Proper 20/Pentecost 18/Ordinary Time 25
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
Object:
(See Proper 12/Pentecost 10/Ordinary Time 17, Cycle A, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-11, 45b; and see Proper 14/Pentecost 12/Ordinary Time 19, Cycle A, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-6, 16-22, 45b.)
This is our fourth encounter with Psalm 105 in this cycle of the lectionary. The new material this time is verses 37-45, which speaks of God's care of Israel in bringing her out of Egypt, feeding her in the wilderness and helping her take possession of the promised land. There is an obvious link between these verses and the First Lesson for today, as well as an obvious connection to the idea of "providence" -- the matter of who's in control of our world. Christianity does not claim that God always manages the minutiae of our lives, but that at root, our lives are in God's hands. And the word for that is providence.
Providence comes from the same root word as "provide" and "provisions." And it means that, in an ultimate sense, nothing happens that cannot be subject to God's purposes. That is something quite different than saying God plans everything that happens to us. It does say that this is God's world, and that God -- not luck, fate, superstition, astrology, or any other so-called force -- determines the meaning of this life of ours. It also means that no matter how terrible are the things that may happen to us, none of them can separate us from the love of God. Providence means there is a creating, saving possibility in every situation that cannot be destroyed by evil or by anything else.
Back in the 1960s, the U.S. nuclear submarine, Thresher, while on military maneuvers, had something go fatally wrong. It sank with all hands. It was the first nuclear ship casualty and the worst submarine disaster up to that time. As it happened, one crew member, Lt. Commander Raymond A. McCoole, was not on board. Shortly before the Thresher was to sail, McCoole's wife had attempted to open a bottle of liniment. The stopper blew suddenly out of the bottle, spewing the liquid into her eyes and temporarily blinding her. Because of the accident, McCoole had been excused from the maneuver to care for his wife: so he was not on board when the sub went down for good. Some would call that fate: "His number just wasn't up," or "It wasn't meant to be."
Providence doesn't buy the idea of predetermined fates. It declares that neither McCoole nor his mates who died aboard the sub are separated from the love of God. Even if God intervened for some reason to keep McCoole off the boat, that doesn't lessen God's love for those who were on board.
Providence is sometimes used as another name for God: for when we declare our faith in providence over luck, fate, astrology, and superstition, we are expressing our conviction that the agent behind the events in our lives is not the devil, nor blind, uncaring fatalism, nor even something called "the odds."
Rather, we are declaring that we are in the hands of One who loves us, cares for us, guides us, provides for us, and never lets us go.
Providence. It's a great word. God is at work in his world, and will win.
-- S. P.
This is our fourth encounter with Psalm 105 in this cycle of the lectionary. The new material this time is verses 37-45, which speaks of God's care of Israel in bringing her out of Egypt, feeding her in the wilderness and helping her take possession of the promised land. There is an obvious link between these verses and the First Lesson for today, as well as an obvious connection to the idea of "providence" -- the matter of who's in control of our world. Christianity does not claim that God always manages the minutiae of our lives, but that at root, our lives are in God's hands. And the word for that is providence.
Providence comes from the same root word as "provide" and "provisions." And it means that, in an ultimate sense, nothing happens that cannot be subject to God's purposes. That is something quite different than saying God plans everything that happens to us. It does say that this is God's world, and that God -- not luck, fate, superstition, astrology, or any other so-called force -- determines the meaning of this life of ours. It also means that no matter how terrible are the things that may happen to us, none of them can separate us from the love of God. Providence means there is a creating, saving possibility in every situation that cannot be destroyed by evil or by anything else.
Back in the 1960s, the U.S. nuclear submarine, Thresher, while on military maneuvers, had something go fatally wrong. It sank with all hands. It was the first nuclear ship casualty and the worst submarine disaster up to that time. As it happened, one crew member, Lt. Commander Raymond A. McCoole, was not on board. Shortly before the Thresher was to sail, McCoole's wife had attempted to open a bottle of liniment. The stopper blew suddenly out of the bottle, spewing the liquid into her eyes and temporarily blinding her. Because of the accident, McCoole had been excused from the maneuver to care for his wife: so he was not on board when the sub went down for good. Some would call that fate: "His number just wasn't up," or "It wasn't meant to be."
Providence doesn't buy the idea of predetermined fates. It declares that neither McCoole nor his mates who died aboard the sub are separated from the love of God. Even if God intervened for some reason to keep McCoole off the boat, that doesn't lessen God's love for those who were on board.
Providence is sometimes used as another name for God: for when we declare our faith in providence over luck, fate, astrology, and superstition, we are expressing our conviction that the agent behind the events in our lives is not the devil, nor blind, uncaring fatalism, nor even something called "the odds."
Rather, we are declaring that we are in the hands of One who loves us, cares for us, guides us, provides for us, and never lets us go.
Providence. It's a great word. God is at work in his world, and will win.
-- S. P.
