March 6th, 2022 SUNDAY MESSAGE
JOIN US AT 10 AM TODAY!
Sermon Notes:
The last month, as we have celebrated Black History Month, has been a spectacular moment in the life of our church!! The last two weeks, in my opinion, were especially powerful.
I was listening to Pastor Kens sermon in the car about RR and getting fired up
then last week Pastor Johnson Beavens (a guest from Citadel of Faith Church of God in Christ came out and delivered an incredible sermon).
During our series
We tried to look to scripture for moments of Righteous Resistance to know when and how people in our faith history have engaged it.
In BHM, we looked at powerful moments in Black History to see more modern examples of Christians putting this into practice so we could ask ourselves THIS important question:
“where in our culture should we engage in the practice of Righteous Resistance today?!”
As the Pastors have come around this topic, we’ve decided to continue the motif but with a little twist! We are going to transition our focus to seek out more stories of Righteous Resistance…
to see if we can find TRAITS or DISCIPLINES in those stories that can become tools in the arsenal of this biblical practice?
What do I mean by that?
I mean that there are disciplines we can practice that serve as tools of counter-formation to resist the formation machine that is our world today!
…And they are not always going to be what you think.
Sometimes RR, is having a tight grip on HOPE, LOVE, JOY, FAITH in the midst of anger or direct persecution and its more powerful than FORCEFUL OPPOSITION!!
It’s disarming and has the potential to transform the hearts of even the aggressors.
I want to give you an example…
You know that time when a kid in the family does something wrong or irresponsible and they just KNOW the punishment is coming. They’re gonna get yelled at or grounded for weeks and the parents shift tones and say these well-worn words:
“I’m not mad, I’m just
(disappointed) in you”
Their response, instead of anger and instead of some sort of atoning punishment…is a kind of sadness or even grief that cuts deeper, right?
If it works, this is MORE effective than anger. It stabs at the heart like an icicle and you’re like:
“NOOOOO!! Just give me a
punishment so I can know
this is over.”
Psychology Today:
“...the dreaded words "I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed" can wound us more deeply than many more heated retorts. While they assure us of a chilly calm, they do not offer the relief of forgiveness, nor the reassurance of discovering the event didn’t really matter.”
That’s because it really DID matter!
You’ve become so invested in the person or event that they could do better or their lack of doing the right thing became a sadness to you.
It is more LAMENT than ANGER and it communicates:
that the original offense was painful.
That it was so heavy it cannot be remedied with a simple exchange - with punishment or forgiveness - and it leaves the situation unsettled…something more must be done to reconcile the matter.
We have both sides to consider.
For the recipient “disappointment” hits differently and feels more personal.
It pulls at the heart and whereas a simple grounding can be endured and forgotten, the disappointment means you really REALLY messed up.
For the parent/authority: this is a powerful way to deal with an offense. A tool that should not be overused but be applied only when the situation demands but it is an option for correction nonetheless.
There is also risk though. It may not work. You may genuinely have been hurt and the person, upon hearing it, simply shrugs their shoulders and says…“Okay.”
I think this is a great example of the way BIBLICAL LAMENT works! GRIEF and TEARS are sometimes a more CRITICAL and EFFECTIVE form of RIGHTEOUS RESISTANCE than direct opposition to move people.
I want you to open your bibles to a PSALM of Lament which will be our main text this morning. Psalm 79…
This song is written as a reply and critique of a great evil that has taken place against the Israelites.
God’s people undertook a brutal invasion and taken into Exile.
They are being held captive by the Babylonian Empire.
So this song is written to express communal and national distress and disappointment!
The LAMENT is directed TO GOD and it says this…
GOD
Psalm 79 - A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have DEFILED your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to RUBBLE.
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. 3 They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. 4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
This destruction is deep, it’s personal, and its thorough. It’s not like they took a quick shot to the chin, it’s desolation and they have been utterly defeated!
These word paint a STRIKING picture
focusing on the temple first but then on the death AND
the defilement of the ground from Israelite bloodshed. This makes their holy land unclean!
…even common respect given to fallen enemies, like burying their dead, has been denied and…
Asaph then recounts the mocking taunts from Israel’s enemies.
