Psalm for the Living

“Psalm for the Living”
Psalm 23
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Fourth Sunday in Lent

Is there no better way to hear Scripture proclaimed than from the mouth of a child?

Psalm 23 may be the most loved psalm, if not the most familiar passage from the entire Bible…

Nearly every person raised in the church can recite all or part of this song from memory.

Even if you don’t know it by heart, you have certainly heard it read countless times.

It is the most requested Scripture passage to be read at funerals.

These are comforting and hopeful words that often help a grieving family get through a difficult day and make some sense of the passing of their loved one.

I use this passage frequently and love the way that it speaks gently about the care God provides at the time of our passing from one life into the next.

However, because of its familiarity, I think that it’s important for us to examine this text
with fresh eyes…

I believe it is important for us to hear this psalm as a song about living.

It offers rich images about routine activity like eating, drinking, and resting.

It challenges us to seek a new perspective – God’s perspective – that might deepen our sense of the most comforting words ever written.

There are nuances we may have missed…

There are different ways of hearing the language that we may not have noticed…

There is an obvious poetic symmetry that offers balance for our whole lives…

This morning let us open new eyes and ears to discover Psalm 23 as The Psalm for the Living.

Let us pray…

God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.

True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.

I am not afraid when you walk at my side.

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.

I am home in the house of God for the rest of my life.

Walk with us this morning, Lord, and help us hear your words with fresh ears.

Send us in the right direction and chase after us if we get off track.

We are listening for you now, O Lord…
…Amen

A fresh reading of Psalm 23 really requires us to go back in time a few thousand years…

We need to hear this psalm as the ancients heard it…

Most of us cling to the lofty language of the 1611 King James translation that “maketh” and “leadeth” and “restoreth”…

The problem with this is that it also “changeth” some of the nuance of meaning found in the original Hebrew.

For example:

In the original Hebrew of Psalm 23, there are exactly 26 words before and after, “you are with me.”

Maybe the psalmist was boldly declaring that “God With Us”
is at the very center of our lives

These are prophetic words for Christians…God with us, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ…

There is Messianic truth in the concept of God with us at the center of life.

The Bible doesn’t promise that God will shield us from trouble…

God doesn’t manipulate life so that bad things never happen to us.

BUT – God’s presence, WITH US, in the midst of our trouble and pain is GUARANTEED!

No wonder the psalmist says: “I shall not want”…

God provides everything we need that is of real and lasting value.

With God at the center of life nothing that matters is missing.

The image of God as Shepherd and us as sheep is palpable…

We can almost feel what it might be like if we hear the original words…

The words for “lie down in green pastures” really mean “to sprawl”…

To be surrounded by the lushness of God’s bounty and to sprawl into it…

To roll around in it like children on the lawn…

Ya know, sheep really aren’t very smart…

Left to their own, they will nibble around from pasture to pasture and wander off until they are lost…

Without an attentive shepherd they will step off a cliff or be devoured by wolves.

If we are sprawled across God’s goodness, we are less likely to wander off.

The “still waters” are better translated “the waters of quietness”…

A place to be still and listen for God…A place where our thirst for God is satisfied…

God is our satisfaction. God is good enough. God exceeds whatever we may think we desire.

Another significant point is that the original is not about the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”
it is “the valley of dark shadow”

We might imagine David fleeing from his enemies and staying in the shadows to avoid detection, all the while not knowing who might be lurking around the next corner.

Yes, this can be a scary and dangerous situation, but it is not overwhelming if we trust God to get us through.

This isn’t an image of certain death; it is an image of LIFE in God’s hands.

That both God’s “rod” and “staff” are a comfort requires our understanding…

The rod is like a slap in the face; it is discipline and correction.

The staff is like a crutch that supports us when we are weak.

They are of equal comfort because we need them both; we need a balance of discipline and help to mold us into the people God wants us to become.

Preparing a “table in the presence of our enemies” isn’t “neener, neener, neener!”

This isn’t about gloating…It’s about showing what God has provided us so that others might see what they too can enjoy by accepting God as the center of their lives.

And, finally, the idea that goodness and mercy will “follow” is really much more urgent…

The word is “hesed” – to pursue…

God’s goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life…

Sounds a lot like prevenient grace…God pursues us and invites us to place him at the center of our lives so that we may dwell in his house for ever and ever.

As comforting as it may be to hear this psalm at someone’s funeral, I hope you now hear it as a psalm for the living…

It implies that God is with us, but God is not ours to own.

