The Message of the Psalms. Lent IV Sing to the world. Ps 117:1. Praise the Lord, all ye nations! Extol him, all ye people. So far in this series of sermons we have explored, firstly, each individual’s relationship to God, illustrated in the Psalms, and then how the body of the church, all of the Christian community relates to God. Today I want to look at the Christian’s relationship to the wider world, how we as Christians share the excitement, the triumph of Easter and show Christ’s example to the wider world. But we should start by looking back at the life of the Israelites five thousand years B.C., when the Psalms were sung, and later written down, to give ourselves a time frame, a perspective. The Israelites, and latterly the Jews, have never cared much about trying to convert other people to their faith. They are not a missionary religion, a proselytising religion, trying to encourage others to join them. Look back through centuries to try to picture their world as they saw it and experienced it. Our time machine isn’t that reliable, because, try as we might, we can’t help viewing their world from a modern perspective. In the early centuries the Israelite tribes, with their strict religious rules, set out in the early books of the Torah, were competing against other, older, religions. The Children of Israel wanted to keep their God for themselves. Their God was a powerful God who lived on the top of Mount Sinai, in thunder and smoke, from where the Ten Commandments were given to their leader, Moses. And God had made a covenant, a promise, to protect them, his own chosen people. The Israelites were more concerned about preserving themselves than spreading their religious beliefs. It therefore seems odd that Psalm 117 starts with these words: Praise the Lord, all ye nations! Extol him, all ye people. (The authorised version says, praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles). Why should the Israelites ask the whole world, other religions, to join in their song of thanks and praise. They weren’t trying to attract converts to their religion. The reason is simple. It was because it was the only way that they could adequately discharge their responsibility of praising Yahweh, God, by bringing in the rest of the world, even non-believers, to share their praise and thanksgiving. They wanted everyone to praise God for his promise to them. They were the covenant people. Only if we look at the psalm through modern eyes does the psalm seem to refer to Gentiles. And of course we can and should re-interpret the words. The Israelites were searching, waiting for the Messiah, the Christ. We can say with absolute confidence that we have found Him. We know about Jesus, Son of God, and we know that He came for us, to bring us back to Him. Our belief starts with the historical Jesus, man and God on earth, seen by historical people, not a myth, not an imaginary figure, and the wonderful events of Easter, which we recall and celebrate in a few weeks. And the covenant between God and his chosen people, the Israelites, is now given to us, his new Covenant people. We are chosen by God. The early Christians were charged to spread the good news, not only to the Jews, but to the whole world. The Great commission to spread the gospel is recorded in Matthew’s gospel and then by St Luke in his gospel, and in his longer book, Acts of the Apostles, ye shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. St Paul was the apostle who was charged with bringing the gospel to the Gentiles, preaching the gospel, telling the whole world that we could all share in the covenant promises of God, those promises given first of all to the Jews, and then to the whole world. Christianity is not just a Jewish sect. Let me quote directly from Paul, in his letter to the Romans: For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised (in other words the Jews) to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. And he quotes Isaiah, the root of Jesse shall come, he who rises to rule the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles have hope. And he underlines it again: On some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offerings of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So let’s recap. We start in the psalms with the covenant to the chosen people, the Israelites, and then see how, through Christ, the promise, extends to the world, to those who proclaim themselves Christians. We are all included in the covenant, with the command to proclaim or preach his message, his gospel. But not everyone can be a preacher. Not everyone can be involved in direct mission, preaching. It doesn’t matter. We’re all made differently. Everyone has different gifts, we each have to use the gifts God has given us. St Paul underlines that, writing to the Christians in Rome: so we, who are many ,are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, and he lists them: prophecy, in proportion to faith, ministry, in ministering, the teacher, in teaching, the exhorter, in exhortation, the giver, in generosity, the leader, in diligence, the compassionate, in cheerfulness: all these gifts of the Spirit. There are different ways of showing the world that you are Christian. Our Christian duty is to reflect the love of God, in our love for other people. And so we obey the second great commandment, Love your neighbour as yourself, a commandment so important that it is repeated in all three synoptic gospels, that is the first three gospels. In other by helping others you are showing yourself to be a Christian in a very concrete way. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves, as Paul puts it. Jesus himself used stories to illustrate these qualities. The Good Samaritan story is the best known example. We show that we are Christian by our behaviour, by being aware of other people’s needs, by responding to them, by not judging others. This has been described as indirect mission. These are the marks of the true Christian. And there are examples of such selfless people throughout the Christian ages. From modern times, we remember some of the names; Florence Nightingale, Edith Cavell, Mother Teresa, and those people who get on with their job, working in hospitals, hospices, AIDS clinics, and in the mission field, not just preaching but living alongside people, sharing with them, in trouble, distress, poverty. With the strength coming from the Holy Spirit, people will notice that there is something special, something different about you. Take heart from that. And those qualities are infectious. They spread to other people, who share in God’s reflected love. We are so privileged to be able to pass on God’s love in this way. And there’s something else, you will get back more in love, in joy than you ever expected. May this holy and thoughtful season of Lent restore you, refresh you and strengthen you in faith and love, as we approach the great festival of Easter. |