Sermon 22nd June 2009
Today our Vicar, Cameron Barker, preaches based on the reading from Psalm 116.
“You're next, you know”. I'd thought that our conversation was over. My friend Stuart was just leaving, already at the front door. But his quietly-spoken parting shot launched me into a new and very different journey. Eleven years on, it brought me here, to become the Vicar of Herne Hill.
No doubt you have had that kind of conversation yourself: a seemingly innocuous comment that lands up becoming totally life-changing. If you haven't done so yet, it may well be that today turns out to be such an experience for you. Of course you will need the benefit of future hind-sight to realise it. But, if it does, you won't be able to forget this day, or these words, just as I'll never forget Stuart's to me.
We'd spent long talking, about his ordination selection residential, and what his future might be. At the time, it came out of the blue when he looked me in the eye as he was leaving, and said: “You're next, you know”. He meant I'd be next to go for ordination selection, of course – not that we'd ever talked about that before! But those words issued me a Godly invitation which turned out to shape my whole future, from that night onwards.
Today we reach the end of our Conversations with God series. We have been to some interesting places in these past two months. We've learned many invaluable lessons – about God, about ourselves, and about how we relate to Him. I've hugely enjoyed studying the Psalms - and I know that many others have too. It has been encouraging, affirming and challenging, all at the same time. But I really do wonder if the ending of this series may not prove to be the most important part of all. I'm sure it will be, if we take seriously the parting question posed by the anonymous author of Psalm 116. “What can I offer (GNB) / How can I repay (NIV) the Lord for all His goodness to me?”
That is a question rather than a comment, of course. But it's one that demands an answer - from each of us, as well as from the Psalmist. In the manner we have often seen in the Psalms, the writer gave his own answer. So now it's up to us to find, or give, our answer too. And by the nature of the question itself, the answer to it could shape the rest of our lives. It certainly did that for this Psalmist – as we have heard. But will it be true for us as well? At the end of this series, where will our conversations with God lead us? Given what we have learned, about Him and us, how will we respond to the God who knows, hears and saves us? Where might this parting shot take us, today, and beyond?
The answer could be 'nowhere'! I'm reminded of the story about a businessman who was in danger of being late for an important meeting. He was in a panic because he couldn't find a parking space. Looking to heaven he said, “Lord, help me! If you find me a parking space, I will read the Bible every day, and go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life. I even promise that I'll never fiddle my expenses again!” Just as he finished praying, amazingly, a car pulled out of a parking space right in front of him. Looking to heaven again, he said, “Never mind, I've found one”!
One of the key lessons we've learned from the Psalms is that we can cry out to God, in any and all circumstances. Of course I'd say there are far more important things to do that about than a parking space! But time and again – like in today's Psalm – we have heard how those who have gone before us have cried out to God for help. They have done so – as we also are invited to – as a sign of faith that God hears, and answers, prayer. Yes, we began this series with the reminder that God knows us and our needs already – because He made us. But, despite that being so, God still longs for us to communicate with Him – because he made us to be in relationship with Him.
As we also heard at the beginning, the Psalms offer us a language to communicate with God in. Despite what we may have thought about them before, they are written with great honesty and openness. As is clear in the original Hebrew, the Psalms are earthy, rough and above all, honest outpourings, from the heart, to the God who cares. They are very definitely not genteel, cultured prayers whispered by 'nice' people in the 'right' language. I also said then that we can't miss the point of any Psalm – and we haven't! Whatever the topic – from the depths of despair to wild joy – the writers have avoided the kinds of clichés that it's so easy to hide behind. Instead they have shown us how to pour out our hearts to the God who loves us.
We have been reminded too in this series of the nature of God's love for us. It has been only right, then, that we've had at least one example of how to say 'thank you' to God for what He has done for us. We have also been shown through the Psalms how to praise God for the amazing being He is – which we see not least in the staggering nature of His creation. We have been challenged to have a right fear of Him as well – the kind of wise fear that quite rightly reverences God's holy, majestic authority. That fear also helps us obey His commandments - which are simply the best way for us to live. And it prompts us to hate and shun all forms of evil too.
We all know that we do and say things that offend God, and separate us from Him. So, last week, we learned how to say sorry to God, and receive His gracious forgiveness. It was, and is, another example of how we are to grow in this real, open, and honest relationship that God wants us to have with Him as our Father. As I say, it has been encouraging, affirming and challenging, all at the same time. And it's all been based on us remembering daily who God is and what He is like. That idea of remembering has been central in almost every Psalm – including today's. It's that sense of re-experiencing in the present what God has done, that reminds us of who He is and what He is like. That in turn enables the Psalmists – and so us – to express our thoughts and feelings, whatever they are, to this God.
We end with a Psalm that brings so many of these themes together – and issues this challenge to respond. Once again we have heard how someone cried out to God in desperate circumstances. As so often, we don't know the detail of what the writer faced – just that it was dire. This was gun-to the-head time – be it through persecution, illness or enemy attack. Honest as always, the Psalmist said how faith didn't come at all easily in such circumstances. But he kept at it, as best he could. And again as so often, like our businessman, the Psalmist made promises about what he would do if God helped him. Unlike that businessman, our Psalmist fully intended to keep his promises – because he knew that God was the only one who could help him.
So when God did not just hear but answer his cry for help, this Psalmist kept his promises. That's why he wrote this Psalm, as way to keep his promise to thank and praise God for his rescue. One of the hallmarks of the psalms is that prayers for help usually look forward to that time when the writer will praise God for hearing and answering. Logically, then, praise usually looks back, to the time of need when the writer cried out for God's help. That's the pattern we see here – and again it's meant to encourage us to do the same, both when we are in trouble, and afterwards!
Both prayer and praise are usually communal acts in the Psalms, as well as intensely personal ones. People came to Israel's place of worship, the Temple, first with their needs, and then with their praises. Those in need could be encouraged by those who had come to praise God for answered prayer – again as we can be when we are in different places spiritually. There's no doubt which place this Psalmist was at! His prayers had been answered! He came to praise and thank God for the rescue that reminded His people of just how merciful and gracious and compassionate and good and kind God is!
The Psalmist was there too to keep his promises – not 'just' of giving God praise and thanks. This had been a truly life-changing experience for him. So he wanted to give his praise a concrete expression of how he intended – and had promised – to live the rest of his life. “I will call on the Lord for as long as I live” is the refrain of Psalm 116. For this Psalmist that concrete expression took the form of a thank-offering. But that in itself was only a symbol – which meant so much more. In his enormous gratitude to God, this Psalmist came to offer the whole of his life back to God. In front of all these witnesses, he dedicated himself to be God's slave, to live for God alone.
It's in that context our Psalmist put this question that could yet shape the rest of our lives: “What can I offer / How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?” Here we find his answer to it. Knowing that nothing could ever be enough, he offered all that he could to God: his whole life! He wasn't the first to do that: the Bible is full of stories of people who have encountered, and recognised, the greatness of God, and know that they can do no less in response. They are ordinary, even unnamed people, people like us. So, as we conclude this series, is this where our conversation with God will lead us too – to offer God the whole of our life?
Before you answer, here's an exercise that you may want to do first. Take three blank sheets of paper and give each one a heading from this Psalm. On the first, write, “I love God because ...” Then write what you have learned about Him from these Psalms. On the second, put, “I owe God because ...” and fill in what He has done for you. On the third, dare to head it, “To show my thanks, I will ...” Then make your commitments to the God who loves you, knows you, saves you, and hears you. And may your conversations with Him become ever deeper, more honest, and searching. And so let's pray ...
“You're next, you know”. I'd thought that our conversation was over. My friend Stuart was just leaving, already at the front door. But his quietly-spoken parting shot launched me into a new and very different journey. Eleven years on, it brought me here, to become the Vicar of Herne Hill.
No doubt you have had that kind of conversation yourself: a seemingly innocuous comment that lands up becoming totally life-changing. If you haven't done so yet, it may well be that today turns out to be such an experience for you. Of course you will need the benefit of future hind-sight to realise it. But, if it does, you won't be able to forget this day, or these words, just as I'll never forget Stuart's to me.
We'd spent long talking, about his ordination selection residential, and what his future might be. At the time, it came out of the blue when he looked me in the eye as he was leaving, and said: “You're next, you know”. He meant I'd be next to go for ordination selection, of course – not that we'd ever talked about that before! But those words issued me a Godly invitation which turned out to shape my whole future, from that night onwards.
Today we reach the end of our Conversations with God series. We have been to some interesting places in these past two months. We've learned many invaluable lessons – about God, about ourselves, and about how we relate to Him. I've hugely enjoyed studying the Psalms - and I know that many others have too. It has been encouraging, affirming and challenging, all at the same time. But I really do wonder if the ending of this series may not prove to be the most important part of all. I'm sure it will be, if we take seriously the parting question posed by the anonymous author of Psalm 116. “What can I offer (GNB) / How can I repay (NIV) the Lord for all His goodness to me?”
That is a question rather than a comment, of course. But it's one that demands an answer - from each of us, as well as from the Psalmist. In the manner we have often seen in the Psalms, the writer gave his own answer. So now it's up to us to find, or give, our answer too. And by the nature of the question itself, the answer to it could shape the rest of our lives. It certainly did that for this Psalmist – as we have heard. But will it be true for us as well? At the end of this series, where will our conversations with God lead us? Given what we have learned, about Him and us, how will we respond to the God who knows, hears and saves us? Where might this parting shot take us, today, and beyond?
The answer could be 'nowhere'! I'm reminded of the story about a businessman who was in danger of being late for an important meeting. He was in a panic because he couldn't find a parking space. Looking to heaven he said, “Lord, help me! If you find me a parking space, I will read the Bible every day, and go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life. I even promise that I'll never fiddle my expenses again!” Just as he finished praying, amazingly, a car pulled out of a parking space right in front of him. Looking to heaven again, he said, “Never mind, I've found one”!
One of the key lessons we've learned from the Psalms is that we can cry out to God, in any and all circumstances. Of course I'd say there are far more important things to do that about than a parking space! But time and again – like in today's Psalm – we have heard how those who have gone before us have cried out to God for help. They have done so – as we also are invited to – as a sign of faith that God hears, and answers, prayer. Yes, we began this series with the reminder that God knows us and our needs already – because He made us. But, despite that being so, God still longs for us to communicate with Him – because he made us to be in relationship with Him.
As we also heard at the beginning, the Psalms offer us a language to communicate with God in. Despite what we may have thought about them before, they are written with great honesty and openness. As is clear in the original Hebrew, the Psalms are earthy, rough and above all, honest outpourings, from the heart, to the God who cares. They are very definitely not genteel, cultured prayers whispered by 'nice' people in the 'right' language. I also said then that we can't miss the point of any Psalm – and we haven't! Whatever the topic – from the depths of despair to wild joy – the writers have avoided the kinds of clichés that it's so easy to hide behind. Instead they have shown us how to pour out our hearts to the God who loves us.
We have been reminded too in this series of the nature of God's love for us. It has been only right, then, that we've had at least one example of how to say 'thank you' to God for what He has done for us. We have also been shown through the Psalms how to praise God for the amazing being He is – which we see not least in the staggering nature of His creation. We have been challenged to have a right fear of Him as well – the kind of wise fear that quite rightly reverences God's holy, majestic authority. That fear also helps us obey His commandments - which are simply the best way for us to live. And it prompts us to hate and shun all forms of evil too.
We all know that we do and say things that offend God, and separate us from Him. So, last week, we learned how to say sorry to God, and receive His gracious forgiveness. It was, and is, another example of how we are to grow in this real, open, and honest relationship that God wants us to have with Him as our Father. As I say, it has been encouraging, affirming and challenging, all at the same time. And it's all been based on us remembering daily who God is and what He is like. That idea of remembering has been central in almost every Psalm – including today's. It's that sense of re-experiencing in the present what God has done, that reminds us of who He is and what He is like. That in turn enables the Psalmists – and so us – to express our thoughts and feelings, whatever they are, to this God.
We end with a Psalm that brings so many of these themes together – and issues this challenge to respond. Once again we have heard how someone cried out to God in desperate circumstances. As so often, we don't know the detail of what the writer faced – just that it was dire. This was gun-to the-head time – be it through persecution, illness or enemy attack. Honest as always, the Psalmist said how faith didn't come at all easily in such circumstances. But he kept at it, as best he could. And again as so often, like our businessman, the Psalmist made promises about what he would do if God helped him. Unlike that businessman, our Psalmist fully intended to keep his promises – because he knew that God was the only one who could help him.
So when God did not just hear but answer his cry for help, this Psalmist kept his promises. That's why he wrote this Psalm, as way to keep his promise to thank and praise God for his rescue. One of the hallmarks of the psalms is that prayers for help usually look forward to that time when the writer will praise God for hearing and answering. Logically, then, praise usually looks back, to the time of need when the writer cried out for God's help. That's the pattern we see here – and again it's meant to encourage us to do the same, both when we are in trouble, and afterwards!
Both prayer and praise are usually communal acts in the Psalms, as well as intensely personal ones. People came to Israel's place of worship, the Temple, first with their needs, and then with their praises. Those in need could be encouraged by those who had come to praise God for answered prayer – again as we can be when we are in different places spiritually. There's no doubt which place this Psalmist was at! His prayers had been answered! He came to praise and thank God for the rescue that reminded His people of just how merciful and gracious and compassionate and good and kind God is!
The Psalmist was there too to keep his promises – not 'just' of giving God praise and thanks. This had been a truly life-changing experience for him. So he wanted to give his praise a concrete expression of how he intended – and had promised – to live the rest of his life. “I will call on the Lord for as long as I live” is the refrain of Psalm 116. For this Psalmist that concrete expression took the form of a thank-offering. But that in itself was only a symbol – which meant so much more. In his enormous gratitude to God, this Psalmist came to offer the whole of his life back to God. In front of all these witnesses, he dedicated himself to be God's slave, to live for God alone.
It's in that context our Psalmist put this question that could yet shape the rest of our lives: “What can I offer / How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?” Here we find his answer to it. Knowing that nothing could ever be enough, he offered all that he could to God: his whole life! He wasn't the first to do that: the Bible is full of stories of people who have encountered, and recognised, the greatness of God, and know that they can do no less in response. They are ordinary, even unnamed people, people like us. So, as we conclude this series, is this where our conversation with God will lead us too – to offer God the whole of our life?
Before you answer, here's an exercise that you may want to do first. Take three blank sheets of paper and give each one a heading from this Psalm. On the first, write, “I love God because ...” Then write what you have learned about Him from these Psalms. On the second, put, “I owe God because ...” and fill in what He has done for you. On the third, dare to head it, “To show my thanks, I will ...” Then make your commitments to the God who loves you, knows you, saves you, and hears you. And may your conversations with Him become ever deeper, more honest, and searching. And so let's pray ...
posted by Parish Administrator at 12:37 pm
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