Psalm 9:9-20
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
There is a well-worn adage that all preachers must endure hearing. It has to do with avoiding politics in the pulpit. It comes from all corners of the faith community and serves to drive the pastor into a somnambulant set of choices when it comes to offering God's word to the people on the sabbath day. Whatever you do, we are told, keep politics out of it.
In all candor, there is truth to this adage. We are not, if we are faithful to our calling, to bring our own political perspectives with us into the pulpit. If we are Republicans or Democrats or Green, or whatever, it matters not. It is a mistake bordering on idolatry to take our ideological preconceptions and try to stretch the holy scripture over them like it is so much plastic wrap. We have seen far too much of this in our country, and it needs to stop.
However, with this said, we do need to authentically reclaim our calling to preach the holy scriptures. If we live into the word, and preach from its heart, then we are simply being faithful. If faithfulness has political consequences, if faithful preaching of the word has implications for how we live our lives out as a people or a nation, then so be it.
This psalm appears to be one of those portions of scripture that, if preached authentically, might have such implications. The writer of this piece did not claim membership in a political party. The pen that scratched out these words didn't do so because of party loyalty. It seems that the stronghold of the oppressed is God. Where else, after all, can they turn? It is the governments of the world that cause the oppression, and they are sinking, we are told, into the pits that they themselves have dug.
If one reads on, the going can get tough. How does this psalm address us as a people of faith? How does it speak to us as citizens of a nation for which we pay the bills and step -- or not -- into the voting booth? How does our overarching biblical tradition address this? What exactly is our responsibility to the oppressed and the needy? This question comes, not to partisans, but to a people of faith. These questions don't emerge from a political campaign or an ideological think tank. They emerge from our traditions and our scripture, from our faith and our prayers.
Let the answers come, then, from these sources. As we respond in faith, to our faith, let us not worry about the politics. Let us be concerned, instead, with preaching the word of God faithfully and truthfully as best we have the light. Let the politics of "this world" (1 Corinthians 3:19) stake out its ground and make its claims. But let us root our lives, our hearts, and our actions in God's word and God's word alone.
In all candor, there is truth to this adage. We are not, if we are faithful to our calling, to bring our own political perspectives with us into the pulpit. If we are Republicans or Democrats or Green, or whatever, it matters not. It is a mistake bordering on idolatry to take our ideological preconceptions and try to stretch the holy scripture over them like it is so much plastic wrap. We have seen far too much of this in our country, and it needs to stop.
However, with this said, we do need to authentically reclaim our calling to preach the holy scriptures. If we live into the word, and preach from its heart, then we are simply being faithful. If faithfulness has political consequences, if faithful preaching of the word has implications for how we live our lives out as a people or a nation, then so be it.
This psalm appears to be one of those portions of scripture that, if preached authentically, might have such implications. The writer of this piece did not claim membership in a political party. The pen that scratched out these words didn't do so because of party loyalty. It seems that the stronghold of the oppressed is God. Where else, after all, can they turn? It is the governments of the world that cause the oppression, and they are sinking, we are told, into the pits that they themselves have dug.
If one reads on, the going can get tough. How does this psalm address us as a people of faith? How does it speak to us as citizens of a nation for which we pay the bills and step -- or not -- into the voting booth? How does our overarching biblical tradition address this? What exactly is our responsibility to the oppressed and the needy? This question comes, not to partisans, but to a people of faith. These questions don't emerge from a political campaign or an ideological think tank. They emerge from our traditions and our scripture, from our faith and our prayers.
Let the answers come, then, from these sources. As we respond in faith, to our faith, let us not worry about the politics. Let us be concerned, instead, with preaching the word of God faithfully and truthfully as best we have the light. Let the politics of "this world" (1 Corinthians 3:19) stake out its ground and make its claims. But let us root our lives, our hearts, and our actions in God's word and God's word alone.