This is an incredibly dark moment in the history of God’s people and they are pouring out their grief to God.
Have you been in desolation?! Utterly destroyed? Perhaps you weren’t told you could just come to God with it?
The Psalmist digs in even more. He questions God…verse 5 says:
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; 7 for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
That’s some HARSH language- is it not? Is that even biblical to say that? It is a VISCERAL response TO the devastation! As Asaph BEGS God to DO SOMETHING. He lays a petition in front of God...TAKE ACTION and destroy my enemies! BUT…
Aren’t we supposed to forgive?
Aren’t we supposed to turn the other cheek?
But sometimes that’s not the honest truth about the way we actually feel!
AND SOMETIMES, impassioned cries, with the strongest possible rhetoric are necessary to gain the attention of those with the power to do something even God!
So, to stifle, suppress, or reduce the lament into a “more reasonable level” is a denial of the pain itself and it may render the critique of the situation powerless to MOVE those who need to be moved!
The psalmist gives us today PERMISSION to have visceral, passionate response TO our circumstances and TO our enemies and to do so in front of God Himself.
The next section takes a quick shift, it says…
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of YOUR name; deliver us and forgive our sins for YOUR name’s sake.10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
There's a heart check as the Psalmist says, “God, if we - or the past generations - have done wrong, forgive us and express mercy over us.”
Then he appeals to God based on God’s own reputation. Everyone knows we are YOUR people so YOUR NAME is on the line here!! …Finally there is a submissive… acknowledgement that everything is in the hands of God.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die. 12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.
…and the Psalm ends with a final proclamation of faith and praise!
NOW, this is just one example of a Lament Psalm…where God’s people go to God, broken, understanding that they are at the end of their means, clamoring for any angle to say “God DO SOMETHING!” and it also shouts from the rooftops the conditions in which we exist are NOT ACCEPTABLE!!
This is not equity or Justice.
This is not human thriving
This is not RIGHT!
Now, I have a commentary/book about the usage of Psalms throughout history. What’s unique and interesting about this book is that it shows you how, believe it or not, certain psalms come INTO and OUT OF style depending on the cultural trends of the day and the cultural location of the person reading it.
In times of difficulty psalms like this are embraced BUT
In a season of peace and unity, Psalms like this were OMITTED from the lectionary, hymns, and popular usage in favor of Psalms of peace, gratitude, and unity!
It’s evidence that we all tend to get caught up in our cultural moment…
I imagine those in the streets of Ukraine may identify with and feel the force of this Psalm.
From another vantage point, as a middle-class, white American in the 21st Century, with a relatively high level of peace, security, this psalm is second-hand at best
we may even critique this and say, this is rough, you’re taking it too far!
As a person of color in the same American context, you may identify with Asaph too.
“How long oh Lord?! How long must we wait to see the fullness of true equity and freedom?”
SO, reading the Psalms, in general, help us step outside of our cultural placement and our seasonal experience to share in the experience of others!
However, if you think you can critique the Psalmist, acting like you’re above asking God to “rain fire from heaven on your enemies”, you can rest in knowing that you are likely in a season of peace, sit on a throne resources, nestled in a blanket of warm advantages,
but, worse, numb to the reality of suffering that could be right outside your front door or in your streets.
Let me put it another way!! The Psalms remind us that God’s people have felt ALL OF THE SEASONS! Rage, Repentance, Sorrow, Disappointment, abundance, loss, and Victory…it’s ALL IN HERE!!
SO OFTEN, what we might consider as “normal” or “proper” styles & CONTENT in worship or liturgical expression is just a reflection of our cultural moment.
Placing emphasis on one over the other just reveals your hand and shows the short-sightedness of your placement in history.
BUT, when you’ve identified with a Lament, TRULY IDENTIFY WITH IT, you know that it is balm for a weary soul.
When we think of Lament as a practice or discipline of resistance, you have to apply to both sides of the coin.
1. On the part of those in a position of DISTRESS crying out in LAMENT
There is a developed theology and an acute awareness of suffering because they are confronted by it regularly.
They are more aware of the things they DON’T have or services they do NOT have access to.
They experience more loss than majority cultures and
They are constantly aware they are DIFFERENT.
SO, a psalm or worship that arises out of this community, often cries out for
deliverance/justice,
Change and
asks God to make things right!
Soong Chan Rah writes: “Lament recognizes the struggles of life and cries out for JUSTICE against existing injustices. The status quo is not to be celebrated. If tax rates favor the rich, they should be challenged. Redistribution of wealth would not be a catastrophe but instead a blessing in contrast to the existing state of economic inequality.”
In other words “Lament is the language of suffering”
On the part of those in the position of POWER, wealth, or high position…
When it is healthy it is thanksgiving or gratitude because they are able to keep, at the forefront of their minds, that it may not always be this way.
But when it’s not, centers a theology of celebration as absolute.
it takes for granted their position, and develops a theology of triumphalism and entitlement.
Instead of deliverance, they seek stability & sustainability.
They do not seek change but durability in a world which is working in their favor.”
Walter Brueggemann agrees saying: “Christian communities arising from (this) do not want their lives changed, because their lives are in a good place... Home prices and stocks should continue to rise unabated, while interest rates should remain low to borrow more money to feed a lifestyle to which they have become accustomed”
They do not expect their faith to begin in a cry but in celebration and protection of the status quo
So, “Praise is the language of those in power.”
There needs to be a balance of both PRAISE & LAMENT in healthy doses, would you agree? Well almost one THIRD of the 150 Psalms are laments, complaints, and protests!
Interestingly, CCLI which is the copyright publisher that takes account for worship songs and Contemporary Worship music played in churches (an overwhelmingly white resource btw) reflects themes of praise: “How Great Is Our God,” “Great are you Lord” “Living Hope”
when you look at the top 100 songs- less than 5 could be considered Lament!
So, it seems, the Majority of Churches in America are AVOIDING lament or have no occasion for them! “Any theological reflection that emerges from the suffering...can be MINIMIZED in the onslaught of the triumphalism.” - W. Breugg.”
You know who has a robust theology of Lament, deliverance, and taking their cries to God?? Christians who hold a minority status in the context they live.
The historically black church and the rich heritage of the Spirituals
Asian churches
Predominantly Latino churches
The liturgical imbalance of the worship of majority cultures is bearing witness against themselves and revealing the heart that those from a theology of suffering, familiar with lament, can smell it out immediately!
Three things LAMENT has the power to accomplish…
Lament is Righteous Resistance to:
1. Developing a calloused or weary heart who does not care about others or cannot process their own grief.
Heart of stone into a heart of flesh
Break my heart for what breaks yours, God.
Instead, develop a sensitive heart that feels, has a visceral effect, and has a passionate response to that which breaks God's heart
2. RR Resists a privileged heart removed from the realities of the pain, suffering, and sorrow of others who can ignore the problems of the disadvantaged.
Weep with those who weep
3. Despair. When you bring a complaint against God, you go to God. So it draws you to God instead of away, given to despair. While some think, “you can’t say that to God,” you are invited by God to bring your complaints to him.
4. It is resistance against a triumphalist heart (like National exceptionalism) which lacks humility and refuses to acknowledge it’s own limitations, admit failure, short- comings, sin, weakness, or any other acknowledgement of your need of God.
When I am weak, you are strong.
Instead develop humility and hope in God who is higher and who’s ways are not your ways and thoughts not your thoughts
5. RR against injustice. Sometimes more than a critique of aggression, a critique of sadness moves the heart of those in power…Claudia in 2016.
During one of the tumultuous political seasons I had to privilege of being corrected by a student in my college ministry.
She is a Latina woman who was angry about a few discrepancies that she observed. One being that a certain political candidate was being passively or explicitly endorsed by evangelicals.
She had conversations with people. She went to some protests heralding signs that including sharp critiques of this candidate
She posted on her twitter feed, along with a few expletives, that her humanity was being devalued and even attacked.
Some Elders came to me and said, this is getting out of hand. She is in your ministry and you have a good relationship with her, can you tell her to stop using the “F” word on social media. I thought yeah that sounds reasonable. So, I catch her after the service and say “hey, I understand that you have this opinion. That’s fine but could you just tone down? Could you, you know, stop using the “f-word?”
She gave me kind of a blank stare and said, “okay” and quickly walked away from me.
1 ½ to 2 months later, she calls me and says I’ve been really mad at you but I love you too much to walk away. So, I’m inviting myself over to your house for dinner and after you all put your kids to bed, I am going to confront you for what you said to me and I am asking you not to speak back or respond until I am finished. Then we can discuss it more.”
When she began to speak, she said that:
Everyone has a line…
I believe the line was crossed.
Who are you to determine what my line is?
You don’t know what its like to be a Latina woman going to church in an all white church every Sunday.
You don’t know what it’s like to hear how people talk about me.
Or my family who doesn’t speak English
To passively endorse candidates who call my family rapists and killers
If I believe a line has been crossed that deserves a few f words, then who are you to tell me to tone it down.
You see, her twitter feed was just a platform for her lament! It was an honest outpouring of her anger, her fear, her sadness, and the pressure she felt as a Latino woman in a racist culture gaining more power to increase that pressure and I tried to tame it! I tried to attenuate and say can you speak a little less loud, a little less sharp? I was taking my positions and perspective, moralizing it and projecting it onto her lived experience of which I knew nothing!! I told her that she was being to sharp, her voice too loud, without listening to a word the voice had to say:
She shouldn’t have used social media!
It was the platform she had and by-the-way she was contending with the loud voices of church leaders and pastors who have a powerful Sunday morning platform every Sunday and chose NOT to use it on her behalf.
She could have gone about it a better way?
I thought the same thing and then I remembered that another woman in the church, also Latino, wrote a lengthy post of FB about the same thing. It was well worded polluted but made her point. It followed all the rules and you know how many of the leaders had read it? NONE. It turns out the only reason the elders knew about the other one is because there was a college student in our church cussing on social media.
ONLY the lamentation was heard…
Does this mean we can all just go off the rails throwing f-bombs at people on facebook? NO.
Eventually the LAMENTATION of that woman reached me, a leader in power in that same organization that tried to silence her.
It cut through the numbing layers of my institutional rules and sense of proper conduct - it took a little push - but, eventually, I heard the cry, it broke my heart, and I was MOVED.
If my heart had been more in tune with the sound of Lament, perhaps I would have recognized it sooner and given her a better platform to be heard instead of adding to the pressure of her distress.
What I am saying is that perhaps we need to LISTEN better,
ask more questions,
not minimize their pain,
and give people permission to pour out their complaints and be heard.
Don’t assume we know best or better than the person walking through that season and… YOU
BE MOVED:
Be moved BY lament
Don’t be so hardened in your heart to hear the cries of others and not moved.
This is a kind of numbness that attempts to minimize or deny the reality of pain, suffering, and cry for change.
HEAR the LAMENTATIONS of
those who weep for their dead sons in the streets.
Those who speak to inequitable treatment in the justice system.
Jemar Tisby
Be moved INTO lament
If that easy, maybe you are teacher for those who struggle.
If you haven’t heard it yet, feel permission to take your masks off and be real before God. There are no perfect people and the ones who look like they are are lying.
Perhaps you need to allow your heart to be moved into lament for others. Enter into that burden with those who are hurting. This is a move of solidarity and a direct application of Paul's words in Romans to “...mourn with those who mourn.”
Move OTHERS with lament
Believe and step out in faith that this is a powerful, Kingdom way to operate at times.
Believe that others CAN be moved
Could it backfire? Take the risk that God’s kingdom way is possible and effective to enact change.
Even if they don’t, rest in knowing that you can…
Move GOD with lament
He hears your cry even when others do not and make no mistake, Pharaohs get dealt with.
You may not get to witness it but Pharaohs ALWAYS get dealt with, valleys will rise and mountains will be made low…either here or in the new Heavens and Earth, God’s Kingdom will come.
AND, may our lamentations of sorrow, complaint, critiques MOVE others and the heart of God into establishing the Kingdom of God in indianapolis as it is in heaven!!
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
“Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.