Pentecost +20 – The Lord is Near
Rev. Doug Floyd
Isaiah 25:1-9, Psalm 23, Philippians 4:4-13

Two weeks ago, I reflected on walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. This week, we’ve come through the valley into a feast.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5, ESV)

Last week Christopher spoke of flourishing in the vineyard of the Lord saying,

“The Gospel this morning is that God has made provision in his Son for us to flourish in light of his mercy, his righteousness, his justice. God has made provision in Christ for us to be stewards of the vineyard where others can be nourished and flourish in light of that same mercy, righteousness, and justice.” 

This week, we are back in the vineyard and there is a feast going on. The Lord has prepared a table for us. Isaiah tells us,

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” (Isaiah 25:6, ESV)

I love good food and I will not lie!

While our Philippians passage is not about a feast, it is about rejoicing. Joy spills over throughout the book. Paul opens by telling them his prayers for them are made with joy. He is encouraging a community that is facing some outside challenges, and his love for these people appears repeatedly. He encourages them to stand firm no matter what comes against them.

He says, “It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” (Philippians 1:29–30, ESV) They are facing a valley of the shadow of death even as Paul is calling them to stand firm and rejoice.

In the midst of the pressures around them, he encourages them to press in toward one another with a heart of Christ-like lovingkindness. I love the poetic beauty of 2:14-15, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” (Philippians 2:14–15, ESV)

We shine out as lights in the world.

Paul might be called the “apostle of joy.” For joy and rejoicing is a consistent theme throughout his letters. In fact, joy is a dominant theme in Scripture. There are hundreds of references to joy, rejoicing, and joyful throughout Scripture.

When we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;” (Philippians 4:4–5, ESV) we find ourselves back at the feast in Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5, ESV)

Our good and gracious Lord does not forsake us during difficult situations. “The Lord is near.” And yet, some may ask, “Where is He?” I don’t see Him. I don’t feel Him. If the Lord is at hand, then where is He? Good question.

If you ask me something like that, my first response is usually, “Good question. Let me think about that.” I asked myself the question on Monday. Thought about it during the week. Now I will offer some thoughts, realizing though that I am limited, we are limited. Sometimes we simply pause for the God who cannot be summoned because “He is and remains present.”

Our very humanness can blind us to His glory. The Psalmist tells us,

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1–2, ESV)

And yet, we don’t hear anything.

The world goes on about its business day after day, blind to the glory that envelops them. We are so often blind and deaf to the glory of God all around us. On the other hand, sometimes beholding the glory can be overwhelming as in Isaiah’s vision of God in the Temple. Many years ago, I was praying and suddenly sensed the overwhelming presence of God. I was bita bit terrified. RC Sproul describes an experience like this in seminary. He was praying in the chapel alone and suddenly he sensed the glory of God, and he ran back to his dorm room afraid. He called this the mysterium tremendum drawing from Rudolf Otto’s book, The Idea of the Holy.

The poet Bobi Jones writes, “The living God became too much for me today…” He goes on to say,

“I’ll be broken. I know His affection’s dagger
Is already in my ears, and His bladework
Reaches toward my leg. He’s upon me…
Have mercy now, my Love, for mercy’s sake.”[1]

The poet Louise Glück (glook), writes about her desire for God’s glory but not too much.

“Even as you appeared to Moses, because
I need you, you appear to me, not
often, however. I live essentially in darkness.”[2]

The Lord does appear to her, ever so subtly, He reveals His glory. She continues,

“You are perhaps training me to be
responsive to the slightest brightening. Or, like the poets,
are you stimulated by despair, does grief
move you to reveal your nature? This afternoon,
in the physical world to which you commonly
contribute your silence, I climbed
the small hill above the wild blueberries, metaphysically
descending, as on all my walks: did I go deep enough
for you to pity me, as you have sometimes pitied
others who suffer, favoring those
with theological gifts? As you anticipated,
I did not look up. So you came down to me:”

I am seized by that last line. “I did not look up. So you came down to me.” So often, that sounds like us. We are caught up in our daily activities. We are busy. Our minds are full of distractions. We are looking down. As Rowan Williams commented on this poem, he directed me to reflections by St. Augustine, who looked from “the heights of introspective contemplation to see ‘the humble God at his feet’.”[3]

As he meditates upon the washing of Peter’s feet, Augustine raises the question, “How can we approach God on high, though our feet are soiled on this earth?” He is thinking about more than just mud. He is thinking about our absolute humanness. We are earthly. We are vulgar, which is literally a Latin reference to common. We are utterly common.

We may ascend in our hearts to the angels, but we walk with feet of clay. Peter must look down to the humble God at His feet. Louise Glück writes, “I did not look up. So you came down to me.”

Beyond the blueberries that she is picking, Glück sees just a glimpse of God’s glory in the field and setting sun beside the blueberries, “your fiery self, a whole pasture of fire, and beyond, the red sun neither falling nor rising.” This momentary vision is passing and yet, it reminds her and us that “Bidden or Not, God is Present.”[4]

God is near, all around us, and yet it would simply be too overwhelming to behold Him all the time. Our human frames couldn’t bear it. Isaiah feared he was coming apart.

We see glimpses in the simple world all around us. GK Chesterton sings for joy at beholding a daisy. He laughs with joy at a funny fish, writing.

Dark the sea was but I saw him,
One great head with goggle eyes,
Like a diabolic cherub
Flying in those fallen skies…[5]

His delight in the sea creature becomes delight in God by the end of the poem:

For I saw a finny goblin
Hidden in the abyss untrod;
and I knew there can be laughter
on the secret face of God.

Blow the trumpets, crown the sages,
Bring the age by reason fed!
(He that sitteth in the heavens,
‘He shall laugh’—the prophet said.)[6]

Chesterton says that we can even see the hand of God’s glory by looking at ourselves.

“At the back of our brains, so to speak, there was a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life was to dig for the submerged sunrise of wonder, so that a man sitting in his chair might suddenly understand that he was actually alive and be happy.”[7]

This is one of his great arguments for the existence of God. We exist.

Finally, Chesterton’s delight in this world is always looking beyond all things to Christ Himself:

“… when I look across the sun-struck fields, I know in my inmost bones that my joy is not solely in the spring, for spring alone, being always returning, would be always sad. There is somebody or something walking there, to be crowned with flowers: and my pleasure is in some promise yet possible and in the resurrection of the dead.”^[8]  

In Philippians 4:2-3, Paul addresses the leaders in this community, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” (Philippians 4:2–3, ESV)

Interesting. Paul refers to Euodia and Syntyche as “these women who have labored side by side with me in the Gospel.” In Acts 16:13-15, we discover Lydia, a woman, plays a key role in the formation of the church at Philippi. “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.” In Lydia, we see the roots of hospitality in this community of faith. Paul seeks to keep this open-hearted Christ-centered hospitality flourishing in the Philippian church.

He is not rebuking Euodia and Syntyche. Rather, he encourages them to come to some kind of agreement in the way they are serving. It is after Paul has mentioned these ladies and the other workers that he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;” (Philippians 4:4–5, ESV)

In the community of faith, they must learn how to work together and even how to solve conflicts because Christ is revealing Himself in the midst through other members of the body. The word that ESV translates as reasonableness is about kindness or giving each the benefit of the doubt. We are gentle with one another even when we disagree for we know that the Lord is near. This spirit of gentleness will keep the Philippians and us ever open to Christ, to one another, and to the stranger in our midst.

Today we see that the Lord is near us. But we don’t only catch glimpses of Him in daisies and fish and sunsets. Remember Augustine at the foot-washing. Peter looks down and finds the humble God kneeling at his feet. The God who came down to us keeps coming down. He comes in the brother or sister standing beside us as we approach the Communion table. Sometimes He comes in the one we find hardest to agree with. Paul knew this. In the verses just before “Rejoice in the Lord always,” he isn’t looking at a sunset. He’s looking at two women in his own church who can’t see eye to eye.

And there is great rejoicing in the community of faith as Christ is present in our midst.

Christ draws near to us in one another. We behold Him. We hear Him. We are changed by Him. Let us rejoice in Him and in one another.

