“A TOUCH OF STILLNESS”
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Psalm 46
Galatians 5: 1-15
Psalm 46
God
is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city ofGod
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Galatians 5: 1-15
For freedom Christ has set
us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let
yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every
man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by
the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith,
we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision
counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working
through love.
You were running well; who prevented you from obeying
the truth? Such
persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the
whole batch of dough. I
am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But
whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. But my friends,
why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that
case the offence of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would castrate
themselves!
opportunity for
self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
For the whole law
is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ If,
however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed
by one another.
I.
Each
year, around this time of the year, I take time to reflect on my of ministry
with you. I began my 29th
year with you as our pastor back on the 1st of July. I am
also into my 38th year since ordination—first ordained to serve
churches n Davenport , Iowa Evanston , Illinois
My first official
sermon was delivered to the Department of Candidates back when I was being
considered by the Presbytery of Denver for ordination. This sermon was titled “A Touch of Stillness”. We
didn’t have computers back then so my one and only copy of this sermon was
typed with lots of scribbles in the margins.
Just the same, I thought it might be interesting to share with you a
“reworked” version of that 39 year old message …. and yes, I had to make some
cuts because the original sermon was way too long! J What really amazes me in going back to this old
sermon: all the concepts and themes, I
am sure you will recognize, that I have been carrying with me throughout my
entire ministry!!!
“A Touch of Stillness”
A middle
aged Native American Indian came to Chicago
It was no
secret that this man missed the life he left behind him when he was on the reservation
with the large family he loved and the heritage that stood firmly behind his
existence as a Native American. His culture and his family and his style of
living were all things he had to leave behind to survive in the world of a big
city and big business. And remember,
this was almost forty years ago!
One
specific day during his lunch break this man, this native American, was walking
down the street with some of his associates.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks, looped his hand around his ear, and
listened. His friends were amazed at
this strange behavior. This man stood
perfectly still as he listened. All his
friends could hear were the elevated trains and cars on the busy streets.
People were rushing up and down the streets with conversations that made
hearing, listening even more difficult. Amid
all the familiar sounds of the city, they wondered: What could our friend be hearing?
This man
stood still…..waited, and listened to something that his friends could not
hear. After a few moments he took his
friends into the alley and showed them a little cricket that was chirping away
from behind a trash can. This man, by
heritage an Native American Indian, was a skilled listener. He was able to hear something of value to
him…the chirping of the cricket that was almost completely buried…..cloaked by
the sounds of the streets in the large city.
This man
and his friends continued their walk in discussing this simple, unusual experience. They had been sensitized to something
important to their friend and his heritage.
This man learned something about himself….and his past that he could
carry with him his entire life. This man
also learned something even more important.
He was able to experience a phenomenon of being able to commune with his
world, the world of his little friend the cricket, and the world that could exist
apart from all the noises of the streets of the city and of people running from
one place to the next.
“Be Still and Know that I am God”, says
the Psalmist. This scripture comes to
mind in thinking about hearing sounds that might otherwise go
unnoticed. “Be Still and Know that I am God” – is this what we long for? The moments in life when we can hear
God? When we can get away from the
hassles of a busy life in order to be with and know God. The analogy is in hearing the cricket in the
silence of the noises of the streets; or to feel the wind blow; or to see the
growth of a small child as he first reaches out for little toy with his or her
little hand – something I look forward to experiencing with our grandson Tommy
in just a couple of weeks.
There are
two aspects of our talking about the presence of God I would invite you to
consider with me today. First, of all,
we talk about the presence of God in our activities, in our doing things
for others, Second, what about the presence
of God that emerges from our activities in our being with each other as
friends and neighbors. The presence of
God in our doing….and the presence of God in our being…the presence of God
known in a “Touch of Stillness”.
There is one
pre-supposition that can be brought to this discussion. This is a topic and theme I have been
carrying with me throughout my ministry.
Lodged in the confessional standards of the church and the Westminster
Catechism and the question: “What is the
chief end of man (or humankind?)” We
affirm in the answer that our highest goal and achievement is in “glorifying God and enjoying God forever”.
How many times have I referenced this
question from the catechism over the years?
At least a dozen times if not more…..
Let me
suggest we enjoy God and glorify God by recognizing God’s presence with
us. God is with us in our activities.
God is with us in our relationships. God is with us in our doing and our
being.
In this discussion we can also find ourselves amidst personal questions: Where is my life going? Where is God in my life? There seems to be a magnetic longing to enjoy God…enjoy life. Something inside us beckons our giving glory to God. Discovering and affirming God’s presence in our lives is like finding that chirping cricket ….that allows us the freedom to live active, loving, caring, fulfilled lives in all that we do.
The message of active freedom, the presence of God participating in our lives, is found this morning in Galatians. “For Freedom Christ has set us free.” Paul was writing, not as a legalist, but as a free Christian to the people of
Can we be
found like the Galatians running away from the truth that Christ’s love, his
affirming presence, sets us free? We
look at the Easter Cross. Christ died
and then rose for us so that we might be free to live our lives for the glory
of God and for the love of neighbor. We
at times deny God’s presence with us.
Can we ever deny the cross and what Jesus went through for us on that
cross?
We are in
the position of needing to pay close attention to what Paul teaches. To be in Christ is to be free from all the
obstacles that limit us, constraints that can break our relationships,
separations that keep us from honestly facing the perplexing questions of life
as to how we can actively glorify God or actively enjoy God?
There are
many things in the church that excite me.
There are people in this church and in my life that make me feel like I am
glorifying God and enjoy God’s presence.
I cannot deny the reality of these positive feelings. I cannot deny the reality that the power of
the Spirit of God is at work in this Church.
On the other hand, I cannot deny the fact that there are real things in
the world and in the church that are unsettling: sickness, suffering, depression,
loneliness….to mention a few concerns that some of you bring to this place.
God is
with us at all times participating in our breathing, as the poetic words of one
song suggests: “The presence of God is in every breath of air, and in the wisdom of
the children, and the graceful way of flowers in the wind.” We can go a step beyond poetic words and
music in acknowledging the fact that each of us has real feelings. What are the feelings that come from enjoying
God, not in our merely doing things, but in our being together as his
people. What are the feelings that come
from enjoying God and glorifying God?
How does it feel to know God’s presence?
Throughout
the years I have spent a fair share of time struggling with my feelings
relating to the question of the presence of God. I have found myself at times frustrated in
affirming God’s presence in my life. In
his presence I ask:
“O God, toward which end should I direct my life so that I can know you? Learn from you? How does being in your presence allow me to be
all that I am in loving and caring for my neighbor? What about the times when I can’t do more for
my neighbor?”
The
psalmist can help us all find an adequate response to difficult questions.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth
should change, though the mountains
share in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the
mountains tremble with its tumult.
These are
words of intense feeling describing a time of chaos upon the earth. A time of great unrest, anxiety, fear,
disruption of life. One reads along and
finds amid these images describing God as the ever-present fortress—the
powerful words:
Let’s
give it a try. When things are stirring,
the blood is boiling, the anxiety levels rising: Take a deep breath. Be still!
Be still! Be still! Search for and know God.
Be still!
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment