[5] When we just want to send others away to fend themselves, withholding the loving kindness and compassion that we have been so generously given, we forfeit our role as Jesus’ followers.

On the other hand, when we let go any fears about our own inadequacy, as the Scripture lesson dramatically illustrates, even the little that we have can become more than enough. I’m going to let you in on a secret: I’m not particularly comfortable being the center of attention. You may find that hard to believe, since I’ve been preaching since I was 17 years old. AS it happens, the path of my discipleship has taken me to the place where I’m constantly in the limelight. There are many Sundays when I think my sermon isn’t good enough. But I offer the best I have, and I’ve found that God uses it in his own way. I think that’s part of what Jesus wants us all to learn from this miracle: when we step up and follow the call to serve the Kingdom of God, God takes what we have to offer and uses it to do more than we can imagine.[6]

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[1] © 2014 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 8/3/2014 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14–28, 418. Douglas Hare, Matthew, 165, says that all the efforts to “explain” the miracle “hardly do justice to the story in the Gospels.”

[3] Cf. M. Eugene Boring, “The Gospel of Matthew,” New Interpreters Bible 8:324; Ulrich Luz, Matthew: A commentary, 314.

[4] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 2.2:447, where he says that Jesus feeds the multitude “with the little that the apostles themselves have to offer them, and all that truly remains for them is to deliver and offer the much that He gives in the form of the little that they have to give.”

[5] In fact, Walter J. Burghardt, S.J., and Katharyn L. Waldron, “Jesus Feeding the Hungry: Miracle or Mandate,” The Living Pulpit (Jan 2007):7, in light of the ongoing crisis of homelessness and hunger around the world ask about a similar Gospel lesson, “When Jesus fed ‘about four thousand’ hungry people who had been with him in a ‘deserted place’ for three days (Mk 8:1-9), was this simply a miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish? Or was the miracle a mandate to believers throughout the ages to feed the hungry?”

[6] Cf. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, 419: “The miracle typifies the full and complete blessing of humanity in the meeting of human need and the experience of ultimate well-being, universal shalom. The feeding of the multitude is thus the harbinger of good news for Matthew’s church and for Christians of every era.”

Broken Chains

Broken Chains

Lk 8:26-39[1]

  We live in the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” Or so the song goes.  The annual celebration of our “freedom” is just around the corner.  But the people I meet don’t seem to be free.  They’re bound by all kinds of things.  Some are bound by fear--fear of dying, fear of illness, fear of becoming financially destitute, fear of being alone.  Some are bound by pain--the pain of some disease. Or the pain of some trauma that was inflicted on them.  Some are bound by addictions--to alcohol, drugs, food, and gambling, among many others.  I find that many who are addicted to something are usually trying to cover over the pain of whatever trauma they may have suffered.  Then there are those who are bound by economic issues.  Perhaps they simply cannot make enough money to support their family.  Or perhaps they’ve made some bad choices and have gotten themselves into more debt than they can handle.  Or perhaps they simply live in a place where a decent house costs more than a family can afford, and are strapped with a huge mortgage that they can barely pay. 

  When you look more closely, it doesn’t seem like many people in our society are truly free.  And if you asked them were freedom is to be found, I’m afraid not many people have a very good answer.  These days, it seems that we as a people believe--I mean really believe--that all our problems would be solved if we had enough money.  And so we have a fascination with playing the lottery--which most people have about as good a chance of winning as I have of walking on the moon!  Others believe that if they just meet the right person then all their problems will go away.  And so we’re just as fascinated with finding “the right one” with whom we’re “meant to be.”  I’m afraid we’re looking for freedom in all the wrong places.