As we look back over our readings, we see that the table of refreshing in Psalm 23, the feast on the mountain in Isaiah, and the wedding feast in our Gospel all come together as we meet Christ here today in the feast of the Eucharist. Today we us enter this feast of love with the saints around us even now and rejoice in Christ giving us life in His body and blood.

[1] Jones, Bobi. Translated by Joseph Clancy. Selected Poems (pp. 145-146). Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd, 1987.

[2] Williams, Rowan. A Century of Poetry: 100 Poems for Searching the Heart (p. 127). (Function). Kindle Edition.

[3] Williams, Rowan. A Century of Poetry: 100 Poems for Searching the Heart (p. 128). (Function). Kindle Edition.

[4] From Delphic Oracles, translated by Erasmus in his Adagia (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adagia)

[5] Chesterton, G.K.. The Collected Poems of G.K. Chesterton (pp. 140-141). (Function). Kindle Edition.

[6] Ibid.

[7] G.K. Chesterton. “The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton.” Sheed & Ward: New York, 1936, pp. 90-91.

^[8] G. K. Chesterton, A Miscellany of Men (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1912), 120–21.

Pentecost +19 2026 – Flourishing in Christ
Dr. Christopher Graham
Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80, Philippians 3:14-21, Matthew 21:33-44

“When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.”

Two weeks ago, you may remember, we were in the vineyard of Matthew 20 along with the master, the oikodespotes, whose mercy is so extravagant that it causes the workers to grumble. In last week’s Gospel reading from Matthew 21, we were again in the vineyard with the owner sending his two sons to work in the vineyard, one of whom said he would go but then did not, and one who initially said he would not and then did. For reasons we will leave unexplored, it will make some of you happy that we are, today, still in the vineyard.

Jesus follows the parable of the vineyard owner with two sons immediately with the one we heard this morning. In this parable, it is fruit-picking time, and the oikodespostes, the master, sends his servants to the ones in charge of the field to gather the fruit. These tenant farmers abused and killed those who were sent: a few at first, a great number next, and then the master’s son. We also had a vineyard in the OT reading from Isaiah 5, which, despite the careful planting and care, bore not good fruit but bad. To which the beloved owner responds by giving it over to the invading vegetation. The psalmist is living in light of this state of God’s people, who were a vine that he rescued, planted, and was flourishing but now were suffering from outside forces. To this, the psalmist cries out to God: “Turn again, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold, and visit this vine” Restore us again, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be whole.” (Psalm 80:14, 7)

Isaiah’s vineyard, David’s vineyard, and Matthew’s vineyard. Each one has a lesson in itself. Together, they draw our attention to God’s provision in flourishing, stewardship, and justice.

Provision for flourishing

That there are vineyards at all is a result of God’s provision. This is by design: “The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8–9, NASB). Food-bearing gardens and vineyards are, in fact, a dominant and frequent image to speak of God’s gracious provision of places of nourishment.

The opening words from Isaiah 5 from The Message are printed as the prefatory reading because they highlight this:

I’ll sing a ballad to the one I love,
a love ballad about his vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard,
a fine, well-placed vineyard.
He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds, and planted the very best vines.
He built a lookout, built a winepress, a vineyard to be proud of.
He looked for a vintage yield of grapes, Isaiah 5:1-2a, The Message

God is referred to here as the Beloved who clearly loves his vineyard, which he demonstrates in caring for it. And it is for one purpose: “He looked for a vintage yield of grapes.”

Remember that everything else in the vineyard and done to the vineyard is in service to the fruit. It is significant that Jesus’s parable happens at “fruit season.” Everything that happens is in service to fruit: the hoeing, the weeding, the pruning, the tending, the hedge-building, the feeding, the pest eradication.

The point of vineyards is fruit because, at the end of the day, it’s about nourishment, about flourishing.

As the Psalmist says:

You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
you have cast out the nations and planted it. You made room for it,
and when it had taken root it filled the land.
The hills were covered with the shadow of it, *
and the boughs thereof were like the mighty cedar trees.
It stretched out its branches to the sea * and its boughs to the river.
Psalm 80:8–11

Just as Israel so also early Christians saw themselves as beneficiaries of God’s provision so that they flourished. Furthermore, the early Christians understood that they because of God’s very presence through his incarnate Son and by His Spirit, the Church was a place of nourishment and flourishing unlike any other congregation that had been or will be. It is God’s very presence that makes the Church distinct from all other congregations. It is why the Church, through time, has spoken of the Church as the vineyard.

It has also been God’s intention that his people would not only be the objects, the beneficiaries, of God’s provision but that they would be the means of God’s provision for others. As Irenaeus, the second-century bishop of Lyons, would say: “Flee to the Church, and be brought up in her bosom, and be nourished by the Lord’s Scriptures The Church has been planted as Paradise in this world” (Against Heresies 5.20.2). This is the Church, both as gathered in a formal sense, and as we embody the Church in our homes and communities, become spaces for flourishing.

Provision of Stewardship

But while the people of God experience the provision of flourishing by his presence, he has empowered us with roles in carrying out that intent. This is a provision of stewardship. Remember, again, that this was the intent from the beginning: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 3:15).

The tasks of keeping a vineyard are many: the hoeing, the weeding, the pruning, the tending, the hedge-building, the feeding, the pest eradication. Some are given positions of responsibility, such as the managers in Matthew’s vineyard. But there are others, such as those who are to gather the fruit. So also the tasks of the Church are many. Paul’s letters demonstrate that everyone has a role to play. But while there are many tasks, two realities keep us from going astray:

The first reality is that we do not own the vineyard; we are stewards. The tenant-farmers managing the vineyards in Jesus’s parable lost sight of this. As one contemporary confessional statement puts it: “God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions” (2000 Baptist Faith and Message Article 13: Stewardship)

We rely upon God as the Vineyard Owner and Master for direction and resources. This is why we pray every week for bishops, priests, deacons, the congregation, and those in public service.

Second, the whole point is growth and flourishing. Everything that happens is in service to the fruit. The hoeing, the weeding, the pruning, the tending, the hedge-building, the feeding, the pest eradication. As a text circulating and used by early Christians, the Odes of Solomon (11.20) say:

Behold, thy laborers are beautiful:
they bring about good transformations from uselessness to goodness.
The bitterness of the plants is changed in thy earth.

If we lose sight of these realities, then we are in danger of becoming a barren field or perhaps even worse, as Shakespeare so beautifully put it “An unweeded garden that grows to seed, Things rank and foul in nature possess it merely.” (Hamlet, Act 1, scene 2). Tragically, as our passages this morning show, this happens even to God’s people. This leads to consider God’s provision of justice.

Provision of Justice

What happens when the vineyard is not managed according to God’s purposes and his righteous expectations? He mercifully steps in to bring it back to its purposes by holding those responsible accountable.

When those on the inside are not wise steward:
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!
Isaiah 5:7, ESV

In Matthew’s vineyard:

When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 20:40–41, ESV)

God holds accountable those who work against him and his purposes. Through discipline. Through judgment. We will confess this morning in just a few moments, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

The Gospel, though, is that the Almighty God who holds those who turn vineyards into wastelands accountable, is the same God, the same Master whose character is always to have mercy.

In crying out for God: the Psalmist says:
Turn again, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; * behold, and visit this vine,
And the place of the vineyard that your right hand has planted, *
and the branch that you made so strong for yourself. As for those who burn it with fire and cut it down, * let them perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand *
and upon the son of man, whom you made so strong for yourself.
Psalm 80:14–17

The Psalmist cries out for one who will deliver. Jesus’s parable, in a way speaks to those who come on behalf of the Master, the servants, and then the Son of the Master himself. And while those hearing the parable are presented with a Master who loves his vineyard so much that he would even send his Son, we hear this knowing that, in fact, that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:16–17, NASB).

The Gospel this morning is that God has made provision in his Son for us to flourish in light of his mercy, his righteousness, his justice. God has made provision in Christ for us to be stewards of the vineyard where others can be nourished and flourish in light of that same mercy, righteousness, and justice. After all, “The season for fruit has drawn near, and he has sent his servants gather his fruit.”

