Sermon: A Blessing for Travelers

Vicar Josiah R. Armstrong

Zion Lutheran Church and St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Second Sunday in Lent

15 March 2014

Hearing the Psalms: A Blessing for Travelers

Psalm 121

Grace, Mercy, and Peace are yours in the Name of the Crucified Jesus Christ. Amen.

            In 1960, Jack Kerouac, famed beatnik and writer of American novels and poetry said “Nothing else matters in the world but the kindness of grace, God’s gift to suffering mortals.” Kerouac said this in response to all of the intentional journeying he had done during his life. Kerouac had seen almost all of America in his lifetime, cut short by cancer at the age of 44. He wrote about his travels in several books, the most notable being the American classic On the Road. Jack Kerouac was an inspired and adventurous individual who blessed the world with a contagious desire for travel. In a way, he made his prolific journey OUR journey. He welcomed us to go on the many road trips with him. Along the way, as in the quote I just shared with you, Jack experienced something. He experienced what he calls “the kindness of grace, God’s gift to suffering mortals.” I don’t share Jack’s story with you because it requires some kind of explanation, but because it is true. (Pause) Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor says in her book The Preaching Life that “we are all born seekers.” And I say that our natural sense of seeking and questioning, our natural search for life’s questions and answers takes us on many adventures, many travels, and many journeys. Lent is the perfect season for talking about this journey, the journey we ALL take with our Savior. 

The journey of life isn’t always a sunny road trip to Florida, is it? 

            

What about those times when life’s journey take us down unexpected twists and turns? What if tragedy and unspeakable frustration happen along the way? Those are the moments when we experience the FULL extent of our humanity. Sometimes, life’s journey gets ugly. On the rough, muddy road of life, we might find ourselves, at times, stuck on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere with NO Triple A, with a flat tire and with no one to help us. 

We might ask ourselves, “Where can I look for help?” 

            Psalms 120-134 are called, in the Hebrew, shir-hamma’a lot, or “Songs of Ascent.” All of the songs of ascent are written as direct prayers to God or priestly blessings. In our Psalm for today, Psalm 121, it is believed by Biblical scholars that we actually have TWO speakers in this Psalm. Verses 1 and 2 are spoken by the Psalmist, a traveler. The traveler, while on his/her journey, first asks THAT question: “I lift my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come?” Now, let’s ask Walter Brueggeman’s question from last week: “Who do you image could talk like that?” 

Life’s journey is FULL of many dangers and trials, isn’t it? 

 Old Testament scholar Rolf Jacobsen breaks the dangers on life’s journey into three parts: 1. The Physical  2. The Ecomonic and 3. The Spiritual.  Now, stop and think for a minute: Where are YOU on life’s journey? What do you NEED help with? In what area of your life do you feel like you need to ask for help? 

 If you give someone the chance to share their story about life’s journey, they will probably end up with a laundry list of anxieties as long as the Amazon River! Don’t kid yourselves, folks. There are things you wish could change. There are things that you need help with.  

            After the Traveler asks his question, he makes a confession. In the midst of all of his doubts and questions, he tells the world that, “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” The Traveler KNOWS this to be true. He knows God is a God who accompanies him on life’s journey. Please note that this is NOT a confession to be taken lightly. The Traveler is acknowledging that the FULL EXTENT of his help in THIS lifetime comes from God. This is a God who is NOT some FAR OFF God. 

THIS God meets us WHERE WE ARE on life’s journey, and rescues us. 

In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus explains to Nicodemus what God’s salvation LOOKS LIKE. And, guess what…? Nicodemus DOESN’T GET IT! (Pause) And you know what? YOU don't get it, either! The point is NOT in complete understanding. The point is in our God entering our VERY human lives and journeying WITH US. THIS is how salvation, how RESCUE happens.

            The SECOND speaker in Psalm 121 is believed to be a Priest of some kind. The Traveler asks his question and then makes his confession of faith. FOLLOWING the Traveler’s confession, the Priest takes the REST of the Psalm to sing a BLESSING over him as he continues on his journey. 

And here is your BLESSING:

3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.  

Now…what did you hear? 

What did you hear the Priest say about our God? About the God who meets us on life’s journey? Our God, the God of Jesus Christ, in Cross and Resurrection, is our KEEPER. God is our PROTECTOR. And MOST importantly, God is a God who MAKES His beloved children PROMISES. God has MADE YOU A PROMISE, people of Zion/St. John’s, that He WILL continue to watch over you, keep you, protect you, shield, and guard you. Remember your baptism, my friends. God met you in the waters of your baptism, in the midst of life’s journey, and RESCUED YOU! And now, God KEEPS you, PROTECTS you, and HELPS you. That HELP might not look like what we think it SHOULD look like, but it DOES come, nevertheless. 

The Rev. Dr. Noah Hepler, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Philadelphia, says that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be summed up in a few words. Here is what Pastor Noah says: 

“Despite all evidence to the contrary, God loves you.”  

Despite ALL evidence to the contrary…God LOVES you. 

            As you travel along life’s journey, and you “lift your eyes to the hills,” you might feel alone, scared, and helpless. But, in the midst of that darkness, God is present. God, your KEEPER, is present. And THAT God is rescuing you. Perhaps the GREATEST blessing we could offer our fellow travelers on life’s journey would be to remind them of this TRUTH: 

“Despite all evidence to the contrary, God loves you.” 

And, my friends, you have an assignment! Find someone this week to speak that blessing to. See how they respond.

            When I was a kid, my Dad took my brother and our dog on a hike through the woods. My Dad has always loved the outdoors. It was right when winter was coming screeching to a halt, and the creeks were all frozen over. Well, as they were hiking along their path, taking their journey together, my little brother wandered out onto the ice. The ice broke and he fell through. My Dad raced after him, dragged him out of the freezing water, and carried him all the way back up the hill they had hiked to warm him up in the car. My Dad, while carrying my brother up the hill, hurt his back and exhausted himself to the point of nausea. My brother, when he fell through that ice, probably looked around him. ALL of the evidence, in that scary moment, suggested that he was helpless and that he would freeze and drown. But our Father reached in and rescued his boy. My Dad loved his son SO much that he put himself in danger and even hurt himself in order to save him. Now, what does this sound like? This sounds like the conclusion of our Gospel passage, doesn’t it?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

            Despite ALL evidence to the contrary, in THAT moment, my brother was COMPLETELY loved and COMPLETELY safe. Our God does NOT throw us a life raft! Our God does not keep His distance. God does NOT wait to see if we will make the choice to grab the “inner tube.” NO! That is NOT love and I am SICK TO DEATH of preachers and Christians who continue to say we have some kind of CHOICE in our rescue! Garbage! BULLSH*T! That is NOT love! If my Dad had stood on the bank and tossed my brother an inner tube and shouted to him, “I love you and I really hope you grab that tube,” he would have been an asshole and that is NOT an Abba God that I will worship. That is NOT the Gospel. That is NOT Good News. It might just be News, and it’s probably BAD News. Our God joins us on our journey through the woods, and jumps in the freezing water WITH us, delivering us from evil. THIS is the God who journeys with us and KEEPS us along the many roads we travel. Zion Lutheran Church/St. John’s, 

HERE is the Gospel: Despite ALL evidence to the contrary, God loves you. 

Despite ALL evidence to the contrary

…ALL EVIDENCE…

God loves you. 

God loves you. 

God loves YOU.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.