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Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church Sermons |
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The Fifth Sunday
in Lent – April 2, 2006 - Psalm 132
At our dinner last month for I also remembered how we cleaned out the bottom half of this building so that the asbestos could be removed. It was a most interesting experience. What do you keep and what do you throw away? At one point Charles Shaner came out of a storage area wearing a hat that had adorned the head of a choir member in a previous generation. Many a discussion went on about what was of value and what could be disposed of now. A lot of history was seen and considered. In Psalm 132 we encounter a lot of history as well. The very first line of the Psalm has the word “remember” in it and as you read the Psalm you quickly recognize that it is all about remembering the history of God’s people and our God of history that continues to bless us. Verses one to ten are about the obedience of King David. They tell you that David was focused and determined about obediently keeping the Ark of the Covenant before the people of God. The Beginning at verse eleven and continuing to the end of the Psalm you hear of God’s promise to David and That is before the cross. In the cross of Jesus Christ we are blessed as God is first obedient for us. Recall the words of 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.” From this side of the cross of Jesus we know the unconditional love of God that does not depend on our obedience, but comes first to us through the obedience of God himself in Jesus. And because of the cross we are blessed people: blessed with the presence of God now and life with God forever in our future. In Psalm 132 the pattern may be reversed, but the same hope, the same promise, the same God is present. God is present in the Do you see the pattern difference? Do you see how Psalm 132 would set before you a conditional statement…”If your children keep my covenant…” Through the cross all the conditional “ifness” has been removed. By grace, through faith, God acts first, blessing you all the way. And you may respond in faith. Obedience is possible for you because God has first come in the cross. I wonder what it means to be obedient, to be faithful now? Perhaps it is important to remember the lesson of obedience and faith the people of What are the false gods we create? Are we vulnerable to making a building into a false god? Do we come here to worship, rejoicing and singing, because we are faithfully responding to the grace of God in the cross? Or do we come here to admire our place, the beautiful building it is? Are we willing to use our building to build up the people of God or do we see it as a museum to be preserved for posterity? I ask that question because of an incident that happened this week. On Thursday I noticed that chalk had evidently come to “LOGOS” and on Wednesday evening for fun and fellowship the children did all kinds of art work with the chalk out front on the porch of the building. When I saw it I wondered how folks would react this morning. I must tell you that I was delighted when I saw it. If I was a young child and came to visit at What do you think? Is the building to serve or to be served? How that question is answered will reveal our attitudes toward the inclusion of new people, especially children. Is this a place for people to gather with delight and joy in God? Or is it a place to be preserved as a museum for posterity? The future of
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