Pentecost +18 2026
Rev. Doug Floyd
Ezekiel 37:15-28, Psalm 25, Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:28-32

“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” (Psalm 25:9–10, ESV)

We are following the leader. At times, He will lead us beside still waters. We will rest in green pastures. We will be refreshed by cool streams. We will learn the way of righteousness. In other seasons, He will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. Some will rest there, awaiting to be called on that great Resurrection Day. Other will come through that valley into a new life. No matter where He leads us, we are safe in His care, His provision, His goodness, His mercy, His immeasurable love.

He led Ezekiel into the wilderness, into the heart of the pagan empire: Babylon. Ezekiel, the young man born to be a priest and the faithful follower of the Lord, is led alongside the rebellious Jews into a land of graven images, pagan gods, perverse worship. He walks into the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

In this land of crushing darkness, Ezekiel beholds the Lord of Glory. In the year when Ezekiel should have entered Temple to serve as a priest, the Glory of the God of Zion comes to him. The Lord speaks to him,

“And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.” (Ezekiel 2:3–7, ESV)

From the land of Babylon, the place of captivity, Ezekiel is called to declare the Word of the Lord to the people of Jerusalem. Much of Ezekiel’s strange ministry is dedicated to exposing the sin of Jerusalem and declaring the Judgment of God. He will also instruct the people in the ways of the Lord.

Eventually, there will come a time when he restores hope to the captives.

Even to this day, his prophecy of the valley of dry bones awakens hope on our hearts.

“Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”” (Ezekiel 37:4–6, ESV)

This nation destroyed by Babylon through the judgment of God will rise again.

“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:12–14, ESV)

Truly the Lord does “remember [His] mercy.. and . steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” (Psalm 25:6, ESV)

The Spirit of prophecy continues to blow through Ezekiel and he declares that not only Jerusalem will be restored but that all of Israel will become one again: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah will become the people of the Lord again.

“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.” (Ezekiel 37:15–22, ESV)

The two shall become one. The Lord led His divided and rebellious people of Israel and of Judah into the Valley of the Shadow of Death. And yet, he does not abandon His people in captivity. They will be restored and the two shall become one people under one king.

Who is this king? Who raises dry bones from the grave? Who is this king who united a divided nation into one people. Isaiah says that this King will fulfill the promise to Abraham and bless all peoples.

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”” (Isaiah 49:6, ESV)

Who is this King? King Jesus.

King Jesus enters the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Pouring His life out for the Life of the World. Pouring His life out to His Father in Heaven. Even as His enemies surround Him, mock Him, kill Him, He speaks the words of mercy and grace, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.” (Luke 23:34, ESV)

King Jesus is buried in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He enters the death of humanity, the death of Israel, the death of the world. After three days, the Father speaks, the Spirit breathes, the Son arises. And all the world is raised again.

We follow this Jesus. This King of the Jews. This Lord of Glory. He reigns above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.^[1]

And He leads His people up to Himself, “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22–23, ESV)

Even as He exalts the church, and He restores the kingdom of Israel, He breaks the dividing wall between both groups: the Jews and the Gentiles. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” (Ephesians 2:4–5, ESV)

How was the promise of restoring ancient Israel as one nation before God fulfilled? By King Jesus who defeats the power of sin and death.

How will Jews and Gentiles be reconciled as one people? By King Jesus who defeats the power of sin and death.

The Lord led Ezekiel by way of death. Ezekiel was taken captive and His call of becoming a priest in the Temple died, but he was raised up as a prophet of God whose words still address us today.

The Lord led the Apostle Paul by way of death. Paul left behind his accolades, his rule as Pharisee, his glory, and abandoned all that he might follow Jesus.

How does the Lord lead us today? At times, He will lead us beside still waters. We will rest in green pastures. We will be refreshed by cool streams. We will learn the way of righteousness. In other seasons, He will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. Some will rest there, awaiting to be called on that great Resurrection Day. No matter where He leads us, we are safe in His care, His provision, His goodness, His mercy, His immeasurable love.

Many of us will walk in the way of the little valleys of death. On the one hand, we will follow Jesus in laying down our lives for one another. This is a way of sharing our gifts, our kindnesses, our love with one another. Other times, we will be taken where we do not want to go.

As Jesus told Peter, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”” (John 21:18, ESV)

We will all follow Jesus in the way of death. At the same time, there may be seasons of life when we will be taken where we do not want to go.

We leave behind a dream, a beloved job, and even a beloved home. Suddenly, our job may be eliminated or drastically changed, suddenly we may face unexpected health problems, suddenly, the path we walk will seem unsure. Like Paul, we are learning to let go and follow Christ. Ezekiel was taken captive by Babylonians but he was walking in the way of the Lord. Life may take a hard left turn and out of the blue we may have to forsake the life we thought we knew. No matter what happens, we pursue Christ. His love is sure. His path is a path of steadfast love.

This does not mean that the Valley of the Shadow of Death is easy. It is painful. And yet, we rise again. As we follow Christ in this world, we can trust that He will guide us and He will not forsake even when we feel forsaken. As Paul writes in Romans 8,

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35–37, ESV)

Paul is certain that people will face these difficult situations, and yet, these situations cannot separate us from God’s love. As a result, we are literally more than conquerors.

Scripture is filled with stories of people who suffered, lost their way of life, felt abandoned. And yet, they become emblems of glory. Naomi says to call her Mara which means bitterness because her suffering and loss have been so great. Yet, she encounters the lovingkindness of Ruth, then Boaz, and finally a new life in Ruth’s baby.

“Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”” (Ruth 4:14–15, ESV)

This is the beauty of the way of the Lord. Yes, we do pass through valleys of the shadow of death. But then Lord does not forsake us. We may have to let go of expectations. The life we knew will change. We learn to follow Christ in a new way, but I pray we will discover His loving hand afresh.

We can rest assured that “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11, ESV)

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Eph 1:21.

Pentecost +17 – Mercy Never Ceasing
Dr. Christopher Graham
Jonah 3:10

But you are the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may be seated. I’m thankful for the whole of our liturgy, but there are a few phrases that almost take my breath away every time we say them. I’d like to focus on one of these phrases this morning that is fitting with our scripture readings, “But you are the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy.”

Every time I say it in our service, even as I’m saying it now, it arrests me. It spins me around as though I’m doing a double-take. It’s as though I am being introduced to a fascinating, new, mind-blowing thought every time. Why is this? It’s not as though God’s mercy is a new thing for me. I’ve been singing the songs of God’s mercy my whole life. Come Thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.

Streams of mercy, never ceasing.
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Or morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed, thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

I’ve sung those songs my whole life. So why does this particular phrase catch me off guard every time? Our passages this week help me answer that question. Our Old Testament and Gospel readings especially deal with those who are taken aback, even angered by God’s mercy.

Jonah’s reaction to God’s mercy on Nineveh and the laborer’s reaction to the master’s mercy on the newcomers who get paid the same amount that they did, even though we’ve been working in the hot heat all day. By the way, lovely reading this morning, Father Doug. I think you captured the spirit of the grumbling. They remind me that even though I confess this every week, the trouble is I haven’t let it sink into the core of who I am. I’ve not yet let it take possession of me. And what is it that keeps me from allowing this reality that he is the same Lord whose character is to always have mercy? Why is that? What I’d like to do this morning is clear some of the brush, so to speak, so that when I confess that, when we confess that, that reality can take roots and grow in our lives, that I can more fully commune with the Lord at the table and by more fully leaning into this Lord whose character is always to have mercy, I can more fully manifest the life this week defined by mercy.

There is in the phrase itself a seeming dissonance, but you are the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy. That he is Lord, refers to the fact that he has power. He is sovereign. We don’t tend to associate mercy with Lordship. And yet in fact, we may find them in conflict, for to call him Lord is to call him something like master, king, even judge. This dissonance, it seems, is what’s going on in both Jonah and Matthew this morning. So reading from Matthew 20, a few verses, Matthew 20, verse 1, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” By the way, when you dig, just go slightly into the Greek here, that word master is not the typical word for Lord or master, Kurios. It’s the word that is where we get our word despot from.

