Psalm 97
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
Bracketed by the language of praise, this psalm tackles an issue that does not much concern the church these days. For contemporary Christians in North America, idols are something out of teen fashion magazines or television shows where people embarrass themselves trying to gain the glitter of momentary fame. But for a biblical people, idolatry is -- or should be -- serious business.
Idolatry has to do with breaking covenant with God. It has to do with turning away from our sovereign creator God and giving our allegiance to other "gods." Idolatry, finally, has to do with our own infidelity to the one God of Israel, the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ. The worship of false gods or images is nothing new. From the golden calf (Exodus 32:4) to the Baal cults, to the Roman gods, and on into our history as a people of faith, we have wrestled with idols. The attraction, of course, is understandable. Idols can be seen, felt, and touched. Idols also tend to offer easy answers and quick solutions, and idols always lure us away from fidelity to the one God of Israel.
It's an easy thing to glance back through the lens of history and cast a judgmental eye on those who would worship statues or fertility gods or golden calves. But in reading this psalm through, the question arises. What are the idols to which Christian people succumb in these early years of the twenty-first century? Has the so-called post-modern age outgrown idolatry? Or has the contemporary community merely traded in the statues of old for new idols?
It can be said with little fear of contradiction that we contemporary folk do not sit in a place of privilege or freedom from guilt here. Idolatry continues in the church today, perhaps more so than in the past because no one wishes to address the topic. While it may not take the form of following after the cult of Baal, it does exist.
It might be a good exercise for a contemporary congregation to meditate upon idolatry and the forms it takes in today's churches. What are the idols? How do they lead us away from God? What are the consequences of contemporary idolatry? How might the church work its way back to fidelity to the covenant with God?
This, perhaps, is no easy task. But there are few that are more significant in terms of the future of God's church.
Idolatry has to do with breaking covenant with God. It has to do with turning away from our sovereign creator God and giving our allegiance to other "gods." Idolatry, finally, has to do with our own infidelity to the one God of Israel, the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ. The worship of false gods or images is nothing new. From the golden calf (Exodus 32:4) to the Baal cults, to the Roman gods, and on into our history as a people of faith, we have wrestled with idols. The attraction, of course, is understandable. Idols can be seen, felt, and touched. Idols also tend to offer easy answers and quick solutions, and idols always lure us away from fidelity to the one God of Israel.
It's an easy thing to glance back through the lens of history and cast a judgmental eye on those who would worship statues or fertility gods or golden calves. But in reading this psalm through, the question arises. What are the idols to which Christian people succumb in these early years of the twenty-first century? Has the so-called post-modern age outgrown idolatry? Or has the contemporary community merely traded in the statues of old for new idols?
It can be said with little fear of contradiction that we contemporary folk do not sit in a place of privilege or freedom from guilt here. Idolatry continues in the church today, perhaps more so than in the past because no one wishes to address the topic. While it may not take the form of following after the cult of Baal, it does exist.
It might be a good exercise for a contemporary congregation to meditate upon idolatry and the forms it takes in today's churches. What are the idols? How do they lead us away from God? What are the consequences of contemporary idolatry? How might the church work its way back to fidelity to the covenant with God?
This, perhaps, is no easy task. But there are few that are more significant in terms of the future of God's church.
