The Bungee Cord 12-2-19

Hello,

Last week, I told you that I am planning on “singing songs of the season” as we walk our way to Christmas. The path of this walk is through Advent, and the season is meant to prepare us for the awesome grace of God that comes to us in Jesus….Jesus who came in a manger, Jesus who comes every day in our lives, and Jesus who will come at the end of time to complete Gods will of grace.  This week, the designated Psalm for Sunday’s worship service is selected verses from Psalm 72.

¹ Give the king your justice, O God,
   and your righteousness to a king’s son. ² May he judge your people with righteousness,
   and your poor with justice. ³ May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
   and the hills, in righteousness. ⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
   give deliverance to the needy,
   and crush the oppressor. ⁵ May he live while the sun endures,
   and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. ⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
   like showers that water the earth. ⁷ In his days may righteousness flourish
   and peace abound, until the moon is no more. 

¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   who alone does wondrous things. ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name for ever;
   may his glory fill the whole earth.

One of the most interesting things about Jesus’ birth was the threat that the news of it brought to the king of Israel, Herod. You may remember that when the Wisemen told him that they had come to pay homage to the King of the Jews, Herod was quite taken back.  So taken back was he that he tried to kill the one of whom the Wisemen spoke.

The reason that I mention this detail of the Christmas story is that Psalm 72 is a song to be sung as a blessing to the king, specifically the king of Israel.  Of course, in those days, the tradition was that the King was selected by God, and certainly that tradition held true in the days of the first Kings of Israel as the book of  1 Samuel tells us.  Unfortunately, as time progressed, the one who became the king was not always so God ordained, as in the case of Herod.

Nevertheless, God ordained or not, this Psalm sings of God’s hope for the rule of the king, and notice in this song that God’s main hope is that the people’s lives will be blessed.  It is God’s hope that the King will be an channel of God’s love into the world.

As you and I live in this world, we can sing this song of the season, Psalm 72, because no less is it God’s hope that the people of all nations would receive God’s blessings through those who govern today.  And although the palpable hand of God may not be as clear in the selection of the world’s leaders as it was for Saul, David and Solomon, God’s love for the people whom they govern is crystal clear, crystal clear in Jesus who hung on a cross and walked out of an Easter tomb.  

That is why in the church of which I am a Pastor, the central symbol is the cross of Christ, not the flag of any nation or the emblem of any political party.  Christ died for all people, people of every race and tribe.  God is not American or Russian.  God is not Republican, Democrat, or Communist.   So, it doesn’t matter what country you hail from or which political party you find yourself like-minded, you are welcome in God’s house.  For God wants nothing more than that every person in every land to come to know the depth of God’s love for them.  

Let me extend God’s invitation to come to his house this Sunday and sit beside someone who just might see the world differently than you do.  And as you share a pew with such a person, you will find yourself also sharing your heart with them, because Jesus will hold you both in his heart.  And being mutually held in Jesus heart, you just might find yourself singing Psalm 72  from your heart, praying God’s blessing upon the earthly one who leads you, and the earthly one who leads the one next to you.

Just think what a difference it might make in the world if the air was filled with a countless chorus of voices belting out this song of blessing, Psalm 72.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger