Finding Faith ... in knowing that God is present during the joy and despair

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Oct. 15, 2023.

This week's gospel: Psalm 23

The Divine Shepherd

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

3 he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

my whole life long.

The message:

Last Saturday … eight days ago now … I awoke in a familiar bed, in a familiar cabin overlooking a familiar lake that we have been fortunate enough to get to visit over the past 25 years.

It is my happy place, you might say. … A gift I’m more grateful for each passing year.

And so, as content as I’ll ever be, as I woke … I sleepily languished a bit, letting my eyes fall on the beautiful autumnal view out the double wide windows of the bedroom’s west side … and I began to let a video of the coming day play out in my mind.

You see … I was full of joy … jubilant in fact … knowing that later that day … I would have the honor of presiding over Lucas and Kadyn’s wedding -- just a lovely young couple whom I had come to know through Lucas’ father whom I went to high school with.

And I gotta say, up to waking up that morning, I was pretty dubious about an early October outdoor wedding in northern Minnesota up to that point.

But it was turning out that it was going to be a fairly terrific early October day in Minnesota’s north country.

Maybe a bit too overcast for an outdoor wedding, especially those poor girls in bridesmaid dresses … but it wasn’t raining, it wasn’t windy and the temps were warm enough to allow me to go with a dress shirt and tie.

That is where my reverie would abruptly end though ..

As soon enough … noticing I was finally beginning to stir, Shelley -- who is always up long before my eyes ever open -- said, “Did you hear about Israel?”

“What about Israel?” I dreamily asked. 

“It’s been attacked!” she said, more dread in her voice than what seemed reasonable on this wonderful morning.

Not fully comprehending, I uttered something like, “What do you mean Israel has been attacked?” … And she went on to read to me the early details of the terrorist attack that took place eight days ago.

As the details slowly sunk in through my sleep fog … the horror of the breadth of the atrocity started forming as a pit in my stomach … stealing all of that early morning peace and wonderment about our world I’d been feeling.

And I distinctly remember staring out the bedroom window at the palette of yellow, orange and red color streaking the trees along the lake’s edge, the deep blue of the morning sky and the mesmerizing white, pillowy clouds …

 … and thinking, “How is all of this beauty that I am looking at possible in God’s amazing creation … right alongside the depth of the horror we humans are capable of committing?”

A couple hours later, over morning coffee at my favorite little diner in Blackduck, emotionally I was torn between my joy of being a part of Lucas and Kadyn’s special day, a day that will be etched in their hearts forever …

… and the abject terror I felt for the thousands of people impacted by the evil acts taking place in Israel, which will leave this very same day etched in their memories for a much different reason.

For Lucas and Kadyn a day that will be marked as the beginning of their lifetime together … their wedding day. And for tens of thousands of others, just halfway around the world, that same day -- Oct. 7 -- will be remembered for shock, death, torture, kidnappings. … Horror.

Two diametrically opposed ends of the spectrum to be remembered on the very same day … in this inexplicable experience we call life.

So, as faithful people, what do we do with the tension between the utter joy this earthly life can bring us … and the horrific atrocities that seemingly take place in equal numbers?

How is it possible to feel the elation we find in God’s creation … while simultaneously knowing that others are suffering something so unimaginable?

The weight of this tension is enough to bring one to despair.

And so I proffer: The only answer is the hope offered to us by the Creator, who is not a standoffish God, but one who is active not only in the past, but the present as well.

Now, you might think, “Sure, it’s easy to find God present in a beautiful wedding ceremony in the middle of a lush green field surrounded by trees exploding in autumnal colors. But where is God present during a heinous terrorist attack killing hundreds?”

It would be too shallow for me to offer up examples when I’m safely halfway around the world from the Middle East. … After all, my backyard has never been a war zone.

But my prayerful hope is that those living right now in the midst of the atrocity in the Middle East can see and feel God’s presence.

For me not to do so would be giving into the temptation to allow despair to win … and faith prevents me from doing so.

So … Faith Family … as familiar as Psalm 23 is to us … I can’t help but believe that it is even just a little more significant to us today.

A Psalm of comfort … one which serves to remind us that God is our shepherd, and as such, he will take care of us.

Yes, there is a lot in the Psalm about taking care of our daily needs. … Ensuring that we get the sustenance we require -- still waters and green pastures and rest.

But there is something even more substantive about Psalm 23 that I think in the good times … in times when we are jubilant … in times of relative comfort … that easily passes through our ears.

And so today, what I ask is that you take particular notice of the middle meat of the Psalm …

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff -- they comfort me.”

That is what a good shepherd does, Faith Family. … Not only do they provide for the daily needs, but a good shepherd keeps us safe as well.

And eventually what are we promised as God’s flock. … That our cups will overflow and goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. … And ultimately that we will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

Faith Family … believing in Psalm 23 is imperative to our faith. … Because believing in the promises of Psalm 23 is called … hope.

And sometimes we distract ourselves with the promises of the future. … Even as faithful people we do this, thinking about the eternal promises God makes us.

But … and this is important … we must remember that hope is NOT about the future.

It’s actually about the present. Hope is for NOW because we believe in a God that is active … in the here and now.

Faith Family … living in a 21st century world where so much information with a tap on our phone … we can easily forget that Jesus entered into this world during a time of deep polarization as well.

War, political division, segregation … great divides among humanity existed 2,000 years ago, just as they do today.

But yet, Jesus lived and ministered to the people of his day out of the same hope we must possess still today: The hope of God’s promises being fulfilled.

And sometimes, just as we feel that we are being swallowed up by the news of the atrocities taking place across the world -- abroad and at home -- clinging to hope is the most faithful act we can commit.

Because just as the Middle East exploded once again eight days ago … well, right here in our backyard, a beautiful love story started with a fairy tale wedding, on a picturesque autumn day in the Minnesota northwoods.

And I assure you, I know that God was present in both places. … And that is the GOOD NEWS on this 20th Sunday after Pentecost … Oct. 15, 2023. … Amen.