St. Paul Lutheran Church - Borchers » Pastoral Reflections

Verse for the week of September 5th:

Admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:07:13 +0000

Their delight is in the law of the LORD,

and they meditate on God’s teaching day and night.

(Psalm 1:2)

Psalm 1 is really a beatitude—which is a statement of extreme blessing. It is not by

coincidence that the entire book of Psalms begins with this psalm. Psalm 1 begins by

stating what the righteous do and do not do.

A major aspect of the life of the righteous is that they meditate on God’s teaching day

and night. The intent behind this is that those who are righteous are centered in God’s

teachings—that they are formed and shaped by God’s teachings.

I think that one of the key words within this verse is meditate. To me, when it talks about

meditation—this implies a greater sense of understanding of God’s teachings over against

knowing. The psalm calls for the righteous not to just know or recite or even do, but to

reflect deeply upon God’s teachings.

To me, this send a clear message that we do not simply memorize God’s teachings, but

that we take time (a lot of time as the verse says day and night) to ponder, to think about,

to reflect upon, to seek greater understanding of God’s teachings.

When we are intentional about seeking to meditate upon God’s teachings, we can not

help but grow closer to God. For as the next verse in the psalm says, ‘they are like trees

planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season with leaves that do not wither;

everything they do shall prosper.’ This simile communicates to the readers that when

people meditate upon God’s teachings it is like a tree that is by a stream of water which

gives to the tree what it needs to grow and bear fruit and will keep it nourished so that the

leaves never wither.

As we read this psalm, it calls to us to make sure that we are taking time to intentionally

meditate upon God’s teachings (which are recorded within the Bible). This does not

mean that we read a portion of the Bible for 5 minutes and think we have done our duty.

While one can never completely quantify the amount of time, to meditate on God’s

teachings the psalm encourages us to take time to read and then reflect—maybe even try

to remember the verse(s) we read throughout the day and continually seek God in prayer

to ask God to speak to us through this verse. To meditate means that we come back to

the verse regularly to think and reflect and seek what it speaks to us.

Take time this week to meditate day and night upon God’s teachings!

Verse for the week of August 29th (Psalm 112:1):

Admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:06:29 +0000

Hallelujah! Happy are they who fear the LORD

and have great delight in God’s commandments!

(Psalm 112:1)

The whole of Psalm 112 is an encouragement for people to take seriously faith in God

and seek after God’s commandments. This psalm is similar in nature to both Psalm 1 and

Psalm 111. The psalm is uplifting the notion of how faith in God helps and is of great

benefit to the believer.

The psalm proclaims that those who fear the LORD and delight in God’s commandments

will have descendants that will be mighty in the land; wealth and riches will be in

their house; their righteousness will last forever; they will never be shaken; they will

be merciful and full of compassion—to name some of the benefits that the psalmist

proclaims.

The question that I want to reflect upon with this verse is what it means to fear the

LORD. When we read this phrase, most people I think tend to translate the word fear

with the notion of being afraid. Thus, it is read by many as happy are those who are

afraid of God. But is this really what the text is saying. After all are we to be afraid of

God—are we to be scared of God. Some individuals may be and normally when this is

the case, those people may not think about this as a way to happiness.

So, what does it mean to fear the LORD? The word fear may be better translated

as ‘awe.’ That when it talks about the fear of the LORD it is really meaning something

closer to awe—a sense of wonder and/or reverence. That it is not that we are to be afraid

of God or scared of God, but that we come into the presence of God acknowledging the

awesomeness of God and the magnificence of God in all things. I think that the intent of

the psalmist is that when we know who God is and that we are not God, we put our trust

into God and that is when we are more open to acknowledging the receiving the blessings

which God bestows upon us. Life becomes better when we know that everything is not

dependant upon ourselves but that God is the one who watches over us, protects us and

guides us all of the days of our lives.

How is it that you ‘fear the LORD’?

Verse for the week of August 29th:
Hallelujah! Happy are they who fear the LORDand have great delight in God’s commandments!(Psalm 112:1)
The whole of Psalm 112 is an encouragement for people to take seriously faith in Godand seek after God’s commandments. This psalm is similar in nature to both Psalm 1 andPsalm 111. The psalm is uplifting the notion of how faith in God helps and is of greatbenefit to the believer.
The psalm proclaims that those who fear the LORD and delight in God’s commandmentswill have descendants that will be mighty in the land; wealth and riches will be intheir house; their righteousness will last forever; they will never be shaken; they willbe merciful and full of compassion—to name some of the benefits that the psalmistproclaims.
The question that I want to reflect upon with this verse is what it means to fear theLORD. When we read this phrase, most people I think tend to translate the word fearwith the notion of being afraid. Thus, it is read by many as happy are those who areafraid of God. But is this really what the text is saying. After all are we to be afraid ofGod—are we to be scared of God. Some individuals may be and normally when this isthe case, those people may not think about this as a way to happiness.
So, what does it mean to fear the LORD? The word fear may be better translatedas ‘awe.’ That when it talks about the fear of the LORD it is really meaning somethingcloser to awe—a sense of wonder and/or reverence. That it is not that we are to be afraidof God or scared of God, but that we come into the presence of God acknowledging theawesomeness of God and the magnificence of God in all things. I think that the intent ofthe psalmist is that when we know who God is and that we are not God, we put our trustinto God and that is when we are more open to acknowledging the receiving the blessingswhich God bestows upon us. Life becomes better when we know that everything is notdependant upon ourselves but that God is the one who watches over us, protects us andguides us all of the days of our lives.
How is it that you ‘fear the LORD’?

Verse for the week of August 22nd (Psalm 103:1):

Admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:30:16 +0000

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless God’s holy name.

(Psalm 103:1)

I must admit that I used to struggle with this verse many years ago. Growing up within the Lutheran Church, we never used some of the ‘other services’ within the LBW (i.e.Morning Prayer p. 131; Vespers p. 142; or Responsive Prayer p.161) rather we only used Setting 1 & Setting 2. The reason that I mention this is that within the Holy Communion settings we never used the words ‘Let us bless the Lord.’ We may have said things like ‘The Lord bless us…’ {p. 74 LBW} or ‘you (God) have blessed us with thesegifts…’ {p. 68 LBW}.
Thus, I am not sure where I came to the conclusion that we do not bless the Lord, but rather it is only God who blesses us. It seems to me that I never really encounter a notion that we bless God but only that it is God who blesses us.
Then, during seminary—we began using all the services within the LBW so that as people studying to be pastor we would be familiar with them and comfortable leading them and using them in a variety of settings within congregations. I remember one day,we were using the Morning Prayer Service {p. 131 LBW} and there it was—part of the liturgy where we say or sing ‘Let us bless the Lord.’ I can even remember not singing the response ‘Thanks be to God.’ The reason that I did not complete the response was that it struck me as odd—can I really bless God? Can I say those words with integrity?How can I a sinner in need or redeeming bless the Lord? Isn’t I who needs God’s Blessing?
So, being a student—it seemed natural to begin a study about this phrase and was my conclusion that it is only God who can bless wrong. Could I say with integrity, ‘Let us bless the Lord?’
I started by looking up the definition of bless. For after all, what does this word literally mean?
In the dictionary there are many definitions listed—some are: 1) to consecrate; 2)to glorify; 3) to invoke divine favor upon. In my mind I tended to think about the definitions 1 and 3 which seems to be more to be what God does and not what we do to God. However, the second definition—to glorify makes sense. That the word bless is insome ways similar to the words: glorify or praise.
Within a Hebrew dictionary—it lists the Hebrew word for bless when used with God ‘Bless God’ the intent of this phrase is to declare God as the origin of power for success, prosperity, or fertility. Hence, praising God for how God bestows blessings upon us—for everything comes from God and by saying ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul’ is actually a statement of belief that God is the source and origin of all things and that we are acknowledging God for all that He has done.

Verse for the week of August 15th:

Admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:13:36 +0000

Arise, O God, and rule the earth, for you shall take all nations for your own. (Psalm 82:8)

Psalm 82 speaks of God presiding over a court case where other gods are on trial. This is surprising in both content and character. Through this description of God presiding over a trial, it celebrates God’s reign. What is interesting to me is that as the psalm speaks of God’s reign, it does so not as a state or condition of things, but as something that is happening—an unfinished story. This may stretch our understanding for most of us do not necessarily think about God’s reign as something that is an unfinished story. Most of us tend to think about God in more static terms—that everything is all set. This psalm recounts to us that God’s reign is an active force and is at work now and will continue to be even as time marches on. But what does this mean? How do we understand this notion? As I reflect upon this, I recall Jesus’ words, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand.’ When I hear these words they speak to me claiming that God is present and active in the world—for the kingdom is at hand, yet it is not yet complete. God’s reign is not done in totality, but it is still a work in process. I think that this is good news, for it means that everything is not decided—we do not live with a fatalistic worldview (things are not set in stone so to speak). The future is not already written. The world can change— the weak and orphan can be saved, the humble and needed can be defended, the weak and poor can be rescued, people can be delivered from the power of the wicked. It calls us to take seriously the Lord’s Prayer, ‘thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ Or it means that even while we are sinful beings, we can still make a difference in our community and world. The last verse of the psalm (v. 8 ) is a prayer that is used some in the Old Testament (a prayer for when Israel moved the Ark of the Covenant—Numbers 10:35) as a symbol of the Lord’s intervention in the affairs of the earth. We pray that God would arise— continue to be active and working in our world. For it is only through God’s action that can sustain us and bring about the salvation of the world.

Verse for the week of August 8th:

Admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:10:11 +0000

Surely, our heart rejoices in you, for in your holy name we put our trust.

(Psalm 33:21)

Psalm 33 is hymn of praise with a specific purpose. It proclaims the Lord as the one in

whom the righteous may place their trust and hope. The author calls us to place our trust

in God’s holy name.

This is a message that needs to be heard within our society. Many may say that they

place their trust in the Lord, yet don’t turn everything over to God. It is human nature to

attempt to hold on to things and keep working at them until we can overcome whatever

we are facing. It is difficult in many ways to truly seek to trust in the Lord at all times.

This verse reminds me of a story I came across many years ago. The story tells of

a circus that came to town. Everyone came to see all the performers and enjoy the

entertainment. This circus was known for their high wire acrobat. He would do amazing

things on this wire that spanned quite a distance. The high wire walker would start out

with basic things—just walking across the wire, doing some spins and the like. Then

the man would bring out some props. One of his props was a wheelbarrow. In using

these props, he would call out: ‘Do you think that I can walk across this wire pushing the

wheelbarrow?’

And the crowd would shout, ‘YES, we do’.

Then the man would ask, ‘Do you think that I could walk across this wire with the

wheelbarrow full of stuff?’

And the crowd would shout, ‘YES, we do.’

Then the man would ask, ‘ Do you really believe that I could walk across this wire with

the wheelbarrow full of stuff?’

And the crowd again would shout, ‘YES, we do!’

Then the man on the high wire, would say to the crowd, ‘OK, who is going to climb up

here and get in the wheelbarrow?’

And silence fell over the crowd.

You see, it is one thing to stay at a safe distance and announce that you think the man

could do it. It is another thing to truly trust that the man could accomplish this when you

climb into the wheelbarrow.

This passage is really asking us to climb into God’s wheelbarrow and trust him for

everything.

Verse for the week of August 1st:

Admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:42:19 +0000

Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all you who dwell in the world.

(Psalm 49:1)

Psalm 49 is a psalm that is announcing to those who hear these words of instruction about

how to live one’s life. In verse one, the author is proclaiming that this is a message for

all to hear and calling them to pay attention (give ear).

The psalm goes on to announce that one needs to rely upon God and not other things.

The word of advice that the psalmist is saying is for all who dwell in the world is that

even if one is rich and has substantial means—the person still dies and their wealth does

not gain them an advantage in understanding or wisdom. The psalmist is calling upon

all people—of high degree and low, of rich and poor—to realize that there is more to life

Within our own culture, it is easy to get caught up in the materialism of our age. We are

told that we are defined by what we have (our stuff), by have kind of car we drive, by the

type of house that we live in, by the label of the clothes that we wear and so on and so

on. Our culture teaches us that our life is to work towards getting stuff and what society

However, this psalm calls us to stop and understand that this is not true. The psalmist

writes in a way that calls upon all people to hear his message about what is truly

important in life and I wonder if it is was a call to a new way of life.

This whole psalm reminds me of some of the words of Jesus. Jesus asks his disciples and

the crowd what good is it if one gains the whole world, yet forfeit’s one life (Mark 8:36-

37). I wonder if this psalm forms the foundation for these words of Jesus.

These words challenge us about how we life our lives. They call us to reflect and

meditate upon what is the goal of our lives and what is it that we are truly searching after.

Are we seeking to get all that we can? Are we seeking to build up for ourselves treasures

in this world? Are we seeking to gain a lot of wealth?

This psalm and words of Jesus remind us that these things will not bring about TRUE

satisfaction in life or TRUE happiness. That purpose or meaning in life can not be found

in things or wealth, but in something else. Our faith teaches us that the something else

we are searching for is actually a person—Jesus. And this is a message that needs to

be proclaimed to all who dwell in the whole world and that they need to give ear to the

message of Jesus Christ and his love.

Verse for the week of July 25th:

Admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:10:31 +0000

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me sage; you stretch forth your hand

against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me.

(Psalm 138:7)

This psalm is a song of whole-heart thanksgiving for salvation. The entire psalm speaks

of giving thanks for all that God has done and in particular for being their in the time of

trouble and granting deliverance.

Verse 7 in particular is a great verse to know and remember for it proclaim that truth that

God is with us always and is the greater deliverer in times of need. The verse begins

with a truth for many of us—that we do walk in the midst of trouble. One could also

substitute for trouble words like need, chaos, difficult times, or even despair. The reality

of the verse is that it acknowledges that we are not God and that we are in the midst of

needing someone more powerful than ourselves in many and numerous circumstances.

This is not easy to always acknowledge. For within society there is a strong voice that

tells us that we should be able to handle anything that comes our way—we are taught

to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and that there isn’t anything that we can not

accomplish or overcome.

While, we may enter into situation thinking this way—the reality in many circumstances

is that we do need help or assistance. This is not bad or even a sign of weakness, but

rather a fact of life. And the good news is that we do not need to face things alone!

We know that when we walk in the midst of trouble, God is with us and stretches forth

his hand to save us and keep us safe.

The psalm calls us to remember this and have on our lips a word of thanksgiving and

acknowledgement that it is God who watches over us and is present with us as we walk

through whatever may come our way.

Verse for the week of July 18th:

Admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:00:34 +0000

LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill?
(Psalm 15:1)

Psalm 15 begins with this question: who may dwell in God’s tabernacle? Who may
abide upon God’s holy hill?
More than likely, this psalm was used as an entrance liturgy or a way to call people to
think about entering into the temple. It calls us to think and contemplate about who is
worthy to enter the temple.
This question, along with the answers that follow, may make us nervous. For most of us,
might quickly answer this question in light of Jesus by saying that no one is worthy—no
one is able to dwell in the tabernacle.
So what does this verse speak to us today?
I think that this verse speaks to us in two ways. First it calls us to take seriously the
holiness of God. That God’s call for us is to live a life that brings glory and honor to
God. Sometimes, we hear the emphasis upon love, forgiveness and grace as a free pass
to do whatever we want because God’s love triumphs over our sin. While it is true that
God forgives all of our sins, this should not be seen as an excuse for us to sin more. St.
Paul asks a similar question. He asks, ‘Should I sin all the more, so that I may experience
God’s grace even more?’ And the answer is clear—Certainly NOT! (Romans 6:1).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this cheap grace.
The psalm calls us to take seriously the way that we live out our lives—for as God is
holy, so we should strive to also live a holy life.
The second way that I think that this verse speaks to us is that it reminds us that we do
not live a compartmentalized life. It calls our attention to the fact that our everyday life
is a part of our faith life. Our faith life—wondering about questions like the ones raised
in Psalm 15:1 are not just for Sunday. Our faith life is made up of just as much as what
we do on the other 6 days of the week as what we do on Sunday. It seeks to bring an
integration to our whole life.

Verse for the week of July 11th:

Admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 09:38:10 +0000

Show me your ways, O LORD, and teach me your paths.

(Psalm 25:4)

Psalm 25 is a psalm of prayer where the author is offering this prayer to God in which he is placing his entire trust in God. Verse 1 (To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul) is a way of beginning the psalm by essentially saying to God—In you I trust. It is a way of acknowledging that his entire life needs to be centered and dependant upon God and God alone.

The author then goes go to pray to God asking God to show His ways and teaching His paths.

When I read this verse in the Psalms, my first thought is that: Yes, I need that and this is my prayer. Yet, many times within my own life sometimes I do not truly live this prayer out. For at times it is easy to fall into the trap to think that I know best and that do I really need to be taught something—for I already have a lot of education and I have read a lot of books—don’t I already know the answers to most questions. After all, I am a pastor and aren’t I supposed to know the answers and the ways of the Lord??

It is easy to get into this trap and think that I do know the answers, and I also can be quick to just make something up and most of the time it sounds reasonable and plausible.

However, this psalm calls to me to realize again and again the fact that we all need to be constantly in God’s Word—that our prayer should be and should always be for God to show us His ways and to teach us His paths.

That as a follower of Jesus, I will never know as much as Jesus and that to be a follower is to desire to constantly strive to be more and more like Jesus. This means that I need to be constantly striving and praying that God will reveal to me His paths and His ways.

Within our confession during worship, we announce ‘We are in bondage to sin and can not free ourselves.’ I think that part of the way that we are in bondage to sin is that it is so easy for us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought and to think that we have all the answers and know the way and path. But we are called to confess to God that we are not God and that even when we ‘think’ we may know the ways of God—we need to be humble and get down on our knees and pray to God that He would show us His ways and His paths.

Help us, O Lord to constantly be grounded in your word and seek to discern how you reveal yourself to us to show us your ways and teach us your paths.

Verse for the week of July 4th:

Admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 09:36:11 +0000

Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great strength

our enemies cringe before you.’

(Psalm 66:3)

{Note: Over the next several weeks I am going to be focusing upon the Psalm and will be attempting to lift up how some of the psalms were used in ages past as well as how they continue to speak to us today.}

The Psalms were understood to be the prayer book for people at the time of Jesus. After the book of Psalms was collected together it began a worship resource for use at the Temple in Jerusalem. The different psalms were used for a variety of purposes. Some were used as laments, others as hymns of praise, and still others used for instructing or for use in meditation.

Psalm 66 is a song that celebrates the deeds of God for the people of God. This psalm may have been used as a processional for the congregation preceding the presentation of offerings made by an individual on behalf of the whole congregation.

The psalm lifts up the deeds that God has done. Verse 3—the verse for this week plainly states that God’s deeds are awesome. That God has done magnificent things for the people of God and that because of God’s displays of His deeds others cringe before God. The rest of the psalm recounts some of those deeds—turned the sea into dry land (referencing the crossing of the red sea) and even though we were in prison you still lead us to a land of abundance (probably also a reference to the Hebrew people escape from Egypt to the promise land). The psalm also has some vague references that could be almost anything—but surely God has listened to our prayer.

The whole point is that in the company of the congregation, the people of faith proclaim that God was been faithful and that His deeds have been marvelous throughout time. And that we give thanks to God for how He has acted over time in big ways and in small ways.

This should also be our hymn of praise to God as we gather. For we also need to remember how awesome God’s deeds are and recount them in prayer, songs, and other expressions of thanksgiving.

It is easy to lean on God during the difficult times. But during the good times, sometimes we tend to give ourselves more credit than God.

We need to take time to say to God—How awesome are your deeds! O God. And then recount how we have seen God act throughout our lives and we have seen and experienced God mighty acts of love.