Kurios has some flexibility on power. That is unequivocally the one in charge. Later on when there is grumbling, they say this, “And when those who hired first, they came, they thought they would receive more and also received each one denarius. And when they received it, they grumbled at the master, the despot, the man.” So they have an issue with this one who is master. Back in Jonah, we have a comparable language in chapter four, “And it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry and he prayed to the Lord, Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country.”

In both cases though, God shows himself, the Lord shows himself as the one who is mercy. Jonah outright says it. He goes on to say there, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country. Therefore, in order to forestall this, I fled for I knew that thou are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. I knew it.”[1] By the way, this is why I’ve put this quote in your preparatory reading this morning from Robert Frost. I absolutely think Frost gets it spot on.

Jonah is told to go and prophesy against the city, and he knows God will let him down. He can’t trust God to be unmerciful. You can trust God to be anything but unmerciful. I want to double down on Frost observation here. The reason that this is true about God is that God is by nature mercy. When Moses asked God to show himself in his glory and calls on the name of the Lord, God responds by proclaiming the Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. God acts mercifully because God is mercy by nature. Pope Francis put it this way, “Because he is God, because he is mercy, and because mercy is his first attribute, the name of God is mercy.”[2] By the way, just to point this out, this is different than you and me. We can be merciful, we can act mercifully, but even on days when I’m not merciful, I’m still Christopher, not so with God.

When we say that this is an attribute of God, we mean that God can do nothing but be merciful because that is his nature, mercy. And the good news this morning is that God has brought us, you, us to a place where we encounter this Lord whose character is always to have mercy. You don’t have to worry this morning which God you’re going to get. You’re getting the God who is going to be merciful, who lavishes mercy, morning by morning, new mercies we see.

Now I could end the homily here, but today’s scripture won’t allow me to do that because in both cases, God’s display of mercy results not in praise, but in anger or grumbling. So we need to clear a little bit more brush. Like Jonah and the early laborers, those who grumbled, not only do I tend to emphasize God’s righteous nature, that I cast justice and mercy, righteousness and mercy in transactional terms. And the transaction requires a process to make sure things stay steady, to make sure that mercy doesn’t cancel out justice. This seems to be particularly the case in the parable.

The laborers expect a process in which reward was doled out based on the process, but mercy disrupts processes. It upends transactional righteousness. In my former role as a college administrator, a vice president, one of my roles was to keep order in the academic world.

I upheld the rules. If a student did something outside the rules, they had to pay the consequences in order to keep things in order. One of the ways I had to do this was to make sure that student didn’t find their way around me to the president because the president inevitably would exercise mercy. And that made my life so difficult. It’s worried me so much because it upset the process. What happens when the next student gets in? What happens if this student goes tell their friends that you let them do that? Now they’re not coming to you. They’re coming to me, and I’m the one who has to control this process. Mercy disrupts processes that are transactional. But the fact is that God’s merciful nature does not compromise his righteous nature. This is the mystery. This is the wonder of God. His acts of mercy do not undermine his expectation that creation acts righteously and that he holds creation accountable to this expectation.

Our Psalm today logs both of these realities of God. Psalm 145:17, the Lord is righteous in all his ways, merciful in all his works. Jesus sets the promises related to these two realities right next to each other in the Beatitudes. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Right next to each other. Both are true. The God of the Bible is a personal God, who is both perfectly righteous and perfectly merciful, and he doesn’t need a process to ensure that these are carried out perfectly and fully.

The Christian gospel is that in his person, Jesus manifests God’s perfect righteousness and mercy. Christ’s death would display and shift from transactional language to personal language. When on the cross, Jesus cries to tetelestai, the Greek, which is often translated rightly so, it is finished. This is a word that is in the ancient world found on the bottom of ledgers and of financial statements to say it is paid. And in his body, in his death, he shifts, then, the transactional language to his person. Paul says it this way in Colossians, “And when you were dead in your transgression and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” Listen, verse 14 of chapter two, “Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us, and he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross.” Jesus shifts the language of righteousness and mercy from transactional to personal.

The gospel is that because of the righteousness and mercy of God, the mercy we find in God through Jesus Christ, we can let go of our need to control the processes. We can let go. It’s a freeing thought, friends. I remember going through my recovery group days and one of the most freeing moments when I realized and was able to let go of the fact that I could not control how everyone else around me drove. The road rage went away because I wasn’t in control anymore of making sure they upheld. Now I’m still working on exercising mercy to those dingbats, but it’s freeing. We can let go. We can let God lavish mercy as he sees fit. We can allow ourselves to stop being arbiters of righteousness and allow the one who fulfilled all righteousness to exercise mercy as he sees fit. We can lay our debt, in the form of guilt or shame or regret, we can lay that on the scale, and God’s mercy upends it and overtakes it. We can quit looking over our shoulder, waiting for the hammer to fall.

We can quit looking over our neighbor’s shoulder trying to find out what they did wrong and praying sometimes that the hammer would fall on them. We can quit looking for someone who’s at fault to pay them back. We can accept that this is the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy, this morning. And then receive that gift in the Eucharist because in that prayer, when we say those words, they’re immediately followed by words that say this, so that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls wash through his most precious blood, that we may ever more dwell in him and he in us. We may receive his gift of mercy and then live in that. And having communed with that Lord this morning, we can manifest that life of mercy all week, friends, to a world that desperately needs God’s mercy.

The laborers in Matthew chapter 20. And then, about the 11th hour, this master, this despot goes out, finds others standing about, and he says, “Why have you been standing here idle all day long?” They said, “Because no one hired us.” He said to them, “You two go into the vineyard.” This is an act of mercy on the part of that master. I close with a prayer pinned by Jane Austin and here is her prayer. “Above all other blessings, oh God, for ourselves and for our fellow creatures, we implore thee to quicken our sense of thy mercy in the redemption of the world.”[3]

And this morning we meet the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy. (Additional prayers are attached below.

“Give us grace, Almighty Father, so to pray, as to deserve to be heard, to address Thee with our hearts, as with our lips. Thou art everywhere present, from Thee no secret can be hid. May the knowledge of this, teach us to fix our thoughts on Thee, with reverence and devotion that we pray not in vain.

Look with mercy on the sins we have this day committed, and in mercy make us feel them deeply, that our repentance may be sincere, and our resolutions steadfast of endeavoring against the commission of such in future.

Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own hearts, and bring to our knowledge every fault of temper and every evil habit in which we have indulged to the discomfort of our fellow-creatures, and the danger of our own souls.

May we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent by us, what have been our prevailing thoughts, words, and actions during it, and how far we can acquit ourselves of evil.

Have we thought irreverently of Thee, have we disobeyed Thy commandants, have we neglected any known duty, or willingly given pain to any human being? Incline us to ask our hearts these questions, O God, and save us from deceiving ourselves by pride or vanity.

Give us a thankful sense of the blessings in which we live, of the many comforts of our lot; that we may not deserve to lose them by discontent or indifference.

Be gracious to our necessities, and guard us, and all we love, from evil this night.

May the sick and afflicted, be now, and ever in Thy care; and heartily do we pray for the safety of all that travel by land or by sea, for the comfort and protection of the orphan and the widow and that Thy pity may be shown upon all captives and prisoners.

Above all other blessings, O God, for ourselves, and for our fellow-creatures, we implore Thee to quicken our sense of Thy mercy in the redemption of the world, of the value of that holy religion in which we have been brought up, that we may not, by our own neglect , throw away the salvation Thou hast given us, nor be Christians only in name. Hear us, Almighty God, for His sake who redeemed us, and taught us thus to pray.“

Jane Austen, first collected 1926, published in The Works of Jane Austen, ed. R. W. Chapman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954; 1988): 6:453. First stanza found in Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer, Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney, eds (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 122.

[1] Robert Frost, “Robert Frost,” interview by Richard Poirier, in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, Second Series, ed. George Plimpton (New York: Viking Press, 1963), 3031.

[2] Francis, Pope. The Name of God Is Mercy: A Conversation with Andrea Tornielli. Translated by Oonagh Stransky. New York: Random House, 2016, 85.

[3] Jane Austen, first collected 1926, published in The Works of Jane Austen, ed. R. W. Chapman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954; 1988): 6:453. First stanza found in Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer, Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 122.

Pentecost +16 – The Love of Christ in Action
Rev. Doug Floyd
Romans 12-16

Throughout the summer, we’ve been focused on the Psalms. At the same time, our lectionary was focused on Romans as the second lesson from June until today. This marks the last Sunday from Romans. I figured I might as well take the last Sunday in Romans to discuss it. Entering Romans this late is like walking into the theatre during the last ten minutes of a movie. Thankfully, most of us have seen this film many times before, so I’ll just catch us up. Then we can end Romans on a high note.

Paul opens with this glorious proclamation of the Gospel:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16–17, ESV)

Praise the Lord! We are walking from faith to faith. As the letter proceeds, Paul proceeds to talk the goodness of God, the sinfulness of humanity, and the promise of restoration. Just when we come to the end of ourselves and realize that we simply cannot do it, we simply cannot walk in the way of righteousness and truth, Paul exclaims,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1–2, ESV)

Christ Himself is leading us by the power of His Spirit into a life of glory as adopted children of God. By His grace, we are growing up into His very resurrection of life, and this life is renewing all things in Christ. We are immersed into a God’s love relentless love, and nothing can separate us from this love. Finally, Paul, bursts into a song of praise overjoyed by God’s goodness and grace,

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33–36, ESV)

Chapter 12 opens with “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2, ESV)

In a way, he is saying, because God is so good, because He loves you with an everlasting love, because of all the many ways He has shown His love and continues to work out His love in you., present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has ended the need of animal sacrifice to approach God. We come freely to the throne of grace, and we offer a sacrifice of praise. We offer our very bodies in this worship: not to be burned up in the fire but to be filled with the fire of His love and worship Him, serve His people, and live out His love in the world around us.

In other words, we are called to live out the Great Commandment: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30–31, ESV)

In every age, the world or culture around us is rooted in self-worship and striving for self-glory. We are called to let all that go, as we live and love other believers by giving ourselves and our gifts to serve and bless one another. In turn, the people of God pour their love and gifts into our lives. Then this love overflows to our enemies, our governing authorities, our fellow citizens, and our world. Paul writes,

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8, ESV)

He reminds us that love of God and neighbor “is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10, ESV). This seems simple and yet, we often struggle. We are surrounded by enticements of culture: better cars, better jobs, better bodies, and more. It is not wrong to buy things or to have nice things, but it is dangerous when these things, these enticements separate us from love. How many marriages have been sacrificed to success or selfish lust. Suddenly, we have turned from the Creator to the creation, and the pursuit of self-satisfaction overrides the very grace of love God has given us in the Spirit.

Let us be lovers.

Bruce Cockburn sings, “We are lovers in a dangerous time.” He continues,

“These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This vibrant skin, this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste”[1]

Let us not waste a single breath. Let us be lovers.

In chapter 14, Paul reminds a that we should show grace to one another even when their convictions may be different than ours. In His day, meat in the marketplace was often meat that had been sacrificed to idols and now it was for sale. Some people become vegetarians in order to avoid eating this meat. They think they are being more holy but actually Paul says that their faith is weak. In verse 13, Paul says, “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” (Romans 14:13, ESV)

This can be confusing. We who are strong should not cause our brother or sister to stumble.This is not talking about a sin, but about a conviction. Some people don’t drink alcohol. Some people don’t work on Sunday. Some people worship on Saturday.

RC Sproul helps to clarify this text. He writes, “Paul is not saying that the stronger brother must be bound by the religious scruples of the weaker brother. Though the stronger brother is to bend over backwards not to offend or to hurt the weaker brother, the stronger brother is not to allow the weaker brother to exercise moral tyranny over the church. Take the matter of circumcision. In the early stages of his ministry, Paul saw no great significance in circumcision, and if people wanted to be circumcised out of mere tradition or family custom, he’d circumcise them. Then the Judaizers came into the church and insisted that circumcision was an absolute requirement for every Christian. At that point Paul stood up to the weaker brothers and said that he would refuse to circumcise, because they were trying to take their scruple and make it a binding law upon the whole community. That’s what we have to guard jealously against in our community.”^[2]

Sproul tells the story of going out to eat with a group of Christians. When the server asked about wine, one lady in the group spoke up and said, ‘No, thank you, none of us wants wine because we are Christians.’^[3] Sproul says “I remember feeling totally embarrassed by that remark. I wanted to go after the wine steward and say to her, ‘I am sorry that that woman was so rude to you. I want you to understand that it is not a universal law among Christians that no Christian is allowed to drink wine. There are many Christians who drink wine.’^[4]

We don’t force the weaker brother or sister to our freedom but we don’t submit to their conviction either. This can negate the doctrine of grace.

Paul tells those who do eat meat not to belittle those who refuse to eat meat. In fact, don’t try to make them eat meat. Let them be. Honor their conviction. This does not mean those who eat meat are wrong if the vegetarians don’t eat meat.

It is the same with days of worship. Even today, some worship on Sabbath (that is Friday night to Saturday night). Others worship on the Lord’s Day (that is Sunday). Both are free to follow their conviction. Some follow the Jewish feasts, others follow the Christian year, and still others do not observe these calendars but simply celebrate each Lord’s Day as Resurrection Day. Each of us work out our faith in fear and trembling.

We can drive through our community and find churches where people shout and dance, or where people worship without instruments, or where people meet in beautiful buildings, or even where people rent a space for the service. Let us rejoice that Christ is worshipped and pray for the blessing of God on all the churches across the city. May goodness of in Christ be proclaimed and may the love of God prevail among His people.

In chapter 15, Paul prays,

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:4–7, ESV)

Paul encourages the people of God to focus on Gospel. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the promise of God to redeem and restore the human heart through the cross of Christ. We have been redeemed, we are being redeemed, and we will be redeemed. All glory and honor to God. If we can keep this Gospel before us, we can rejoice and we can freely love those who may differ in their politics, their worship styles, their dietary patterns, and their life of discipleship. If they are in error, we trust Christ can lead them into all truth. Likewise, if we are in error, we trust Christ to lead us into all truth.

This Good News of God’s Redeeming grace, should explode from our lips in shouts of Alleluia. We join Paul as He ends this glorious Psalm of praise by singing out,

“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Romans 16:25–27, ESV)

[1] Bruce Cockburn, “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” <https://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/liadt.html>

^[2] R. C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1994), 236–237.

^[3] R. C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1994), 237.

^[4] R. C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1994), 237.

Pentecost +15 – Community of Faith
Rev. Doug Floyd
Ezekiel 33:1-11, Psalm 119:33-48, Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 18:15-20

The Benedictine nun Joan Chittister writes, “In community we work out our connectedness to God, to one another, and to ourselves. It is in community where we find out who we really are. It is life with another that shows my impatience and life with another that demonstrates my possessiveness and life with another that gives notice to my nagging devotion to the self. Life with someone else, in other words, doesn’t show me nearly as much about his or her shortcomings as it does about my own. In human relationships I learn how to soften my hard spots and how to reconcile and how to care for someone else besides myself. In human relationships I learn that theory is no substitute for love. It is easy to talk about the love of God; it is another thing to practice it.”[1]

When I think of community, I think of eating together, sharing life through tears and laughter. That is I tend to think of the warm fuzzy aspect of community. And those are good things. I don’t immediately think of conflict, struggle, hurt feelings, frustration, and my own selfish offenses. Of course, I like all of you know the reality of living in family. Not only in my marriage to Kelly but in both our extended families who have all lived near us for over twenty years.

I have been blessed with close siblings and their families. We’ve spent life together. Movies, meals, holidays, birthdays and more. We’re passionate people: we cry easy, laugh hardily, and of course, we’ve also had our share of exploding at meals and storming out of the house. We are weak and frail humans in the midst of family.

During Covid, I was struggling between life and death. My brother-in-law Andy could not enter the hospital, so he laid hands on the building and prayed for life. Even as Andy prayed, Kelly’s sister came down from Jefferson City and prayed with her. This is family. Over the last few weeks, Christopher has been attending to his father and family.

