Psalm 81:1, 10-16
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
In talking about God, the conversation usually is about how we feel about God. The discussion will center around our experience of God and around our particular beliefs in and about God. But seldom do we pause to consider the world, or us, from God's point of view. What must God think? What must God feel? What, one wry preacher asked, is going on in the cosmic cranium?
Of course, it is probably folly to try to assign a human response mechanism to the creator of the universe. How could a grain of sand perceive the beach, let alone the ocean? Folly or no, it is difficult to resist simply because a human response is all we have. How else could we imagine God, except through the eyes, heart, and imagination that God gave us?
This psalm makes a run at the process and uncovers a God who seems a tad disappointed. More than that, this God seems to feel a bit shunned as well (he) might! "O that my people would listen to me!" One could almost imagine a brokenhearted God, pining over beloved children who simply will not listen. What parent can't identify with this?
And then, there is a capricious sense to this God. If they would listen to me, then I'd help them out. But no. Since they are not listening I shall "give them over to their stubborn hearts and abandon them to their own council."
It's an interesting exercise. One wonders how it might play out in the contemporary world. Try for a moment to put yourself in God's shoes. Does God have shoes? Likely not, but work with the pastor here! How do you imagine God viewing the people who claim to follow God in the United States in the present year? Look at these people. What must God think? What do you imagine to be God's reaction to how we conduct our affairs as a nation? As a church? Take a moment and write your own psalm from God's point of view. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for an adult study group, or even for a young peoples' group.
After the psalms have been written, compare the different points of view that God has in the differing psalms. What do these perspectives tell us about ourselves? Our faith? Our sense of call as a people? Then come together as a group and pray your way through these points of view and the things they reveal. It can be fun, and it just might spur some new growth and movement of the Spirit!
Of course, it is probably folly to try to assign a human response mechanism to the creator of the universe. How could a grain of sand perceive the beach, let alone the ocean? Folly or no, it is difficult to resist simply because a human response is all we have. How else could we imagine God, except through the eyes, heart, and imagination that God gave us?
This psalm makes a run at the process and uncovers a God who seems a tad disappointed. More than that, this God seems to feel a bit shunned as well (he) might! "O that my people would listen to me!" One could almost imagine a brokenhearted God, pining over beloved children who simply will not listen. What parent can't identify with this?
And then, there is a capricious sense to this God. If they would listen to me, then I'd help them out. But no. Since they are not listening I shall "give them over to their stubborn hearts and abandon them to their own council."
It's an interesting exercise. One wonders how it might play out in the contemporary world. Try for a moment to put yourself in God's shoes. Does God have shoes? Likely not, but work with the pastor here! How do you imagine God viewing the people who claim to follow God in the United States in the present year? Look at these people. What must God think? What do you imagine to be God's reaction to how we conduct our affairs as a nation? As a church? Take a moment and write your own psalm from God's point of view. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for an adult study group, or even for a young peoples' group.
After the psalms have been written, compare the different points of view that God has in the differing psalms. What do these perspectives tell us about ourselves? Our faith? Our sense of call as a people? Then come together as a group and pray your way through these points of view and the things they reveal. It can be fun, and it just might spur some new growth and movement of the Spirit!
