Psalm 97
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
Christ is born! Amidst the piles of wrapping paper and gifts; across the tables of feasting and family there is the simple, passionate call to rejoice. "The Lord is King! Let the earth rejoice!" Who can deny it? Across Christendom we celebrate the coming of the Christ Child, a new birth, a new chance, a new beginning has come upon us, and all we need do is seize the moment. Carpe diem!
All this is well and good, and a Merry Christmas ought not to be impeded by a preacher's too-serious tone. Yet it needs to be said that there is a small item that slips by us in the psalmist's call to rejoice in the kingship of the Lord. Well, perhaps it's not small.
Living, as we do, in a republic that long ago gave up pretenses to royal families and kings, it is difficult for us to hear the full implications of the resounding statement that the "Lord is king!" And there is no better day to get clear about this than Christmas Day. When we shout with the psalmist that the "Lord is king," we've said a mouthful without realizing it. Then, as now, kings are kind of jealous of their power. They don't appreciate competition. If the Lord God is king, then whoever it is that sits on that golden throne is in for a rude shock. If we truly wanted to update this phrase so that a twenty-first-century American might truly understand it, we would say it like this. "Let's party because God is the president!"
It's a good bet that past, current, and future occupants of the White House might be a little uncomfortable with the idea that the power they wield really isn't their power at all. Of course, there is a place for kings and presidents. There's a role for governments and kingdoms. Building hospitals, roads, schools, and bettering the lot of the people is all within the realm of God's vision for human leadership and government.
Not within the power of kings or presidents is the taking of life. Not within the power of prime ministers or dictators is the destruction of God's creation. Not within the power of any government is the slaughter of innocent people of any nationality or race in indiscriminate warfare.
On Christmas Day as we open our hearts in joy to the coming of our Savior we, as Christians, are called to grow into the realization that our first allegiance is to God and to God alone. It's Christmas Day! For a moment at least, let us be prayerful. Let us be clear. Let us say, "Rejoice, for the Lord is king!"
All this is well and good, and a Merry Christmas ought not to be impeded by a preacher's too-serious tone. Yet it needs to be said that there is a small item that slips by us in the psalmist's call to rejoice in the kingship of the Lord. Well, perhaps it's not small.
Living, as we do, in a republic that long ago gave up pretenses to royal families and kings, it is difficult for us to hear the full implications of the resounding statement that the "Lord is king!" And there is no better day to get clear about this than Christmas Day. When we shout with the psalmist that the "Lord is king," we've said a mouthful without realizing it. Then, as now, kings are kind of jealous of their power. They don't appreciate competition. If the Lord God is king, then whoever it is that sits on that golden throne is in for a rude shock. If we truly wanted to update this phrase so that a twenty-first-century American might truly understand it, we would say it like this. "Let's party because God is the president!"
It's a good bet that past, current, and future occupants of the White House might be a little uncomfortable with the idea that the power they wield really isn't their power at all. Of course, there is a place for kings and presidents. There's a role for governments and kingdoms. Building hospitals, roads, schools, and bettering the lot of the people is all within the realm of God's vision for human leadership and government.
Not within the power of kings or presidents is the taking of life. Not within the power of prime ministers or dictators is the destruction of God's creation. Not within the power of any government is the slaughter of innocent people of any nationality or race in indiscriminate warfare.
On Christmas Day as we open our hearts in joy to the coming of our Savior we, as Christians, are called to grow into the realization that our first allegiance is to God and to God alone. It's Christmas Day! For a moment at least, let us be prayerful. Let us be clear. Let us say, "Rejoice, for the Lord is king!"
