08 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 145
In the second grade I was proud to read World magazine. Have any of you heard of World magazine? It is national geographic for children, and I was a subscriber. That was around the time that Halley’s comet made a visit and so comets were all the rage, and in this issue of World magazine there was an article on comets. It explained where comets came from and what they were. Do you know what a comet is? Basically it is a dirty snow ball that flies through space. OK. Well, my little brain began working overtime and I put on my coat and hat and gloves and boots and went outside. It is cold in Michigan in the winter, and if there is one thing they have an abundance of, it is snow. And not just snow, but dirty snow. So I walked to the corner of Grandmas driveway, you know where the driveway meets the road, and I made the perfect snowball. I was a genius, I was going to make my own comet. I mean Halleys comet was smaller than a quarter, and this ball that I held in my hand was huge by comparison. I was going to throw it into space and then it would become a comet. So I hurled my perfect creation through the atmosphere. It maybe went three feet, before it fell back down. OK. I’ll just try again. Well, needless to say, I didn’t make a comet, it was too great a task for me.
What is great? In our lives, in our world, in our universe, what is great? And what makes something great? We talk about great as having to do with size, number, power, intensity, wonderful, notable, and the list goes on. Psalm 145 tells us that the Lord is great! He is worthy of praise! And no one can measure his greatness! So what do we do with this? Well the greatness of God is not something that discourages us. Not like the greatness of making a comet. No the greatness of God draws us in, it keeps us going, it gives us hope, and, appropriately speaking it gives us humility. How do we appropriately respond to the greatness of God? With praise. I will exalt you, my God and king, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.
So then, how do we praise our God? David tells us that we praise him by telling of his mighty acts and proclaiming his power. By meditating on his majestic, glorious splendor, and his wonderful miracles. By having his awe-inspiring deeds on our tongues. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
And what is that story? It is the greatest story every told. Can you tell it? God. Creator. Creation Corruption. A promise. A people. An extreme exodus. An entrance. An exile. A return. A Savior. A Resurrection. A Spirit. A Mission. It is in the telling and the retelling of this story and parts of this story that we praise our God. We may due it with different mediums, Songs and poems, readings and meditations, prayers and instruments, art and images, these are all ways to share in the store to relive the story to remind others of the story to find ourselves in the midst of the story. It is truly awesome, it is truly great, and because our God has included us in this story, it is for us awe-inspiring. But this isn’t the end of the story. No, the story moves on. Because there is a world that needs to know that
The Lord is merciful and compassionate, and filled with unfailing love. He is good to everyone and showers compassion on all his creation. The world needs to hear the thanks of God’s works, and the praise of his followers, they need to hear of the glory of his kingdom and the examples of his power. They need to hear about his mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of his reign. That his kingdom is one that is forever and he is always in charge.
The Lord keeps all his promises and is gracious in all he does. He helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath the loads that they bear. We look to him in hope and he provides for us. The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. He is close to all who call on him.
The world needs to hear these things, this story this news, because it is good news. It is news the promises and brings healing to brokenness, forgiveness of sins, restoration of relationships. It is news that brings hope and life in the midst of death and despair. It is news gives purpose and welcomes people into being a part of the story and agents of God’s work in this place.
If we know that this is the way that our God acts, if these are his attitudes, they need to be the goal that we strive for as we share in this as well. Because we are his representatives and we need to reflect how he is. Now we cannot do this perfectly, if we could there would be no need for confession and forgiveness in our worship gatherings. It is almost like trying to make a new comet. Except that our God gives to us his Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit enables us to live the kinds of lives that are needed to do this. Again not perfectly, but we still strive for it nontheless. And in those times when we do fail. There is forgivness and restoration.
We proclaim the good news of our God, of his lover and mercy and grace and forgiveness. We proclaim his mighty and glorious acts. We proclaim this message to a world that needs to know it, because it is for them that our God has done these things.
It is for this reason that this is our last Sunday Evening Worship…
And so we say, “I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever. Amen.