All of us have stories of sacrifice and love and healing and struggle in the midst of family. The joys and sorrows are gifts of God. Our relations within our families and amid friends and church families all play a vital role in our formation as disciples of Christ.

The whole chapter of Matthew 18 is sometimes called Jesus’ “Sermon to the Church.” Matthew writes his account of Jesus’ life after the resurrection. He is remembering Jesus’ words in the context of the church family that now surrounds him. If we read today’s passage about confrontation in light of the whole chapter, we might hear a call to gentleness and humility during conflict. We are called by Christ to be childlike. At the start of Matthew 18 we read,

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3–4, ESV)

As Jesus continues to reflect on treatment of the children, he begins to talk about a brother sinning against you.

““If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15, ESV)

We see the seeds of church discipline emerging in this sermon. The goal is not humiliation or shame but healing and restoration. RC Sproul reminds us that if this sin involves a crime, the police should be informed. Just think of the problems cause by failing to observe this directive when abuse has happened in the church.

At the same time, Sproul also reminds us that “I do not need to initiate the process of reconciliation every time my brother or sister annoys me, displeases me, or irritates me in some other minor way. Minor offenses are to be covered by grace and charity.”^[2] There is a difference between minor irritation and sinning against someone.

St. Benedict realized that offense and conflict would occur among his monks. His rule attempts to train people in this process of reconciliation. I sometimes have struggled with the application of Matthew 18:15-20 in some churches. Instead of a private restoration, people have often been publicly shamed and driven from the community in the name of church discipline. This seems almost opposite the directive we hear today.

Jesus is calling for reconciliation. Right after this discussion of restoration, Jesus tells Peter the parable of the unforgiving servant and says that we must forgive 70 times 7. As we walk in the way of wisdom, we must ask ourselves is this conflict simply a minor offense that we should ignore, or is this a sign of some deeper sin that should be confronted for the sake of the soul?

I can only think of two times in my life that Kelly and I followed this direction in today’s passage. In both instances, we had a single conversation with the individuals involved, and this prevented more serious problems and restored relations. It was all private and healing.

When I hear people talk about the need for church discipline, I want to add the words from our Romans 12 passage today. We have a need to live in communities of hospitality and love. Paul writes, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10, ESV)

All of chapter 12 gives a whole series of directions for living as a community of generosity, of humility, of serving one another in love. He calls God’s people to care for one another and for those in the world around them. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” (Romans 12:15–16, ESV)

I believe that the community of faith is a place where we can grow as lovers of Christ and one another. I have often been convicted and challenged by observing other people who pour out their life and gifts for those around them. Their actions inspire me to ask, “How can I serve? How can I love more faithfully?”

When thinking about our life and Christians, St. Augustine says, “The rule of love is that one should wish his friend to have all the good things he wants to have himself and should not wish the evils to befall his friend which he wishes to avoid himself.”^[3]

I’ve had times in my life, when I started to send a text or email out of frustration with someone. In the act of beginning to write, I felt convicted. It seemed as though Jesus reoriented my heart and mind, and what came out was love.

When Jesus came, he grieved over Jerusalem, He cries out, ““O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37, ESV)

Then from the cross, He cries out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34, ESV). Jeremiah gives voice to the grief of God over the sin of His people by praying, “Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jeremiah 9:1, ESV)

What if we responded to the sin and offense of people with tears of grief? What if the Spirit of God led us to love those in sin like He loves and we cry out on their behalf before we ever speak to them. This is not a method to make someone repent, it is an impulse to learn how we might live and walk in the Spirit of Christ.

What if we kissed our enemies and bowed before them in prayer that Christ might make His love known to them? My prayer is that even as we seek to be faithful people in the community of Christ, we night resolve conflicts in love and that overflowing of Christ’s love might heal the angry, wounded souls in our world.

[1] Chittister, Joan. Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today (pp. 48-49). (Function). Kindle Edition.

^[2] Robert Charles Sproul, Matthew, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 546.

^[3] Thomas C. Oden and Cindy Crosby, eds., Ancient Christian Devotional: A Year of Weekly Readings: Lectionary Cycle A (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2007), 206.

Pentecost+14 – Call to Christ
Rev. Doug Floyd
Psalm 26

The Lord tells Jeremiah, “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.” (Jeremiah 15:19, ESV) The Jews will mock Jeremiah’s words. They will beat him. They will throw him down a well and leave him to die. Yet, the Lord continues to raise him up and send out His Word through Jeremiah. Long after his enemies have died, the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah will stand.

The Lord tells Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”” (Matthew 16:18–19, ESV)

A moment later He tells a baffled Peter and the other disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24–25, ESV) Though Peter will take up this cross and eventually be killed for the faith, the Word of the Lord will speak through him to bring multitudes into the family of God.

Jesus tells Nicodemus, ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) Later, Jesus will be crucified by the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Roman governor. In three days, He the Father will raise Him from the dead. Jesus brings life to the people of the world on the “basis of an indestructible life.”

In each of these stories, we see the vindication of God. Though God’s people may be mocked, beaten, and even killed, He will vindicate them. He will reveal His glory in and through them. He will raise them up as His people.

In today’s Psalm, the writer faces various enemies within and beyond Jerusalem. He faces liars, hypocrites, evildoers, and the wicked. This sounds like the same motley crew who appear in Psalm 1. God’s people face opposition: human and spiritual. We may not be physically beaten, but we may face mistreatment, struggle, and sometimes very real suffering from co-workers, family, and even our own thoughts.

Like this ancient Psalmist we cry out, “Vindicate me, O Lord!” N.T. Wright sees this cry for vindication like Paul’s promise of justification in Christ. It is a cry of God’s people, “Remember me! Remember I am yours!” And in the words of Jude, “Remember that you promised to present me as blameless.” He writes,

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24–25, ESV)

Vindicate me O Lord! Vindicate us O Lord!

In trying to emphasize the goodness of grace, we sometimes over emphasize human sinfulness. Yes, we are sinners. And yet, we trust that God is transforming us. When the Psalmist declares, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:1–2, ESV) It might be easy to reject the idea that we walk in integrity, that we walk without wavering. We can only see Jesus fulfilling this prayer. It is true that Jesus does fulfill this prayer, but remember it is the prayer of ancient Israel. It is the prayer of God’s people.

Douglas Webster responds to the tendency to only human see humans considering our sinfulness. He writes, “Some preachers have a strange way of proclaiming the gospel message. They only seem to know how to target their Sunday morning sermon to the lost. These preachers assume the worst of the gathered congregation, even though they are in the presence of sincere believers. “You may look all put together,” the preacher says boldly, “but inside you are filled with deceit and guilt.” …He is used to preaching this way even though his congregation has just finished singing songs and hymns with gratitude in their hearts to the Lord.”

Webster continues, “The seeker in the congregation who has yet to come to Christ must wonder at the power of the gospel to change lives if a seemingly vibrant and redeemed congregation is so lost and in such need of saving.”[1]

In our Psalm today, the writer is not presuming by saying, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:1–2, ESV) When we hear the Scripture, we should hear the Good News that Christ has embraced us and is transforming by His love.

In verse 3, we read, “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” (Psalm 26:3, ESV) What a beautiful and bountiful promise of God. This word for “steadfast love” is hesed, which can refer to unfailing love between humans, but also and most sublimely speaks of God’s unfailing love toward us. The Psalmist trusts that God is leading Him on the path of righteousness. Though he may struggle at times, the goodness of God is leading him forward.

Charles Spurgeon calls attention to this glorious promise of God’s hesed, God’s loving-kindness. He writes, “Dwell, dear reader, upon that celestial word lovingkindness. It has a heavenly savour. Is it not an unmatchable word, unexcelled, unrivalled? The goodness of the Lord to us should be before our eyes as a motive actuating our conduct; we are not under the bondage of the law, but we are under the sweet constraints of grace, which are far more mighty, although far more gentle. Men sin with the law before their eyes, but divine love when clearly seen, sanctifies the conversation.^[2]

Our psalmist reminds us that the lovingkindness of God draws us. It is the aroma of life to those who are being saved. Like sweet nectar to a bee, we are drawn the sweetness of our God. We long to hear His good Word, we long to feast upon His love and life. We rejoice to gather with His people, for in the congregation of the saints, we ourselves are being changed as we all gather around the life of our Risen Lord.

