Telling the Story of Faith
Sermon text for June 24:
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
The grandfather looked lovingly at the beautiful ten month old baby girl in the car seat on the pew beside him. She was such a good baby and sometimes he thought that he loved her more than life itself. This was a special day because he and his wife, the baby’s grandmother, had been given permission to take their grandchild to church.
The baby’s parents were not exactly the church going kind, a fact that caused the grandparents no small amount of heart ache. But this Sunday was special because they had the baby in church. It seemed to the grandfather that the music was especially majestic that morning, the pipe organ particularly beautiful, and even the hymns were the kind that almost made people sing.
Maybe it was the music, or the beautiful gothic architecture, or maybe just the joy of having the baby with them, but it seemed to the grandfather that worship that day was even more meaningful than usual. The whole congregation was singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” when he looked down at his granddaughter. Suddenly, much to his surprise, he was overcome with an emotion that came from somewhere deep inside. It seemed to well up from a place that he was only barely aware existed, and he began to cry softly. Tears of grief filled his eyes and words to the hymn were choked off in his throat. As he stood there confused and embarrassed he heard his own voice in his head and the voice said, “She may never know the joy of a relationship with God. She may never know the comfort and support of the Christian community. I may never get to tell her about how much God loves her.” And a deep sadness settled over his heart for the rest of the worship service.
It is both the joy and the duty of believing parents and grandparents to involve children in the community of faith and to share the story of God’s love. In the Presbyterian Church the congregation joins in the task of interpreting the bible stories in light of what God is doing in our lives. We transmit the faith not just by reading bible stories but by sharing how those stories are formative for us, and how they shape our lives.
I have wondered for many years why so many genuinely faithful parents have children who show none of the outward signs of faith. I do not have the answer, but I have a theory. Faith touches us more deeply and personally than almost any other aspect of life. It seems to emanate from a place that we spend so little time exploring, that when asked to talk about it we often find ourselves at a loss for words. And so we send our children to Sunday School where they hear the stories from others. But what the children really want to know is how the stories have touched our lives. If we cannot share our personal link our children may feel disconnected from the story. They may never understand that God’s story, is our story, is their story, and without that link, church is an exercise in futility.
In our Psalm for this morning there is little doubt that the Psalmist feels a connection to the story. His words are so deeply personal that when he shares the story he is sharing himself. He writes, “Give ear, O my people to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” It is vitally important for the Psalmist that the community hears the story he is going to share. For true believers there is something compelling about the story that almost forces us to share. The prophet Jeremiah expresses this when he says, “If I do not share the story, then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones.”
What the writer of the Psalm shares is his absolute and utter amazement at the wonders of God’s power and love. He tells of God’s “glorious deeds and the wonders he has done.” He tells the story of the steadfast love of God that surrounds, nurtures, and protects the Chosen People. Even as he writes he knows that it is an old story, passed down from generation to generation from the time of the Patriarch and Matriarch, Abraham and Sarah.
“Give ear … to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.” The Psalmist considers the story a sacred trust. It gives definition to his life and it shapes the life of the community. Because God showed steadfast love in the past, the community is assured of God’s love in the present. The community is defined by God’s steadfast love and amazing generosity and glorious deeds.
The Psalmist feels a connection to the story of what God has done in the past and so he lives expectantly, looking for signs of what God is doing in the present. He desperately wants children in the community to feel so connected to the old story that they also live expectantly. He says, “We will not hide the stories from our children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”
Notice the choice of words that the Psalmist uses. They demonstrate amazement at God’s wonders and glorious deeds. Remembering God’s amazing deeds, they taught the people that God’s grace and power can change lives and redeem even impossible circumstances. The idea of redemption was key to the Hebrew faith. More than once the people found themselves in impossible circumstances. The Psalm looks back to the Exodus from Egypt with utter amazement. “In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt … He divided the sea and made the waters stand in a heap … He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink …” These words created a collective memory for the community. Knowing the story made it as if the people whom the Psalmist is addressing were actually there.
I think most of us have some collective memory created by knowing the story. Several years ago my family and I went on a trip to Washington D.C. Along the way we stopped at the battle field at Gettysburg. I am not a very good historian, but walking on the ground where so many had lost their lives, I felt a connection to what had happened there. In a strange way the battle field’s story was my story. I have felt much the same way at various places in Israel – I have an eerie feeling of remembering.
The Hebrews felt a connection to the events of the Exodus just as if they were there and the connection created hope for God’s amazing deeds whenever the people experienced need.
I think about the grandfather whose story began this sermon. I wonder if by God’s amazing grace he has been able to tell the story of God’s love to his granddaughter. And I wonder about us. I wonder if we will find a way to put words to the deep feelings of faith and “utter sayings as of old” to our children and grandchildren.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
The grandfather looked lovingly at the beautiful ten month old baby girl in the car seat on the pew beside him. She was such a good baby and sometimes he thought that he loved her more than life itself. This was a special day because he and his wife, the baby’s grandmother, had been given permission to take their grandchild to church.
The baby’s parents were not exactly the church going kind, a fact that caused the grandparents no small amount of heart ache. But this Sunday was special because they had the baby in church. It seemed to the grandfather that the music was especially majestic that morning, the pipe organ particularly beautiful, and even the hymns were the kind that almost made people sing.
Maybe it was the music, or the beautiful gothic architecture, or maybe just the joy of having the baby with them, but it seemed to the grandfather that worship that day was even more meaningful than usual. The whole congregation was singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” when he looked down at his granddaughter. Suddenly, much to his surprise, he was overcome with an emotion that came from somewhere deep inside. It seemed to well up from a place that he was only barely aware existed, and he began to cry softly. Tears of grief filled his eyes and words to the hymn were choked off in his throat. As he stood there confused and embarrassed he heard his own voice in his head and the voice said, “She may never know the joy of a relationship with God. She may never know the comfort and support of the Christian community. I may never get to tell her about how much God loves her.” And a deep sadness settled over his heart for the rest of the worship service.
It is both the joy and the duty of believing parents and grandparents to involve children in the community of faith and to share the story of God’s love. In the Presbyterian Church the congregation joins in the task of interpreting the bible stories in light of what God is doing in our lives. We transmit the faith not just by reading bible stories but by sharing how those stories are formative for us, and how they shape our lives.
I have wondered for many years why so many genuinely faithful parents have children who show none of the outward signs of faith. I do not have the answer, but I have a theory. Faith touches us more deeply and personally than almost any other aspect of life. It seems to emanate from a place that we spend so little time exploring, that when asked to talk about it we often find ourselves at a loss for words. And so we send our children to Sunday School where they hear the stories from others. But what the children really want to know is how the stories have touched our lives. If we cannot share our personal link our children may feel disconnected from the story. They may never understand that God’s story, is our story, is their story, and without that link, church is an exercise in futility.
In our Psalm for this morning there is little doubt that the Psalmist feels a connection to the story. His words are so deeply personal that when he shares the story he is sharing himself. He writes, “Give ear, O my people to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” It is vitally important for the Psalmist that the community hears the story he is going to share. For true believers there is something compelling about the story that almost forces us to share. The prophet Jeremiah expresses this when he says, “If I do not share the story, then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones.”
What the writer of the Psalm shares is his absolute and utter amazement at the wonders of God’s power and love. He tells of God’s “glorious deeds and the wonders he has done.” He tells the story of the steadfast love of God that surrounds, nurtures, and protects the Chosen People. Even as he writes he knows that it is an old story, passed down from generation to generation from the time of the Patriarch and Matriarch, Abraham and Sarah.
“Give ear … to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.” The Psalmist considers the story a sacred trust. It gives definition to his life and it shapes the life of the community. Because God showed steadfast love in the past, the community is assured of God’s love in the present. The community is defined by God’s steadfast love and amazing generosity and glorious deeds.
The Psalmist feels a connection to the story of what God has done in the past and so he lives expectantly, looking for signs of what God is doing in the present. He desperately wants children in the community to feel so connected to the old story that they also live expectantly. He says, “We will not hide the stories from our children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”
Notice the choice of words that the Psalmist uses. They demonstrate amazement at God’s wonders and glorious deeds. Remembering God’s amazing deeds, they taught the people that God’s grace and power can change lives and redeem even impossible circumstances. The idea of redemption was key to the Hebrew faith. More than once the people found themselves in impossible circumstances. The Psalm looks back to the Exodus from Egypt with utter amazement. “In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt … He divided the sea and made the waters stand in a heap … He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink …” These words created a collective memory for the community. Knowing the story made it as if the people whom the Psalmist is addressing were actually there.
I think most of us have some collective memory created by knowing the story. Several years ago my family and I went on a trip to Washington D.C. Along the way we stopped at the battle field at Gettysburg. I am not a very good historian, but walking on the ground where so many had lost their lives, I felt a connection to what had happened there. In a strange way the battle field’s story was my story. I have felt much the same way at various places in Israel – I have an eerie feeling of remembering.
The Hebrews felt a connection to the events of the Exodus just as if they were there and the connection created hope for God’s amazing deeds whenever the people experienced need.
I think about the grandfather whose story began this sermon. I wonder if by God’s amazing grace he has been able to tell the story of God’s love to his granddaughter. And I wonder about us. I wonder if we will find a way to put words to the deep feelings of faith and “utter sayings as of old” to our children and grandchildren.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 4:56 AM
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