The God who shepherds us to life also gives life to the world.

The table to which we are invited is one to which the whole world is also invited.

When you place “God with us” at the center of your life, your every need will be satisfied and there will be no need to be selfish or exclusive about the abundance God offers.

Amen.

Diversity

Reading the Bible to seek confirmation of what we think we "know" is dishonest and unfaithful. The world God created is diverse in its culture, its people, its traditions, and its understandings. This great diversity comes from God. The Bible challenges us to see the diversity of creation as God sees it. This means that sometimes we will encounter Scripture that confuses us, that angers us, that causes us to question what we think we "know." This is how we develop our true relationship with God. We get angry. We apologize. We beg. We ask forgiveness. We are surprised. We get angry. We give thanks. We love. Ours is a complex relationship because God is a complex and wonderful Being.

Trust for the Journey

“Trust for the Journey”

Psalm 121
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Second Sunday in Lent

Psalm 121 is one of the most familiar and loved psalms in the Psalter.

It even made its way into pop culture in the 1960’s movie, “The Sound of Music”…

At the end of the film, when the vonTrapp family is preparing to flee from the Nazis, the Mother Abbess reassures Maria with these words:
“I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help!”

The psalmist also seems to consider this a song about trusting God for protection no matter where we go…

It might have been a prayer the ancients offered whenever they set off on a long journey.

It seeks and trusts God to provide for safe travel…
it is not unlike our prayers for travel mercies.

Beyond this obvious analysis of what Psalm 121 meant to its original audience, I wonder what it means for us…

What words of comfort do we hear?

What images of God’s care do we see?

How does this ancient song help us along our journey of faith?

Let us pray…

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you, Almighty God, In Jesus’ name…Amen

Psalm 121 has been a prayer for travelers for centuries…

It is said that David Livingstone prayed this psalm the morning he left England for his African missionary journey in 1840.

Even so, verses 7 and 8 move us to understand that the psalmist’s very life is the object of God’s care… [Verse 7-8]

This psalm is really about the journey of life…
from birth to death and beyond…

This is a song we can reach for whenever we need assurance…

·         When our life is in turmoil…

·         When the path seems treacherous…

·         When we begin to think we are ineffective or failing to accomplish anything…

The psalmist gives us a place to go for help…
“I lift up mine eyes unto the hills – toward God – from whence cometh my help!”

The idea of God’s activity in our world today seems problematic for us…

The ancient Israelites held an image of God who was present in their everyday lives…

They believed the stories of the Burning Bush, of God speaking to Moses,
and the Pillars of Fire and Cloud…

They took it for granted that God listened to their prayers and that God responded…

They saw signs of God’s power everywhere they looked…
Not as proof of God, but as affirmation of their faith.

For us, things aren’t so simple…

We are so enamored of our science and technology that we have forgotten to leave room for God’s power to care for us…

We rely so heavily on our own ability, our personal success,
our skills, our brains, our courage…

That we forget to ever think we might actually be getting a little help from God

Why look to the “hills” when we are so happily self-sufficient?

The psalmist reminds us of our humanity and our inherent need for God’s help…

He tells us of a God who doesn’t even need to sleep and who looks out for us when we don’t notice…

[Insert Herkimer story from “Strength for Service”]

In a way, this story shows how God works with us…

Like the clay in this story, God works on us even when we are asleep.

How many times have you gone to sleep with a problem or question only to wake the next morning with the answer, or at least a clearer head?

When big decisions are needed we often say, “Sleep on it.”

God keeps working on our problems 24/7…

God is never out to lunch or on vacation…

There is NO PLACE, NO TIME, and NO CIRCUMSTANCE that is outside God’s care

I think that is the point of Psalm 121…

God protects us along our life’s journey; we simply need to trust God.

Trust takes faith AND the willingness to let God be in charge.

I also think that it is important for us to connect this psalm to our life as disciples of Jesus Christ

Discipleship is a journey, not a destination.

It is a difficult journey with many challenges that call us to do things we would not ordinarily choose to do…

We must make unselfish choices…

We will be inconvenienced…

Our comfortable lives will be disrupted…

We will have to work with people we may not like very much;
we will have to give away stuff that belongs to us;
we will be asked to donate money that we could be spending on ourselves.

Discipleship is a call to follow the way of Jesus, the example of Jesus.

Jesus’ journey led Him finally to the cross…

The good news is that God was even there, caring for Jesus…

As we follow Jesus on that way, we can rest assured that God will be there with us every step of the way…

[Read verses 5-8]

This is such a perfect promise…

Promises like this are exactly what the ancients placed their trust in…

This is the kind of faith that enabled them to leave Egypt and eventually get to the Promised Land.

This is the kind of faith that sustained them through the Babylonian Exile.

This is the kind of faith that comforted during the Holocaust.

This is the kind of faith that trusts without proof, no matter how difficult the journey.

Where is our faith this morning?

Are your eyes looking to God or to something else?

Even as our world slips, stumbles, and falls, do you trust God to keep us safe?

Do you really believe that the Lord will keep you from this time on and forevermore?

Scripture says it; I believe it; and that settles it.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen

The Joy of Forgiveness

“The Joy of Forgiveness”
Psalm 32
Sunday, March 13, 2011
First Sunday in Lent

Reading Psalm 32 we might conclude that it is a song of thanksgiving because of the happiness it expresses and the “cause and effect” analysis it portrays…

Such a conclusion is not entirely wrong.

We might also hear it as a wisdom psalm because of the wise – almost proverb-like – teaching contained in its final four verses…

This too is not entirely wrong.

Most scholars, however, look at the combination of these two types of literature and focus on the entire nature of the song and place it in a grouping called “penitential psalms.”

Even though there is no specific confession of sin here, there is a vivid image of the personal experience of confessing sin and the joy that comes at receiving God’s forgiveness.

Let us pray…

Take my lips, O Lord, and speak through them.

Take our minds and think through them.

Take our hearts and set them on fire.

In Jesus’ name…Amen

The question that comes to mind today is: “How can we experience the joy of forgiveness unless we first acknowledge our sin and confess?”

On Wednesday evening we began this series based on Psalms by looking at Psalm 51.

This is thought to be King David’s confession of his sin with Bathsheba.

We talked about the fact that David wasn’t able to come to this confession until the prophet Nathan pointed out the sin and forced David to recognize the terrible thing he had done.

This good and righteous king did not see his own sin and, therefore, could not realize his need for forgiveness.

Maybe that’s part of what we need to see in Psalm 32 today…

Even the righteous King David didn’t recognize his own sin…

What does it mean to be righteous?

I think that sometimes we misunderstand this word: “righteous” and it causes us to be too hard on ourselves.

We have this image that righteous people are perfect, moral, upright individuals who always do the right thing and stay on the path.

This is an ethical understanding of maintaining a state of moral purity.

But, we need to hear how the Hebrew text really refers us to righteousness as God’s saving actions…

Only God is completely righteous and it is God’s righteousness that offers hope for redemption from sin.

For us, being righteous doesn’t mean being perfect, being blameless, or being right…

For us, to be righteous is to be forgiven…To be a witness to God’s grace.

The psalmist this morning is clear: Silence about our sin causes suffering.

V3: “While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.”

Our silence, our failure to acknowledge our own sin, has a devastating effect on us – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

V1: “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven.”

V5 (paraphrased): ‘When I acknowledged my sin and did not hide from it,
God forgave my guilt.’

John Wesley said that:
“We are guilty of sinning against God, which deeply affects the character and quality of our life. And because our sin is primarily an action against God, whose will and purpose is the source and end of all that is, we need God to deal with the reality of our guilt. We need God to forgive and pardon us, to reconcile us to the communion of love with God.”

All this talk of sin, confession, and divine forgiveness doesn’t seem to resonate with many contemporary folk.

We don’t like to think of ourselves as sinners…

We certainly don’t seem to think in terms of sin as an explanation for what’s wrong with our culture, our families, our politics, or our world.

Our failure to acknowledge sin may explain the general lack of accountability that has become more and more apparent around the globe.

Maybe if we could revive this notion of sin and the need we have for forgiveness, we could help turn the tide of aggression and the moral struggles much of the world is engaged in.

Maybe a little dose of accountability would be good for everyone.

Our misunderstanding of sin and forgiveness has led to our uncanny ability to justify
almost anything…
to rationalize our behavior and give ourselves permission to do almost anything…
that makes us feel good,
that doesn’t directly hurt someone else,
or that satisfies our pleasure or greed, or satisfies our ego.