Like Psalm 1, our writer avoids the company of the wicked who would seek to harm, to deceive, the corrupt. He declares, “I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds. O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” (Psalm 26:6–8, ESV)

This not a posture of self-satisfied righteous over the sinners. Rather, it is the joy of the redeemed who long to the see the sinner come into the communion of the beloved. It is in this sweet communion of saints, we can pour out our hurts, our wounds, our suffering as well as our joys, our praises, our thanksgiving. In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, we are reminded that our Lord has chosen to share His grace gifts in our lives through the people of God. It is in company with God’s people we find encouragement in difficult seasons, prayers for healing in physical weakness, wisdom in challenging decisions, and so much more. We are walking together in this world to the New Jerusalem, and we help and encourage one another along the way.

Thus, our psalmist ends by declaring, “My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.” (Psalm 26:12, ESV)

Let us bless the Lord. Let us rejoice. Let us shower one another with His peace and love. And let us bring His Gospel to the world in need.

[1] Douglas D. Webster, The Psalms: Jesus’s Prayer Book, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2023), 219.

^[2] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 416.

Pentecost +13 2026
Dr. Christopher Graham
Psalm 138

On November 19, 1863, people gathered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. The then-famous headline orator, Edward Everett, had spoken over two hours. President Abraham Lincoln then stood and used about 270 words in only 10 sentences to offer his address. In the days following the event, Everett wrote to Lincoln: “I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.”

The Gettysburg Address: 270 words. The Psalm this morning as we have it before us is 173 words. Like last week’s psalm (Psalm 67), it is short. And like last week’s psalm, it is quite straightforward. As I said at the beginning of our series on the psalms, one danger in preaching on the psalms is overthinking or overanalyzing a psalm such as this, and, in doing so, removing its musical, rhetorical oomph. This morning you are going to help me from overdoing that.

Let me explain: Psalm 138 is a thanksgiving psalm that is rooted in God’s action in the psalmist’s experience in the past, which gives hope for the future. Notice verse 3: When I called upon you, you heard me; and gave me increase of strength.

This Psalm is a result of David looking back on a time when he called on the Lord. And the Lord answered! It’s not the angst-filled supplication seeking God’s action when the psalmist is in a tight spot, nor the lament when God is not answering the psalmist’s cries. This is the testimony of the psalmist that God has heard and has acted. There is a strange phenomenon in my home. When I sleep, I sleep hard. I can sleep through storms, noises, with the light on . . . But all Jill or one of my kids has to do is say “Christopher.” She can even whisper “Christopher” from another room. And I am awake and ready for action.

I know that this congregation has seen God work in your lives in this way. And so, here is how we are going to proceed. As I work through the Psalm and draw out a few observations that may be helpful as you reflect on it this week, you are going to help me from getting too deep by testifying about God’s work in your life. All you have to do is this. If you can relate to the psalmist and can testitfy to this in your life, stand up or raise your hand to get my attention. Start with the words from the psalm: When I called upon you, you heard me; and gave me increase of strength. If you then give us a reader’s digest or Twitter-sized testimony.

Anyone want to offer one now? Alright, anytime, stand up or raise a hand. I’ll pause and give you the floor.

With the memory of what God has done in the past, the psalmist is compelled to give thanks. Verses 1 and 2:

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; * even before the gods will I sing praises to you.

I will worship toward your holy temple and praise your Name because of your loving-kindness and truth;

for you have magnified your Name and your word above all things.

Notice first the deeply personal nature of this section. The use of personal pronouns: I/You, I /You. The Lord’s love and faithfulness is not a general idea but has been displayed in his relationship with David. Growing up I sang this chorus:

Lord I praise you, because of who you are Not for all the mighty things that you have done Lord, I worship you, because of who you are You’re all the reason that I need to voice my praise Because of who you are.

That’s a great song that certainly fits other psalms, but it’s not Psalm 138. Remember, this is the psalm of one who has experienced God. It is precisely because of what God has done that elicits David’s praise.

Notice also how the work of God compels the psalmist’s whole being…my whole heart/bow down/sing praise. “Bless the Lord all my soul . . . and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

And this thanksgiving is not constrained to those in the congregation. Verse 1: even before the gods will I sing praises to you. David stands before the “Elohim” – Either angelic beings or pagan gods. Either way, David is aware that in addressing God he testifying to the cosmos. It’s Buddy the Elf bursting into the room declaring before a room full of executives, “I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!” But even in their midst, David still keep his orientation towards God.

In the second movement, David reflects on the nature of God’s relation to us:

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you O Lord; * for they have heard the words of your mouth.

5They shall sing of the ways of the Lord;* that great is the glory of the Lord.

6 For though the Lord be high, yet he has respect for the lowly;* as for the proud, he beholds them from afar.

Clearly, David indicates that God is pleased with humility and not pride. But more than that, there is a paradox here: the ones who, by their position, are closest to God and can in fact declare the glory of the Lord are the ones who are low—positionally and in posture of heart who receive help from the Lord.

This reminds me of several places in the Gospels where we see this at work in relation to those around Jesus. The ones who are closest to him, don’t get it. But those who need help the most do get it. Consider, for example, the encounters Mark records (Mark 10: 35–52). Jesus first has an encounter with those closest to him—his disciples. Jesus asks James and John, “What can I do for you?”, and they say “Let each of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left when you come into your glory.” Jesus responds, “But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” The scene broadens to the bickering disciples to which Jesus says “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their people in high position exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to become [u]prominent among you shall be your servant; and whoever wants to be

first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Immediately Jesus sets out and “a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.” Jesus asks him the exact same question that he asked James and John: “What do you want Me to do for you?” Except this time, Jesus actually fulfills the request: And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.” What is the difference, this stranger to Jesus does not ask to sit with Jesus when He comes into his glory. He presently sits before the one he knows is the Son of David.

With his experience of the Lord’s work in his past, and with his reflection on the proper posture before God, David has confidence in the future. Notice verses 7 and 8:

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet shall you refresh me;.

you shall stretch forth your hand upon the furiousness of my enemies, and your right hand shall save me.

The Lord shall make good his loving-kindness toward me;*

your mercy, O Lord, endures for ever; despise not the works of your own hands.

God becomes the active subject here. He is faithful to his word and will accomplish what he sets out to do. 1 Thessalonians “He who has begun a good work in you will carry it out to completion.” God has done it in the past and he can at his will do it in the future.

When I called upon you, you heard me; and gave me increase of strength. The Lord shall make good his loving-kindness toward me;

Pentecost +12 – The End is Music
Rev. Doug Floyd
Psalm 67

After the dark night of the soul, the morning sun dawns on a beautiful day. The worshiper is refreshed and renewed by the Spirit’s rhythms of grace. The psalmist resists the bland recital of religious rhetoric. David’s doxology draws worshipers out and into thanksgiving and praise. We bless God because we are blessed by God. God’s grace always goes before, blessing the world, and making gospel praise possible. – Douglas D. Webster

As showers which first fall upon the hills afterwards run down in streams into the valleys, so the blessing of the Most High comes upon the world through the church….Despite the gloomy notions of some, we cling to the belief that the kingdom of Christ will embrace the whole habitable globe, and that all flesh will see the salvation of God….Nothing creates gladness so speedily, surely, and abidingly as the salvation of God.— Charles Spurgeon

Psalm 67 fills our hearts with joy. Fills the church with praise. And fills the world with song.

The Psalmist asks the Lord for a threefold blessing: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah” (Psalm 67:1, ESV)

He invokes the Lord to come and renew His people with His mercy and grace; His blessing, and His face upon us. When I first think of these words, I am struck by the image of a mother holding her child. The mother of a newborn may be tired from caring for the baby round the clock. And yet, the baby is part of her. She delights in this child. She looks with favor on this child and provides for his every need.

How much more will our Father in heaven delight in us? He looks upon each of us with favor, delighting in His children. He overwhelms with blessings spiritual and physical. What delights you? I give thanks almost every day for a hot shower, a cool air conditioner, delicious, juicy tomatoes, good friends and long conversations. Every day, every moment we experience God’s overwhelming blessings.

As the Psalm 40:5 proclaims,

O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. (Psalm 40:5, NLT)

This threefold blessing in verse 1 echoes the Aaronic blessing in Numbers.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26, ESV)

This image of the Lord shining His face upon us is quite glorious. It speaks of favor, delight, joy, love and light. In 2 Corinthians 4:6, Paul speaks of “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV)

This speaks of His opening our hearts to truth and life and transformation. As we read in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

We’ve looked back to the Aaronic blessing, but we can go back even earlier to the blessing of Abraham. In Genesis 12, the Lord tells Abraham,

“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”” (Genesis 12:2–3, ESV)

The Psalmist prays for this blessing of God, this light shining from the face of God that it might flow through God’s people to the peoples of the earth.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” (Psalm 67:1–2, ESV). We also invoke this blessing every week as we prepare to go forth into the world. This blessing flows through us to a world in need.

I love Charles Spurgeon’s response to this blessing in Psalm 67. He writes, “As showers which first fall upon the hills afterwards run down in streams into the valleys, so the blessing of the Most High comes upon the world through the church….Despite the gloomy notions of some, we cling to the belief that the kingdom of Christ will embrace the whole habitable globe, and that all flesh will see the salvation of God….Nothing creates gladness so speedily, surely, and abidingly as the salvation of God. (Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Psalm 67

In verses 3 and 5, we hear the following words sung and repeated, “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Psalm 67:3&5, ESV) Hallelujah. All the peoples. I love that Spurgeon says, “Despite the gloomy notions of some, we cling to the belief that the kingdom of Christ will embrace the whole habitable globe, and that all flesh will see the salvation of God.” Praise the Lord!

Verses 3 and 5 surround verse 4, which I would suggest is the central proclamation: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth” (Psalm 67:4, ESV)

The blessing of God upon the people of God has become song, and all the nations, all the peoples of the earth are singing praises to our God and King. Robert Jenson completes his Systematic Theology with four short words, “The end is music.”

We are longing, hoping, stretching toward the great day of celebration when all creation will join in adoration. What more can I say, except to repeat the call of that glorious nineteenth hymn,

“O come let us adore him.”

Pentecost +11 2026 Our God Reigns
Rev. Doug Floyd
Psalm 29

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty;
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire;
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
“The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”” (Psalm 29:9, ESV)

Last week, I quoted Eugene Peterson who refers to the voice of God as a javelin piercing the human heart with His life-giving truth. In Psalm 29, the Voice of the Lord echoes throughout. It is over the waters; it is powerful and majestic; it breaks cedars, flashes forth flames of fire; it shakes the wilderness; it makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare.

The Voice of the Lord is truly awesome, even terrifying. Imagine the former Hebrew slaves standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai. In Exodus 20, the Lord tells Moses to prepare the people for His appearing,

“The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”” (Exodus 19:10–13, ESV)

“On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain.” (Exodus 19:16–19, ESV)

Imagine standing at the foot of that mountain. Thunder and lightning; the mountain itself quaking, smoke enveloping the whole mountain.

Terrifying.

Those who live through a hurricane or a tornado get some sense of this terrifying power. Nature gives us a sense of the awesome terror of this encounter.

After the Lord speaks the 10 commandments, the people are shaken to the core. In Exodus 20, we read:

“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”” (Exodus 20:18–19, ESV)

Our Psalm today, reveals the mysterium tremendum of God speaking to His people. Rudolf Otto coined that phrase in his 1917 book, The Idea of the Holy. To encounter the Creator, the Wholly Other is both a terrifying and fascinating mystery. To encounter God in His glory is to remind humans of our nothingness. We see a glimpse of this in Isaiah 6. Isaiah’s friend, King Uzziah has died. He is at the Temple grieving. God shows up in all His glory.

He suddenly sees the Lord. Angels surround Him, but their wings cover their faces and feet. God is too glorious even for them. Isaiah’s response is to cry out,

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”” (Isaiah 6:5, ESV)

Paul speaks of this overwhelming glory in 1 Timothy 6:

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15–16, ESV)

His glory is overwhelming. Psalm 29 reveals our glorious Creator as the true Sovereign of all creation. All glory is due Him. The waters are under His thunderous voice. The trees tremble before Him. The land and the mountains shake before Him. The wilderness and the forests shake. He is truly Lord of the Cosmos. And all creation cries, “Glory!”

Underneath this vision of God’s majesty and power and glory is a challenge to all the powers that be. Israel is surrounded by other tribes who worship various powers and spirits. At the same time, the rulers of these tribal groups would seek to assert themselves over the Hebrews. If you read the ancient Mesopotamian saga, The Epic of Gilgamesh, you meet the nature of early rulers.

The King of Enuk is a strong man or big man. He has wealth and he is powerful. He can protect the city but he also takes from the citizens whatever he desires, including all the women. The Israelites still see this pattern around them, and this is why Moses warns the future kings of Israel to study the book of the Law. He writes,

 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17:18–20, ESV)

It’s very clear in the law that many laws address the danger of powerful men taking advantage of poor and weak people. We even see this when David takes Bethsheba and ends up having her husband killed.

While David repents, we see a pattern in the history of the Israelites of kings and wealthy people who worship false gods and oppress the weak.

Psalm 29 uses language and imagery that have made some scholars think this was originally a Canaanite poem to one of their gods. The imagery seems to address various gods such as Baal who is much like Thor, a god of Thunder and power. The true power over the thunder and lightning and waters of the earth in the YHWH, the God of Israel. Thus, the Psalm opens with “Ascribe to the Lord of heavenly beings.” These beings could refer to angels. It could also refer to the people of God who are “Sons of God.” And it could also refer to all the powers on earth and in the heavens that rule or seek to impose obedience.

Think of all the corrupt rulers in our world today. Ultimately, they must bow and ascribe to God glory. Paul prays that God’s people would see the glory and power of who Jesus is in the opening of Ephesians. He prays,

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:15–23, ESV)

All powers on this earth must eventually submit to the rule of God. Psalm 29 also gives us a great picture of God’s rule over the waters. There appears to be a fear of the deep among the people of Israel and probably among most peoples. Psalm 29 tells us that, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters.” (Psalm 29:3, ESV)

And

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.” (Psalm 29:10, ESV)

The people fear the chaos of the deep overtaking creation. In the flood, it appeared that this chaos unraveled creation as all things were destroyed by the great waters. But Psalm 29 assures us that YHWH “sits enthroned over the flood.” (Psalm 29:10, ESV)

If you saw read or saw The Odyssey, you would have seen the Scylla (SkyLa) (the many headed sea monster). The sailors are caught between the Scylla and the Charybdis – (Karibdis),a great whirlpool: whichever way the sailors would choose someone would die. The dangers of the deep are common across multiple cultures. Israel feared the Leviathan, who is also a seven headed sea monster. Psalm 74 show YHWH ruling over this threat,

“Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.” (Psalm 74:12–14, ESV)

No power in land or sea could threaten the absolute rule of YHWH, the king and creator of all things. Psalm 29 overwhelms with images of the power and terror of YHWH’s over all things. Yet, it ends with a reminder that he draws near to His people.

“May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” (Psalm 29:11, ESV)

Isaiah reminds us that this God who terrified him also comforted him. He writes,

“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15, ESV)

Jesus Christ comes in human flesh. He draws near. The God whose voice rattles the earth and brings down every throne comes to us in love. He strengthens His people and He blesses His people with peace.

In Scripture and in creation, we behold the Creator who sometimes reveals Himself through the raw and overwhelming power of creation. In Scripture, we behold the Savior who draws near in our weakness and who embraces us, redeems us and lifts us up.

As we look around our world today, there are many reasons to be fearful. Wars; economic challenges, political disputes, violence in the land, sickness, and so much more. Yet we can find refuge in the God who is Lord over all creation and who also draws near to us in love.

Every weapon formed against us shall ultimately fall. We are safe in His love. Let us trust in Him alone.