  Though it might not be apparent on the surface of things, our Gospel lesson for today has something to say about true freedom and where it is to be found.  It’s the story of a very strange encounter between Jesus and a man who’s soul was incredibly tormented.  Apparently the man was “possessed” by demons--not just one but many.[2]  This brings us into a realm that isn’t something we run into everyday.  And yet, like Jesus’ healing miracles, his exorcisms seem to be an important part of his ministry.  Unlike other exorcists of his day, Jesus didn’t have to use elaborate means to “cast out” the demons that tormented people.  All he had to do was say the word.  In fact, in every instance when Jesus encountered someone who was “possessed” by a demon, the spirit cries out in fear at the very sight of Jesus.  In this story, they begged him not to banish them to the “abyss.”[3]  They seem to know that he has a power they cannot possibly withstand.

  Ironically, although people generally responded favorably to Jesus’ healing miracles, they didn’t do so in response to his exorcisms.  When Jesus released a people from whatever was tormenting them, those who witnessed it were afraid.  In this case, in fact, they begged him to leave them.  You would think that they would welcome one who could set them free from the powers of evil that oppressed them.  But this was Gentile territory, and perhaps they simply valued their pigs more than they valued the freedom Jesus offered.  Or perhaps it was because they were afraid of Jesus because he had the power to say the word and free a man who had been horribly tormented for years?[4]  It’s hard to say exactly why the locals asked him to leave. 

  One thing we can say, however, is that when Jesus worked exorcisms, there was a purpose to them.  We said last week that the healing miracles were intended to demonstrate that through Jesus God was present among them and at work carrying out the compassion and mercy of his kingdom.  In the same way, I think that the exorcisms were intended to demonstrate that through Jesus God was setting people free from all that kept them bound.[5]  And in the face of the freedom of God’s kingdom, the powers of evil have no defense.  As I mentioned, whenever Jesus encountered someone who was “possessed” by a demon, the spirit of evil was instantly terrified.  Not only did they know who he was, they also knew what he could do--he could banish them with just a word![6]  And though Jesus couldn’t stay to help the people of this place because they were so afraid of him, he left the man who had been set free as a living testimony to the truth that evil cannot prevail over God’s freedom.

  The real source of freedom from all the evil and pain and trauma and injustice that binds people in our world today is the power of God’s kingdom at work among us and through us.  I wish it could be as simple as “saying the word” and granting freedom to those who are suffering from the powers of evil in our world.  Unfortunately, true freedom may only come for some people after years of work--whether it’s overcoming trauma or digging out of debt.  But I think the journey for those who are bound begins by those of us who have experienced God’s freedom carrying out our calling to live  as witnesses to that amazing good news.  We can show them our broken chains as a testimony that God can give them the freedom they’ve always longed for.

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[1] © 2013 Alan Brehm.  A sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 6/23/2013 at First Presbyterian Church of Dickinson, TX.

[2] Possession by “demons” poses more difficulties even than healing miracles for the contemporary mind.  Most either attribute them to mental illness or to the destructive forces of oppressive social institutions.  Among others, Walter Wink attempts to unite the two in Unmasking the Powers, 41-68, where he specifically deals with this passage as a case in point.  Cf. similarly, Paul W. Hollenbach, “Jesus, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study,” Journal of Biblical Literature 49 (Dec 1981): 567-588.  Perhaps Joseph A. Fitzmyer, in The Gospel According to Luke I-IX, 733 puts it best when he describes this simply as “evil afflicting the psychic being of a mortal man.”  Cf. similarly, Jürgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 106: “These demons are apparently forces, conceived of in personal terms, which are destructive of life and annihilate being itself.”  See also Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.2:230, where he says that Jesus “saw and experienced what there was actually to be seen and experienced: an abyss of darkness which was not merely supposed or imagined or invented or projected into the sphere of being but was actual and concrete.”

[3] Cf. Fitzmyer, Luke I-IX, 739: where he says that the “abyss” can refer to “the abode of the dead” or “the final prison of Satan and the demons (Rev. 20:3).”  Cf. also F. Bovon,  Luke 1: A commentary on the Gospel of Luke 1:1–9:50, 329.

[4] This is the view of Fred Craddock, Luke, 117.  He says, “the fear is evoked by the recognition of a power present which was greater than the power of evil spirits.” Presumably the evil spirits were the greatest power they could comprehend.

[5] Cf. Fitzmyer, Luke I-IX, 543, where he says that Jesus' exorcisms are “the powerful manifestations and means whereby the dominion of God is established over human beings in the place of the ‘dominion of Belial,’ freeing them from the evil to which they have been subjected.”  cf. also Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 104: “The lordship of God drives out of creation the powers of destruction, which are demons and idols, and heals the created beings who have been damaged by them. If the kingdom of God is coming as Jesus proclaimed, then salvation is coming as well.”  Cf. similarly, Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.2:230, where he says that Jesus’ exorcisms “reveal the total and absolutely victorious clash of the kingdom of God with nothingness, with the whole world of the chaos negated by God, with the opposing realm of darkness.”

[6] cf. Bovon,  Luke 1, 327.

Who Can You Believe In?

Who Can You Believe In?  

Ps 146; Lk 7:11-17[1]

  I think one of the hardest questions we might face these days is “Who can you believe in?”  When the chips are down, when everything is at stake, who is it that you turn to for help, for reassurance, and for the support you need?  There was a time when the President commanded a great deal of faith among the people of this country.  While Mr. Roosevelt had his opponents, I daresay there were few who failed to listen to his “fireside chats.”  And a lot of people in this country did so because they took a great deal of comfort from the fact that this man was leading our country and had such inspiring words to offer in difficult times.  Unfortunately, these days, politicians barely score higher than car salesmen and advertising professionals in the polls of the most trusted professions![2]   

  There was a time when the most trusted man in this country was Walter Cronkite.  In fact, he was actually named “the most trusted man in America” several times.[3]  He reported on just about everything of significance that happened during his tenure as anchor for CBS News.  And if Walter Cronkite said it, most people believed it to be true.  These days, journalists rank in the middle of the most trusted professions.[4]  In our culture where people are so fond of saying “I don’t believe the liberal bias of the media,” I doubt that any journalist in our day would even come close to the kind of trust that Walter Cronkite inspired.  Of course, the reality is that all news is biased one way or another.  Which explains why these days we’re more likely to disbelieve what we hear that to believe it.

  What about public servants--police officers, fire fighters, public school teachers?  With the exception of police officers, they don’t even show up on the polls of most trusted professionals!  Of course there is another public servant who consistently shows up on the polls of people we believe in the most: clergy.  In 1997 we ranked second on the list of most trusted professionals, behind pharmacists.[5]  In the most recent poll, we’ve fallen to eighth place, behind Engineers and Dentists![6]  Given all the scandal that’s taken place over the last fifteen years, I must say I’m surprised the clergy still rate so high.  I would imagine it’s because despite all the uproar many people still trust their own pastor.  Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misconduct among clergy that never comes into the public eye.  I feel lucky that anybody trusts me as a pastor, given the climate of distrust that is so prevalent.

  So the question remains: “Who can you believe in?”  It would seem that the Psalmist had the perspective that if you place your faith in any flesh and blood human being, you’re going to be disappointed.  In our lesson for today, he says that “there is no help” we can count on from “mortals.”  But there is someone we can turn to--the God who “keeps faith forever” (Ps. 146:6).[7] And if you want to know what “keeping faith” looks like in specific terms, the Psalmist spells it out for us: it means that the hungry are fed, the prisoners are set free, the blind receive their sight, those who are bowed down are lifted up, the “strangers” or resident immigrants have someone to watch over them, and the widows and orphans are supported. [8]   You get the idea--just about anybody in need can believe in the God who keeps faith with us forever.

  Last week we talked about how genuine faith isn’t based on external proof, like miracles.  But the fact of the matter is that the Gospels are full of the miracles of Jesus.  And yet I dare say that Jesus never worked a miracle in response to the demand for him to prove himself.  He worked miracles in response to human need.  And in many cases, as in our lesson for today, the Gospels state plainly that Jesus acted out of his compassion for those who were in need.[9]  In this case it was a widow whose only son had just died--which meant she would probably be reduced to begging if she survived at all.[10]  But Jesus intervened in a way that looks a lot like what the Psalmist said about the way God operates in our world.  In fact, one of the primary purposes of Jesus’ miracles was to demonstrate that God is indeed at work among us with the kind of compassion and mercy the Psalmist describes.

  The only real answer to the question, “who can you believe in?” is the same one it has always been: the God who is utterly faithful.  Let’s be clear: trusting God doesn’t mean that we can predict what the outcome will be, or that we will get exactly what we want exactly when we want it.  But we can trust God to be at work in our lives for our best interest.  In our lesson for today the Psalmist has a lot to say about the character of God and what God is up to in this world.  And Jesus, by his acts of compassion, goes about demonstrating that God is indeed doing just what the ancient Scriptures said: working in all our lives for his good purposes, to bring peace, and wholeness, and joy, and new life.[11]  So the next time you find yourself in between a rock and a hard place, and you wonder who you can turn to, I think you can trust that this God is someone we can all believe in

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[1] © 2013 Alan Brehm.  A sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm at First Presbyterian Church of Dickinson, TX on 6/9/2013.

[2] Frank Newport, “Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating: Nurses have highest honesty rating; car salespeople, lowest,” Gallup News Service, December 3, 2012; accessed at http://www.gallup.com/poll/159035/congress-retains-low-honesty-rating.aspx.

[3] Jeff Scott Cook The Elements Of Speechwriting And Public Speaking, 17; cited from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite.

[4] Newport, “Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating.”

[5] Leslie McAneny, “Pharmacists Again Most Trusted; Police, Federal Lawmakers Images Improve” Gallup News Service,  January 3, 1997; accessed at http://www.gallup.com/poll/4423/Pharmacists-Again-Most-Trusted-Police-Federal-Lawmakers-Images-Improve.aspx.

[6] Newport, “Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating.”

^[7] Augustine of Hippo, “Expositions on the Book of Psalms,” in P. Schaff (Ed.), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Volume VIII:662: “Approach, begin to long, begin to seek and to know Him by whom thou wast made. For He will not leave His work, if He be not left by His work.”  It seems to me that the last condition is unnecessary; God will not “leave His work” is a good way of saying God “keeps faith forever.”  Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope, 116, where he says that “God reveals himself as ‘God’” in “the historic act of his faithfulness,” that is, by keeping his promise.

[8] J. Clinton McCann, Jr, “The Book Of Psalms,” New Interpreters Bible, IV:1264: these verses portray “a God who cares about human hurt and who acts on behalf of the afflicted and the oppressed.”  He adds that they constitute “a policy statement for the kingdom of God.”  Cf. similarly H.-J. Kraus, Psalms 60-150, 553: “His faithfulness consists of the fact that he sets up the justice of the Creator among all the oppressed and poor.”

[9] Cf. Pheme Perkins, “Understanding Faith and Miracle,” The Christian Century (May 24, 1989): 555, where she says, “No one demands that Jesus intervene. He acts out of compassion for the widow, whose only son has died. She is one of the helpless, poor ones of the world to whom the gospel brings news of a reversal of their fate. God comes into this life in the surprise of compassion and restored life. Any possibility that God or fate might be arbitrary or even cruel is erased.”  Cf. also Craig A. Evans, “Luke's Use Of The Elijah/Elisha Narratives And The Ethic Of Election,”  Journal of Biblical Literature 106/1 (1987): 79.

[10] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke,” New Interpreters Bible IX: 159: “If religion has nothing to say to a grieving widow, it has nothing to say.”

[11] Cf. McCann, “Book of Psalms,” NIB IV:1265: “Psalm 146 anticipates Jesus’ preaching of the reign of God (see Mark 1:14-15), as well as Jesus’ ... enactment of God’s will in a ministry of justice, feeding, liberation, healing, and compassion (see Matt 11:2-6; Luke 4:16-21).”