And yet, Scripture is clear…

Even the great King David suffered the pangs of guilt and needed God’s forgiveness;

Our psalmist this morning reminds us that happiness is found in forgiveness;

If we silently refuse to acknowledge our sin we will suffer physically and spiritually;

When we humble ourselves before God we are preserved from trouble and filled with joy

There is an old Scottish proverb that says: “Confession is good for the soul.”

This is truer than we want to admit…

Paul told the Romans: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
(Romans 10:9)

Confession isn’t just good for you, it is essential to salvation.

Every Scripture passage dealing with salvation through Jesus Christ is conditional on our confession that Jesus is Lord of our lives…

This cannot be true if we are still clinging to the idea that our human ingenuity or initiative can somehow make up for our sins and call it “good.”

If we are to accept the grace of God that Jesus offers we must be willing to confess our sins before God and bow in humble dependence on God’s steadfast mercy, forgiveness, and love.

There is no other way.

Finally, it’s important we notice the change that takes place in the last four verses of the psalm…

The speaker shifts from talking to God to talking to us…

He tells us not to be stubborn like a mule… (V 9)

If we refuse to listen to what this psalm is trying to teach us, we will pay the price.

But, if we pay attention, God’s steadfast love will surround us and we will be glad in the Lord because we will find true joy in God’s forgiveness…

The thing is, we cannot be forgiven of that which we do not confess to God.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen

Have Mercy on Me, O God

“Have Mercy on Me, O God”
Psalm 51:1-17
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Ash Wednesday

It is helpful, first, to realize the background of this psalm…

The story begins innocently enough: "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go forth to battle..." (2 Samuel 11:1). But this time the king is staying home. The onetime sling-shotting, swashbuckling, songwriting soldier is sitting this one out.

And then late one afternoon it happens. The old warrior is bored with the soaps and talk shows and takes a stroll out onto the veranda. But wait a minute! He notices a woman; a "very beautiful woman" says the Hebrew text; taking a dip in the pool next door.

Then the former man of action goes into action. A couple of calls gives him the woman's name and reveals that her husband is away with the army. The king sends for Bathsheba and she comes to the palace. They have a few gin and tonics. They make love. Then she goes home, and that's that.

A few months later, there's a message for the king. David opens the envelope and reads it. Two words in Hebrew: harah anoki. "I'm pregnant. Bathsheba" Again, the king acts. To account for the pregnancy he brings her husband back from the front. "Go home and sleep with your lovely wife," he says to him, slipping the soldier a bottle from the royal wine cellar. But Uriah refuses the offer and instead sleeps with the servants out on the lovely lawn. 

The plot thickens and the story sickens. The king orders General Joab to put Uriah where the fighting is heaviest. Word comes that Uriah has been killed in action. The king does the magnanimous thing – He marries the broken-hearted war widow. 

End of the story? Not quite. One day the prophet Nathan shows up at the palace. He tells the king about a rich man who has stolen a poor man's only lamb and slaughtered it for dinner. The king is enraged. "What? Who is this guy? Tell me, and we'll royally nail him!"

"You're the guy!" says Nathan. David is devastated. And this psalm, says our heading, is the sort of prayer that fits such a situation. When there's big time trouble, you call in Psalm 51.

(James Limburg, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Luther Seminary)

Let us pray…

Lord, we come into this season of psalms to hear your Word and learn from you.

Bless us as we listen for you.

In Jesus’ name…Amen

Psalm 51 is the prayer of a man in great distress at the realization of his personal sin…

It is also a prayer we can call upon at times when we feel separated from God
because of sin…

After all, that IS what sin is – separating ourselves from God by the choices we make and the things we do.

The focus of this psalm is obviously on repentance…

The psalmist acknowledges his sin;

He asks God for forgiveness;

He accepts whatever consequences God may send his way;

He asks God’s help to make him a better person and keep him from sinning again in the future.

This is a familiar pattern for us as we frequently offer our own prayers of confession in worship.

There are a couple things about this psalm, however, that I think offer us new insight into this part of our relationship with God…

When we come to God in confession we must acknowledge our guilt and
feel remorse for our action…

God’s response to true confession is both cleansing and transforming.

All sin, no matter how seemingly minor it may be, is sin against God…

There is no such thing as a sin that does not touch God in some way…

The choices we make that lead us down the wrong path...

The things we do that do not fit within God’s will for our lives…

A little white lie; an inappropriate email; or an unkind remark – all these things hurt God because they hurt God’s people.

