Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
"Yonder is the sea, great and wide!" The beach is the perfect place to get in touch with the grandeur of God's creative wonder. Preferably, this is a beach with few sunbathers and fewer skimpy bathing suits. Free of such distraction, the timeless rhythm of the waves can work its way into the soul. Pressing bare feet into ever-changing but ever-similar sand reminds the spirit that God, too, is ever-changing yet always the same. The salt scent of the breeze moves the spirit into an ancient, primal place and calls the heart to see God's Spirit hovering over the waters at the beginning of creation. And the horizon? That shifting line where sky and sea meld into one is a resting and birthing place for vision and hope. It pulls scattered thoughts toward a focused and sacred future, and it leaves a tainted past behind.
It's a good thing to stop once in a while to drink in the amazing wonders of God. It doesn't need to be the beach, of course. Ohio or Missouri work well, too. As this psalm so beautifully suggests, the location doesn't matter. It could be the mountains, the plains, or even a small town in upstate New York. God's incredible, life-giving Spirit is everywhere. And it is powerfully evident as we survey the wonders of creation.
Wherever you are, what's important is not so much the address you type into your GPS. What matters is the stopping. What matters is the complete halt to business as usual. What matters is that moment one takes to drink in unspeakable glories of God.
Without that pause, life becomes a whirlwind of doing. Without that simple break to take it all in, minutes and hours suddenly turn into a lifetime passed without the life-giving touch of wonder. How tragic to see a life come to a close when that life has been void of wonder.
Perhaps this psalm can serve as a summons. Could it be that this psalm embodies a call for people of faith to participate in a conspiracy of wonder? Is it possible that each person is called to be a missionary of God's wonder?
Do you know someone who is overly busy? Do you know someone too focused on work? Do you know someone caught in anger or cynicism? Help them to stop. Take them to the beach. Walk with them through a field. Brew them a cup of coffee.
Take a moment. Take this moment and use it to spread God's wonder wherever you are in whatever way you can.
It's a good thing to stop once in a while to drink in the amazing wonders of God. It doesn't need to be the beach, of course. Ohio or Missouri work well, too. As this psalm so beautifully suggests, the location doesn't matter. It could be the mountains, the plains, or even a small town in upstate New York. God's incredible, life-giving Spirit is everywhere. And it is powerfully evident as we survey the wonders of creation.
Wherever you are, what's important is not so much the address you type into your GPS. What matters is the stopping. What matters is the complete halt to business as usual. What matters is that moment one takes to drink in unspeakable glories of God.
Without that pause, life becomes a whirlwind of doing. Without that simple break to take it all in, minutes and hours suddenly turn into a lifetime passed without the life-giving touch of wonder. How tragic to see a life come to a close when that life has been void of wonder.
Perhaps this psalm can serve as a summons. Could it be that this psalm embodies a call for people of faith to participate in a conspiracy of wonder? Is it possible that each person is called to be a missionary of God's wonder?
Do you know someone who is overly busy? Do you know someone too focused on work? Do you know someone caught in anger or cynicism? Help them to stop. Take them to the beach. Walk with them through a field. Brew them a cup of coffee.
Take a moment. Take this moment and use it to spread God's wonder wherever you are in whatever way you can.
