Going Out and Coming In

Since this past week was a celebration of Dr. Seuss, I was led to lead a book by him as my opening. Read Oh, the Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss.

But, what does Dr. Seuss have to do with Going Out and Coming In and our scripture for the day ? Well, let’s read and begin the discussion.

Psalm 121 NRSV

A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

As I was thinking about the sermon for today and the scripture, for some reason I thought “Oh, the places you’ll go.” At first I could not remember where I had heard that saying before but a quick google search and Dr. Seuss popped up. To my shock, we did not have the book in our house, now we do as part of the Kindle collection. I had listened to the book being read on YouTube and thought this works perfectly with the idea of the sermon title Coming In and Going Out.

I mean think about the places you have been in your life. Many of us have covered a couple 100,000 miles in our vehicles. Some of us have flown around the world. Then there is a group of us who have been on cruises to different locations. We have journeyed to many different places in our lives and when we were younger we probably thought those journeys were not even possible but now we look forward to these journeys and question, where to next? In fact, our life is a journey in its self and that journey is filled with little journeys that take us to and through many life experiences.

But, still, what does Dr. Seuss’ book and our scripture have to do with each other? I mean it is pretty easy to understand that Dr. Seuss is talking about a journey but it does not seem like the Psalmist is talking about a journey. Well, actually the Psalmist words were used while on a journey. If you noticed at the beginning of the Psalm it says a Song of Ascents. This is because it was a song typically sung as Israelites were journeying up to Jerusalem. They would ascend to Jerusalem because Jerusalem sits on a Plateau and anybody wanting to visit would have to hike up to the city.

This journey was not always the easiest or safest of journeys. There were things that travelers faced that put them in danger. It was a journey that was typically hot and under an oppressive sun. The journey was made by those who were healthy and those were sick. They faced thieves and muggers. The area around Jerusalem was not always safe. But, the song reminded the travelers that God was with them during this journey.

In fact, they were reminded that God was with them through the good times and the bad times. It is easy for us to remember God is with us when everything is going well in life. We tend to think that the journey is going well because God is there with us. We are thankful for God journeying with us and providing blessings and mercy on us through the journey. But, we begin to question God when we hit those rough patches in the road.

I love how Dr. Seuss put it, “Except when you don’t, Because, sometimes you won’t, I’m sorry to say, but sadly it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch.” Dr. Seuss was right, when things are going great and we think nothing can go wrong, something will happen. This something will catch us off guard and leave us behind. We will face the uncertainty of illness and what is next. We will deal with sorrow with the loss of a loved one and question why!

This made me think of C.S. Lewis in his book, A Grief Observed. He was dealing with the loss of his wife after she had battled cancer. He asked the question “Where is God?” This is a man that many say is a theologian, yet he struggles with the idea of God being there. He points out that when everything is going well, we tend to just keep moving along and being happy. But, when things go bad, it seems like God isn’t there. Lewis points to Jesus on the cross saying “Why have you forsaken me?”, as a sign of Jesus wondering where God is in his death.

But, we need to remember, and be a reminder of , that God is with us. God is with us when things are going well. God is there as we celebrate life. God is with us as we gather together in joy. God is with us when we hear a baby laughing. God is with us when we are sick. God is with us when a friend dies. God is with us when we are hurting. God is with us with all of our coming in and going out. All the journeys through life God is there. Sometimes he is just walking beside us with a smile on God’s face because we are happy too. But, when we are at our lowest, when it feels like we cannot go on, God is there. While we do not always feel him there, God is there. In fact, a lot of times, God is carrying us through the struggles because we cannot walk. So, friends remember there are many place you will go and sometimes they will be great but others will be a struggle. But in all your coming in and going out, God is there with you.