All sin, then, calls for us to recognize and acknowledge our shortcomings…

And all sin challenges us to actually be sorry that we did the wrong thing, said the hurtful words, had the horrible thought, or took that stamp from the office.

This part of our relationship with God is about looking at our entire lives as belonging to God…

Every choice we make, every action and reaction, should be evaluated based on what we believe God would want us to do.

This reality check will help us know when to go to God in confession and how to approach God in humility and love.

The other side of this relationship is God’s side…

It is important that we understand this word “mercy” that the psalmist seeks…

The Hebrew word that is translated “mercy” here comes from the root word for “womb”

In other words, there is a clearly feminine, maternal image at the root of “mercy”

God’s mercy…God’s love for us is like the love of a woman for the child she carries in her womb…

It is strong, protective, connected, and nourishing…

This is an image of God’s mercy wrapping around us, caring for us, and keeping us from harm….

This is an inclusive image that lets us know how much we are loved and how God is ready to embrace us – even in our sinfulness – and surround us with nurturing forgiveness.

We may come to God with a spirit broken by our sin and our regret, but God responds with a new beginning, a fresh start, a new clean spirit, born in the womb of God’s infinitely merciful grace and love for us.

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy.”

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”

We come to God and God responds…

Then let us give God all the glory:

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen

A Moment of Glory; a Lifetime of Service

“A Moment of Glory; a Lifetime of Service”
Matthew 17:1-9
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Transfiguration Sunday

The story of Moses on top of Mount Sinai is one of several episodes known as “theophanies”…

A “theophany” is: “An appearance of God that is perceptible to human sight.”

The burning bush is another example, as are the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud seen by the Israelites as they escaped Egypt.

Samuel and Isaiah, Amos and Ezekiel, each perceived an appearance of God.

AND, each was transformed, transfigured, if you will – given an exalted or spiritual appearance that changed them, inside and out, for the better…

Each one left their moment in the glory of God and went out to live
a lifetime of service to God.

Matthew’s gospel this morning tells us the story of another “theophany” – the Transfiguration of Christ; an appearance of God that reveals once and for all the true identity of Jesus Christ as God with us…

After the Resurrection, the Disciples will use this moment of glory as one of their proofs that Jesus is God and it will greatly influence their life of service to the Lord.

Let us pray…

Lord, we have come to hear your Word and learn what you have in mind for us.

Guide us in our hearing and our learning this morning.

I pray that the words I speak are your words
and that the lessons we take away come from you.

Bless us as we listen for you.

In Jesus’ name…Amen

Usually when we hear this text preached each year, the focus is on Jesus and how this story provides such a clear testimony about his identity.

The story is filled with glorious images like:
…his face shone like the sun; …his clothes became dazzling white

Jesus floats in the sky with Moses – The Law, and Elijah – The Prophets.

Peter is reduced to fearful babbling until God’s own voice interrupts him and says: “Be quiet! This is my Son. Pay attention and listen to Him!”

It’s all about Jesus…usually.

Today I want us to take a slightly different perspective on this story…

Yes, this is a miraculous moment in the life and ministry of Jesus.

What is often overlooked is the transformation of Peter, James, and John.

This theophany – this appearance of God changed these men forever and set them on a path of lifetime service to God.

I have shared with you before how I was called into full time ministry…

I was the Worship Leader in our church and it was time to start the first song.

I was interrupted when the voice of God called to me from the cross on the wall; calling my name and, basically telling me to pay attention!

Nobody else heard it, but they noticed the change on my face and the rest, as they say, is history as I listened to God’s leading me here.

The question for us this morning is: How do you experience theophany and how does it change your life of service to God?

The problem is that most of us don’t think that we are called by God to anything special.

Most Christians rarely feel called to the occupations, relationships, and volunteer activities they are involved with.

We may experience moments of insight, but too often the moments of failure and denial overcome the perceived glory of discernment.

Our doubts and insecurities get in the way of seeing that moms and dads, students and retirees, doctors and janitors, military personnel, taxi drivers, teachers, and coaches, are all called by God into this story.

The Transfiguration isn’t just about Jesus and Peter; it’s about you and me too…We are also called to “listen to Him” and to “get up and do not be afraid.”

This story challenges each one of us to recognize those moments of glory when the presence of God is perceptible to us…

We’ve spent the past few weeks listening to Jesus preach from the side of the mountain about the wonder of being in relationship with God…

We’ve seen the glory of God in promised blessing, salt and light, forgiveness and healing, and the abundance of God’s love.

The story we hear today is our story – a story of God’s presence in our lives that calls us to participate in God’s drama to save, bless, and care for all the world.

Listen to the story and know that we are all called…we each have a lifetime of service to live.

Edification or Demolition?

— Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Two gas stations attendants. One I met at a self-service pump; the other at her desk. The first in rain on a chilly night. The second in the afternoon, but there was no sun in that building.

What caused their differing attitudes, I won’t pretend to know. There may be a host of reasons why the latter attendant was so bitter, and much sympathy spilled on her. But that isn’t the point right now. Edification is the point, a Latin way of saying “building up.” The power to build up other human beings, or else to tear them down, no matter how menial the circumstance or how quick the meeting—that is the power possessed by each member of the body of Christ, and a mighty power indeed.

I had my collar up against the rain. I hunched at the rear of the Nova, had screwed the gas cap off and was running gas into the tank. My hand was numb. Beside me, suddenly, stood the attendant, his hands in his pockets. His presence was not rushing me because it was at peace. He said, “hello,” and a smile flicked across his face. Nor was he some chill stranger, though I did not know him. When he spoke he looked directly into my eyes—without fear, without embarrassment, with neither judgment nor haughtiness nor threat. I, whoever I happened to be; I, whatever my family or my profession; I was there for him in that moment.

He was lean. Dark hair streaked his forehead with the rain. He shook his head slowly when he saw the brown face of my kid looking out the window, and raindrops flew off his chin. I think he laughed. The fill-up seemed to take a long time. I hit $20 on the penny, capped the pipe, handed him the bills and watched while he folded them into his roll. He did not solve some terrible trouble of mine. Nor did he save me from disaster or fix something I couldn’t fix. Nevertheless, this attendant did the extraordinary.

He shook my hand. He smiled one more time, and to me he said, “Thank you.” I admit it: This is a minor and nearly forgettable incident. And it should be unworthy of a column. Except that when I slid back into the Nova, I stopped a moment before turning the key and Thanne said, “Why are you smiling?” Drip, drip and a slowly spreading smile. The fellow had built me up. He had edified me.

I never saw him again.

Neither did I ever see the other attendant again. But I remember her too. She kept her separated seat while I filled my thirsty car. No matter to that. Most attendants don’t pop out of the station for every person that jerks the handle. But when I entered the building, still she kept the seat, her eyes downward, gazing at the top of her desk. No book to read. Just staring.

I held out my money. “Whadda-ya want me to do with that?" she said. “Well, to take it,” I said. “I’m paying for the gas.” “So how much was it?” “Twenty.”

There were lines from her nose to the corners of her mouth. Sullen lines. Anger, for some reason or other. And I was, it seemed, an intrusion in her life. She snapped the bills from my hand and bedded them in the slots of her register. She was chewing gum. It cracked like biddy-whips. She was whorling her hair with a forefinger.

I stood there too long, I think. She said, still without looking at me, “Your car stuck? You waiting for something?” “No.” I slid disquieted into the car and sat awhile. Demolition.

Sadness had made me sad. The day had been torn down utterly.

You say: “But how can I serve the Lord? I’m not important. What I do is so common and of little consequence. Anyone can do what I do.” But I say to you: “Every time you meet another human being you have the opportunity. It’s a chance at holiness. For you will do one of two things. Either you will build him up, or you will tear him down. Either you will acknowledge that she is, or you will make her sorry that she is —sorry, at least, that she is there, with you. You will create, or you will destroy. And the things you dignify or deny are God’s. They are made, each one of them, in God’s own image.”

And I say to you: “There are no useless, minor meetings. There are no dead-end jobs. There are no pointless lives. Swallow your sorrows; forget your grievances and all the hurt your poor life has sustained. Turn your face truly to the human before you and let her, for one pure moment, shine. Think her important, and then she will suspect that she is fashioned of God.”

How do you say “Hello”? Or do you? How do you greet strangers? Are you so proud as to burden your customer, your client, your neighbor, your child, with your tribulations? Even by attitude? Even by crabbiness or gloom? Demolition!

Or do you look them in the eye and grant them peace? Such are the members of the body of Christ—and edification in a service station.

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Reprinted by permission from Ragman and Other Cries of Faith, published by HarperSanFrancisco. Walter Wangerin is a faculty member at Valparaiso University in Indiana, an Evangelical Lutheran Church pastor and author.

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In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen