Psalm 16:1-8
1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. 4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Luke 6:39-49
39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
The Two Foundations
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.”
Well with all the rain we've had over the last two and a half days I hope your houses are all still standing and that all your basements and foundations are dry. The psalmist and Jesus both have a lot to say and I would encourage you, since the weather's so “lovely”, to maybe reread these texts over the next few days. But first, I'm going to ask you to focus. I'm going to ask you to focus and let go of everything right now that is distracting you in this very moment. And now I want you to close your eyes. Take in a few deep cleansing breaths. Now put yourself in your happy place: (sitting on your favorite beach or on your deck overlooking your favorite pond or lake, or on that special rock at the top of the mountain, or maybe in the arms of a loved one, or holding a new grandchild). (Pause) Whatever it is for you, take it in, and fully embrace it. (Pause) Notice the peace, the ease, the comfort. (Pause) Notice your sense of freedom and safety, and the absence of all that distracts, irritates, and depletes. (Pause) What does it sound like? (Pause) What do you smell? (Pause) How do you feel? (Pause) Let your shoulders drop. (Pause) Soften your belly. (Pause)
My friends… this is the holy refuge. The place of serenity and security and shalom that the psalmist is singing and rejoicing and delighting in. (Pause) This is the holy dwelling place that gives delight and joy. (Pause) This place is a gift from God to those who love and trust, fully and completely, in God. (Pause)
When you're ready, slowly start to return to this place, while maintaining that peace from your happy place. (Pause)
Don't you wish you could stay there? When we are centered and awash in the peace, the peace of that place, then not only can we be peaceful, we can bring that peace to others.
When our hearts and our minds are attuned to this peace, this peace, that “passes all human understanding”, then we're fully attuned to God, to the very heart of God, as well.
This is a very different way of being, than just making up the thoughts and actions that make us “good people”. This is a different kind of life, lived solely and completely attuned to the desires, not of our hearts, but of God's heart. Walter Bruggeman says “a heart attuned to God endlessly instructs and enlivens and illumines and disciplines the believer.”
Again, this is a very different way of being, and living from: “trying to be kind”, “doing the right thing”, “giving back”, or “being a good person. All of those things are marks of someone who wants to “improve their character”, “live a morally good life”, “be fair-minded” and “just”. There's nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve our character or reshape and refine our ethics and behavior, but where the psalmist and Luke are taking this, is a much deeper level. Foundationally, if you will, it's a radical shift to an awareness of who the author of this ‘character’ is. It's God, and God alone. We can be the nicest, kindest, most generous person, but if we are not rooted in God through Christ Jesus, when the storms of life rage, we will be swept away, because our foundation was built by the ego, and not by Christ.
Biblical Scholar Charles Cousar speaks about the difference and types of character, beautifully. He says, “the good person inevitably acts in ways that are appropriate, fair minded, just.” “Well, that's nothing new”, but he says, “Christian character stems from the awareness that Jesus is our Lord.”
Hearing and acting on God's word to us in the Psalm and Luke, is not only a completely different way of being, it also shifts the focus off of ourselves as the center of the universe, and allows a growing awareness that Jesus is not only our friend, but he is our Savior. He IS our Lord. Friends, without that, we can't hold on to that refuge, that peaceful place we were just at, our happy place, for more than a moment before something erupts and blows us off of our sandy foundation. In a fleeting moment, we get “tossed to and fro”, like Paul says. Paul also says, “when I was a child, I thought like a child, I believed like a child, I acted like a child. When I became an adult, I put away childish ways.”
Yeah…not so much.
So today we have an opportunity to keep going back to that touch stone; to keep going back to that peaceful place, knowing that not only is it the place that's private, and wonderful, and delicious, but also God's already there. God is waiting with you there, so that when the storms of life come, as they inevitably do, you can stand still, you can stand firm and not be afraid. Thanks be to God. Amen.