Psalm 116:1-4; 12-19
1 I love the LORD , for he heard my voice; he heard my cry
for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on
him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave
came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD ,
save me!"
12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name
of the LORD .
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all
his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD , truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the
son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the
name of the LORD .
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all
his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the LORD - in
your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD.
A story is told of a single mother with two sons. Their
family didn't have very much but they always had what they
needed. The mother always made sure that they had good food
and a comfortable home. But even more important the mother
provided nurture, care, direction and support to her growing
sons. Love and forgiveness were offered in liberal amounts.
As the boys grew, one began to take advantage of the mother's
love and care. He got into trouble—not big things
but he'd take from her wallet and he got caught shoplifting
several times. He began to hang out with the wrong
crowd and, eventually, was in deeper trouble. Still his mother continued
to love and care for him and he always knew he had a place
to come home to. He
didn't really appreciate this and often was at home simply because the terms
of his probation demanded it.
The other son seemed to recognize the cost of all the mother was doing for
their family. He accepted the love and care and forgiveness and tried his best
to return to the mother all those intangible things she gave to him. They developed
a very close and wonderful relationship.
Now given that story, which of the two sons would you classify
as a hero?
Which of the two boys would you like to emulate?
If this were a TV show, like The O.C. or some of the other
day and night time soaps, there would be a lot of interest
in the brother in trouble. He would be the cool one—the
one the TV writers could really build some stories around.
That’s how TV sees things.
In an episode of the sitcom "Blossom", teenage
Blossom was talking to her girlfriend Six. Six was encouraging
her to skip school and go out with older guys and generally
live on the edge. Six accused Blossom of being boring.
Blossom was greatly offended. She responded that she was
a very radical;
only she did it in a moderate, conservative kind of way.
In TV, heaven help you if you’re boring!
In TV we have one set of values highlighted—the values
of the son in trouble.
But in real life are those values still special?
Are those values honourable?
Which of the two sons should be the hero?
I suspect that most people would accept the boy who gave
love back to the mother as the one we would want to emulate
and have our children emulate. It seems foolish and rather
heartless to be like the son who always took advantage of
his Mom.
We would like to see a relationship built on love, respect
and concern both ways rather than a relationship which seems
so one sided.
Now I'd like us to hold those thoughts and begin to think
in terms of that mother being God with us as the children.
I'd like us to think about that as we look at our Scripture
reading from Psalm 116.
Many scholars believe this Psalm to be a thanksgiving hymn written after the
Psalmist had been delivered from a serious illness.
Listen to the first section:
Psalm 116:1?4 (NIV) "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard
my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as
long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave
came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the
name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!""
The Lord answered the desperate cry of the Psalmist and
his horrendous burden was taken away.
The other section of our lesson has to do with the Psalmist's
response to the Lord's deliverance.
It’s a foundation for discipleship—a foundation
for making God central in our lives and following Him.
What we need to note is that the Psalmist’s discipleship
comes naturally as an expression of love and appreciation.
The relationship here is like the relationship of the
mother and the son who returned her love.
This discipleship—this relationship isn’t based
on the Psalmist coming to the Lord because he has to.
It's not based on the Psalmist coming to God in order to
earn God's love and care. That love and care has already
been offered.
It's not based on coming to God out of habit—coming
just because God has always been there and the Psalmist
has got used to coming.
It's not based on coming to God in order to hedge one's
bets—to
make sure God remains on his side, just in case he needs
God in the future.
This discipleship—this relationship comes out of
thanksgiving—appreciation for what God has already
done!
This discipleship shows itself in four areas.
First, the psalmist calls on the Lord—he shows that
he trusts and depends on God.
Psalm 116:13 (NIV) "I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD."
Second, the psalmist seeks to fulfil the vows he has taken
before God. He seeks to honour his commitment to God.
Psalm 116:14 (NIV) "I will fulfill my vows to the
LORD in the presence of all his people."
Third, he offers to be God's servant.
Psalm 116:16 (NIV) "O LORD, truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant ; you
have freed me from my chains."
And fourth, he offers to make sacrifices for God.
Psalm 116:17 (NIV) "I will sacrifice a thank offering
to you…”
Trusting God, fulfilling vows to God, serving God and sacrificing
for God.
These are the terms of discipleship—the terms of
relationship with God.
If we think about them they aren’t much different
than the terms of any special and meaningful relationship
we might seek, experience and enjoy.
Trusting, fulfilling vows, serving, sacrificing.
Such verbs are demanding, though.
They are costly. They leave us vulnerable. They aren’t
tasks we do without a great deal of thought and consideration—whether
they are done in our relationships with others or our relationship
with God.
That's why discipleship isn’t easy.
Following God isn’t what we do in our spare time,
if and when, we can fit it in.
Relating to God costs.
And so our lesson is important.
It's important because it reminds us of the foundation of
our discipleship—a foundation that recognizes that,
despite the cost, we have been offered a bargain.
It reminds us that our relationship to God is not based
on doing things to earn God's favour,
it's not based on coming to God out of habit
and it's not based on hedging our bets.
We come to God and accept the expectations of relationship
out of thanksgiving and love because of what God has already
done for us.
We seek to relate to God, not as the son who got into trouble
related to his mother, but as the second son—the
one who loved and appreciated her.
When we are truly loved by someone—when they have
trusted us, kept promises to us, served us and sacrificed
for us, then it becomes natural to trust, keep promises,
serve and sacrifice for them.
The self-giving from both sides builds and strengthens the
relationship more and more over time. It bases the relationship
on intangibles that are so powerful they can hold the relationship
together even when things get rough. They can withstand disappointments
and dry spells because there is a lasting and strong confidence
one with the other.
The Psalmist declared that he "loved the Lord for
God heard his voice" and "because God turned
His ear to him."
The Psalmist's love was a responsive love—it was in
response to the fact that God had come to him and made
a wonderful difference in his life. The Psalmist didn't have
to do anything first to earn God's care. That love and
care
were already there on offer. All the Psalmist had to
do was accept what God gave and his thanksgiving became the
base
of that two way love.
We worship together two weeks after Easter. We are a fortunate
people who live after the Psalmist and after Jesus—after
the Crucifixion and Resurrection. How much more, than
even the Psalmist, can we understand the love that God
has first
given us? How much more have we seen the sacrifice and
self-giving of God?
Chris Lockley writes of the Tom Hanks film, "The Green
Mile", which tells the story, in part, of a prisoner
on death row named John Coffey (notice his initials!).
Coffey is a Christ like figure.
Lockley writes:
"This towering giant of an African American has been
(wrongly) convicted of the rape and murder of two little
girls. Edgecomb (Hank's character, a prison guard) is the
first to learn of Coffey's amazing telepathic abilities and
his power to heal. Another newcomer, "Wild Bill",
is a pathological killer who relishes his own crazy energy.
He is the first to learn of Coffey's fierce hatred of evil.
Those who enjoy looking for Jesus figures in contemporary
movies can explore the connections in The Green Mile. Coffey
is a sensitive soul who can feel the suffering of others
in his own flesh.
Coffey tells the prison guards that he's tired of all the
pain in the world and the suffering caused by those who
are ugly to each other. Although he's afraid to sleep in
the
dark, this Man of Sorrows is not frightened of death. His
heart dances on wings of love and hope. It's no wonder
that Paul (Edgecomb) recognizes him as "one of God's
miracles."
One of the very powerful, Christ-like images in this film
is the way Coffey, when giving healing to others, draws into
himself the pain and darkness of the person he is healing.
In fact this was the reason he was arrested in the first
place: he had been found with the two dead girls in his arms,
trying to take back the evil that had been done to them,
take it into himself.
In tears he cried because it was too late.
When he heals there is a transaction taking place which
wearies, even draws life from Coffey. He willingly suffers
that others
may become well.”
We are certainly drawn to someone like that, aren’t
we?
God has offered.
The Psalmist had a need and cried out.
He accepted God's offer.
And the relationship was cemented for all time.
God continues to offer.
Christ saw our need and cried out on the Cross, “It
is finished”
When we accept Christ we accept His love and sacrifice for
us.
And the relationship is cemented for all time.
A woman had two sons.
One son took advantage of her love and care.
The other son returned her love and care.
Who’s the hero?
(1817)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
