God's Plans
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle C
Martin Luther considered Psalm 118 his favorite. He wrote, "This is the psalm that I love ... for it has often served me well and has helped me out of grave troubles, when neither emperor, kings, wise men, clever men, nor saints could have helped me."
Ancient Israel would have agreed. Psalm 118 was used in the Passover celebrations. In fact, Psalms 113-118, the so-called Egyptian Hallel (from which we get Hallelujah, or praise), were sung by the Levites in the temple as the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the afternoon before the Passover meal. The same psalms were again sung in the homes as part of the Passover Seder meal. The concluding Psalm 118 is Israel's thanksgiving for the steadfast love of God shown in their deliverance from slavery and death in the exodus. Psalm 118 would have been recited by the disciples at the Last Supper (as good Jews, they would have known it by heart). Pharaoh had his plans, God had other plans. Hallelujah!
Another phrase from the psalm is equally familiar to us: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 118:26). In all four gospels, those words are used by the crowd to praise and honor Jesus on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
One more: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). That is a horrible translation -- it should be rendered, "This is the day the Lord has acted ..." and that is why we find the lectionary bringing it back to us on Easter Sunday. As a traditional call to worship, these words are a reminder to Christians that every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, the Lord's Day, the day on which the Lord has acted and is still active. Indeed, in that amazing event, the world's plans were definitely not God's plans. Hallelujah!
The original situation of this psalm of thanksgiving is lost to history, but it may very well have royal associations. It is easy to hear it as the song of a victorious king -- perhaps King David himself -- entering the city in triumphal procession after defeating Israel's enemies. "Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord!" (Psalm 118:19) cries the king, in the victory liturgy.
"This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter" (Psalm 118:20), respond the sentries, atop the wall -- as other soldiers, below, unbar the great doors and swing them wide, to welcome the triumphant procession on its way up to the high altar, where the king will make a public sacrifice of thanksgiving.
"O Lord, save us!" cry the people, in verse 25. The "save us" in Hebrew is yesha, the linguistic root of the names "Joshua" and "Jesus." The messianic associations are plain to see. The New Testament cry, "Hosanna!" is a transliterated form of the Hebrew yesha, in a particularly emphatic form.1 Save us! Now!
That was the cry of the crowds that greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, so long ago. They had their own ideas of what to expect. They were looking for a conquering hero, a Messiah who would overthrow the hated Roman occupiers and restore Israel to the independence it had known under King David. Hosanna! Save us! Now! But God's plans were different.
As that auspicious week would go on, the people quickly turned on Jesus when it became apparent that he would not be the leader that many had hoped. We know how that week ended -- betrayal, torture, and finally murder. That would be the end of him. But God had other plans.
The week following would begin differently. Early -- before daybreak -- something happened that changed everything. Resurrection. Who could have guessed? God's plans.
Over and over throughout history that scenario has been replayed. Scripture is full of such stories. Abraham was an aging Bedouin destined to ancient obscurity without a son and heir, but God had other plans. Joseph was the bratty little kid who was such a handful that his brothers sold him into slavery hoping to never see or hear from him again, but God had other plans. David was just a shepherd boy from a backwater little village destined for no particular notice, but the prophet Samuel came to his father Jesse, met the lad, and informed everyone that God had other plans. Saul of Tarsus was a religious fanatic intent on protecting his Hebrew heritage against any challenger, but after an encounter on the Damascus Road, he learned that God had other plans.
Many years ago that great, old, Methodist preacher, Clovis Chappell, said that someday he was going to preach a sermon titled, "But God...." It would be based on the text in Genesis, chapter 50, as Joseph says to his brothers in venerable King James English, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Dr. Chappell said he wanted to count all the places in scripture where the phrase "but God" appeared and use them to teach divine providence, even in the face of monstrous malevolence. In Dr. Chappell's King James Bible, the phrase "but God" appears 43 times. Over and over it comes as God responds to some failure or folly and instead works a blessed outcome.
The most famous of all is the one we will soon celebrate again, another "BUT GOD" event. Listen to the way Peter describes it in his sermon in Jerusalem on Pentecost:
[People] of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
-- Acts 2:22-24 (emphasis mine)
To be sure, the story of Jesus, the cross and the tomb, say very loudly that there is much that is wrong with this world. Horrible things continue to happen -- babies die, mothers get cancer, parents abuse children; we have wars and rumors of wars. Every day's news has a story. But our faith has the rest of the story: in the words of the apostle Paul: "We know that all things [... even the terrible things ...] work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 NRSV). God's plans.
____________
1. James Evans, Stan Purdum, and Carlos Wilton, Hear My Voice: Preaching the Lectionary Psalms (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing, 2006), p. 65.
Ancient Israel would have agreed. Psalm 118 was used in the Passover celebrations. In fact, Psalms 113-118, the so-called Egyptian Hallel (from which we get Hallelujah, or praise), were sung by the Levites in the temple as the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the afternoon before the Passover meal. The same psalms were again sung in the homes as part of the Passover Seder meal. The concluding Psalm 118 is Israel's thanksgiving for the steadfast love of God shown in their deliverance from slavery and death in the exodus. Psalm 118 would have been recited by the disciples at the Last Supper (as good Jews, they would have known it by heart). Pharaoh had his plans, God had other plans. Hallelujah!
Another phrase from the psalm is equally familiar to us: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 118:26). In all four gospels, those words are used by the crowd to praise and honor Jesus on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
One more: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). That is a horrible translation -- it should be rendered, "This is the day the Lord has acted ..." and that is why we find the lectionary bringing it back to us on Easter Sunday. As a traditional call to worship, these words are a reminder to Christians that every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, the Lord's Day, the day on which the Lord has acted and is still active. Indeed, in that amazing event, the world's plans were definitely not God's plans. Hallelujah!
The original situation of this psalm of thanksgiving is lost to history, but it may very well have royal associations. It is easy to hear it as the song of a victorious king -- perhaps King David himself -- entering the city in triumphal procession after defeating Israel's enemies. "Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord!" (Psalm 118:19) cries the king, in the victory liturgy.
"This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter" (Psalm 118:20), respond the sentries, atop the wall -- as other soldiers, below, unbar the great doors and swing them wide, to welcome the triumphant procession on its way up to the high altar, where the king will make a public sacrifice of thanksgiving.
"O Lord, save us!" cry the people, in verse 25. The "save us" in Hebrew is yesha, the linguistic root of the names "Joshua" and "Jesus." The messianic associations are plain to see. The New Testament cry, "Hosanna!" is a transliterated form of the Hebrew yesha, in a particularly emphatic form.1 Save us! Now!
That was the cry of the crowds that greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, so long ago. They had their own ideas of what to expect. They were looking for a conquering hero, a Messiah who would overthrow the hated Roman occupiers and restore Israel to the independence it had known under King David. Hosanna! Save us! Now! But God's plans were different.
As that auspicious week would go on, the people quickly turned on Jesus when it became apparent that he would not be the leader that many had hoped. We know how that week ended -- betrayal, torture, and finally murder. That would be the end of him. But God had other plans.
The week following would begin differently. Early -- before daybreak -- something happened that changed everything. Resurrection. Who could have guessed? God's plans.
Over and over throughout history that scenario has been replayed. Scripture is full of such stories. Abraham was an aging Bedouin destined to ancient obscurity without a son and heir, but God had other plans. Joseph was the bratty little kid who was such a handful that his brothers sold him into slavery hoping to never see or hear from him again, but God had other plans. David was just a shepherd boy from a backwater little village destined for no particular notice, but the prophet Samuel came to his father Jesse, met the lad, and informed everyone that God had other plans. Saul of Tarsus was a religious fanatic intent on protecting his Hebrew heritage against any challenger, but after an encounter on the Damascus Road, he learned that God had other plans.
Many years ago that great, old, Methodist preacher, Clovis Chappell, said that someday he was going to preach a sermon titled, "But God...." It would be based on the text in Genesis, chapter 50, as Joseph says to his brothers in venerable King James English, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Dr. Chappell said he wanted to count all the places in scripture where the phrase "but God" appeared and use them to teach divine providence, even in the face of monstrous malevolence. In Dr. Chappell's King James Bible, the phrase "but God" appears 43 times. Over and over it comes as God responds to some failure or folly and instead works a blessed outcome.
The most famous of all is the one we will soon celebrate again, another "BUT GOD" event. Listen to the way Peter describes it in his sermon in Jerusalem on Pentecost:
[People] of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
-- Acts 2:22-24 (emphasis mine)
To be sure, the story of Jesus, the cross and the tomb, say very loudly that there is much that is wrong with this world. Horrible things continue to happen -- babies die, mothers get cancer, parents abuse children; we have wars and rumors of wars. Every day's news has a story. But our faith has the rest of the story: in the words of the apostle Paul: "We know that all things [... even the terrible things ...] work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 NRSV). God's plans.
____________
1. James Evans, Stan Purdum, and Carlos Wilton, Hear My Voice: Preaching the Lectionary Psalms (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing, 2006), p. 65.
