First Congregational
Rev. Barbara Turner Delisle
Psalm 91
Luke 4:1-13
Of Plagues and Pinions
We have entered Lent, a season of reflection and repentance. A time set aside in the Christian Liturgical year to reflect on ones faith life. A time intentionally set apart to repent for how one may not have lived up to one’s baptismal promises: promises “to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as best as we are able; promises to grow in Christian faith, to be a faithful member of the church and to further Christ’s mission in the world.” And as much as we repent for our failures, it is just as important to remember God’s promise of forgiveness and Grace. Lent truly is a time to look for hope amidst the rubble.
This year we have the opportunity to reflect on our faith life during Lent with the help of the Psalms thanks to the beautiful work of Rev. Andrea Ayvazian and photographer Ellen Augarten. Their work invites us into a dialogue with God, if we let it. Debra Band, artist and commentator for the beautiful book of illuminated Psalms I Will Wake the Dawn (which you can look at in the chapel) says, “Scholars describe the Psalms as an inner dialogue between Psalmist and Almighty.” Of the purpose of illuminating psalms she says the imagery “encourages us to participate in a three way conversation between Psalmist, God and ourselves.” (p. XIV) Today we get to consider what Psalm 91 has to say to us as well as what we might be prompted to say to God and/or the Psalmist or to each other upon reading it.
Psalm 91 is a reading traditionally used to usher us into Lent. First, it connects directly to the reading from Luke through the verses 11-12 that the devil quotes. As he tempts Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple the devil says, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,” and here is the quote, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Second, Psalm 91 leads us into the wilderness with all the risk and fear that that represents. In this poem/song the psalmist draws a picture of the rigors of life and speaks of the dangers encountered in the wilderness. There is a huge range of threatening phenomena experienced in the life of that period. There are animal traps, destructive plagues, terror by night and arrows that fly by day from bandits and feudal lords.
Lastly, in answer to those threats, which are unavoidable and out of our control, Psalm 91 assures us of God’s promise that no evil shall befall, no scourge come near, God will be with us in trouble, God will rescue and honor and give long life and salvation. One of the images of protection invoked in this psalm is that of the pinion, a type of pine tree with thick bushy branches that shelters against wind and sun and under which one could hide from marauding bandits and seek protection from flying arrows. (note picture on front of bulletin)
Last week something happened at my house that reminded me of the protection afforded by a pinion tree. My cat, Fenway, was sitting on the window sill in the kitchen quietly watching the little sparrows and chickadees flitting about…a typical morning scene…while I was preparing my lunch and getting ready to leave for work. At one point I began to notice he was getting agitated, meowing and pawing at the window. (Usually this is a sign that another cat is visiting.)
I went over to the window to see what was causing his consternation. What I saw was a strange bird sitting on one of the top branches of a large bushy shrub on the left side of my yard. The bird was about the size of a blue jay but sat upright rather than leaning forward like the jays do. He was beautifully colored, buff front and brown and rust back with a longish tail. As I watched I saw what Fenway was getting so upset about. This bird, which I later found out was a kestrel, was trying to catch one of the littler birds for his breakfast! (In the description in the bird book I discovered that it once was named a sparrow hawk.)
But, the little bird was protected by the closely packed and cross hatched, thin branches of this strange bush in my back yard. Last year I was thinking I would like to cut back or even take that bush out because it offers nothing but tiny green leaves and tiny, non-fragrant white flowers come spring and takes up a lot of space. Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe I need to leave it as a sanctuary for my little bird friends…a place of rest and refuge, even in the winter, from threats that loom larger than they can defend against.
Psalm 91 gives us just such a place to rest as we enter Lent where focus on the suffering of Jesus threatens our sense of peace. It gives us a place to bring our heart when it is being torn at by the plagues and worries of this world.
Are you aware of what plagues you? Is it pictures of the ravaged landscape of
In our exhibit Michael Klein-Berndt rewrote Psalm 91. It was one of those Holy coincidences that it got placed right here at the front of our sanctuary and at the front of the exhibit. I didn’t pre-plan that! I only discovered it after I had decided to focus on the Psalm of the day and then looked around to see if it happened to be one of the ones featured in the exhibit!! Klein-Berndt interprets the psalm in terms of faith and notes that it applies whether you are a rich person who lives on park ave or a poor homeless person living on a park bench.
His understanding of faith is “reliance on something greater than ourselves.” And his interpretation of stepping on the adders and young lion is that through daily practice and with baby steps faith can relieve fear and soothe turmoil. His emphasis lands on the God of YOUR understanding being the one to open your heart and move through you to teach new things… the God of YOUR understanding.
Here is how he re-wrote the psalm:
Those that aspire for peace and serenity need but one thing…
Those that are from park ave or park bench need but one thing…
Faith…reliance on something greater than ourselves.
Release self will, you will be granted trust.
Trust will gain serenity and walk you on the road towards grace…
All of this can be had… with small children steps
Practiced and built on daily … faith can relieve fear
Practiced and built on daily … faith can soothe turmoil
Life will bring heartache or joy … measures of each bring new
Understandings
It is a God of your understanding opening your heart
It is a God of your understanding moving through others to teach us new things
It is a God of your understanding…
In his phrase “a God of your understanding” I find our still speaking God and an emphasis to engage in practices daily that help us to know if and how God is speaking to us. It is only in knowing how God is acting in our life that we are able to identify and resist the temptations that are an ever present reality.
As Fred Anderson, pastor of
Of the option of turning a stone into bread he reminds us of our common pursuit of that for which we hunger. It could be money, a mate, alcohol, sex, a certain type of home, beauty, schooling, prestige, etc. Who among us does not have to fight the temptation to choose some of these things rather than give more money to the cause in
To the temptation of becoming the commander of all the kingdoms of the world he refers to our often even childlike desire to want everything our way. How often does that get in the way of us doing what is for the good of all? Just look at the ridiculous heights to which the democrats and republicans have sunk just to have it their way instead of putting the benefit of all
And to the lure of grandeur on the pinnacle of the temple
Friends, we are fallible human beings, deeply flawed and vulnerable to temptation. We depend on God’s grace and forgiveness as it is so generously and freely given. But, we can also help ourselves…maybe give God a little break! As brothers and sisters in Christ we need each other’s help to live out our baptismal promises. By participating in church activities, attending worship regularly, and engaging in spiritual practices daily we deepen our relationship with God and sharpen our ability to identify God’s action in our life. In these ways we can guard against the plagues. In these ways these very same activities can provide us sanctuary much as a pinion tree provides protection from sun and rain and flying arrows!
May it be so!
Amen.
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