Back in the ’80s, sitting in Jordan–Hare Stadium, somewhere in the middle of the game, you might look down about 15 rows in front of you, perhaps just one section over where there is this one courageous, committed soul standing up, sitting down, standing up, sitting down, raising his arms and lowering them all by himself. Because it was the era of the wave. Where at a football game or the World Cup or the Olympics, everyone would stand up raising their arms, lowering them, sitting back down, going around and around the stadium creating the wave. And we would sit on the edge of our seats watching it go around hoping it would not die out before it was our turn to stand up and to sit down. But it all started with one courageous, committed soul standing up, sitting down all by himself. And it was so mesmerizing. And we got so excited about it because of that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves. That we could not wait to stand up and participate in it. It’s why concerts are so exciting. Standing there in the crowd of hundreds all singing together with our favorite band. It’s why conventions are so interesting. People traveling from all over the country descending on one conference center around a shared interest. And it’s why summer camp is so fun. Everyone leaving home, coming back to camp yet again to celebrate those wonderful camp traditions. That we’re thankful for that one committed soul, who reminds us that we are all very small parts of this bigger wave.

And perhaps it’s what the psalmist was responding to or seeking after when the psalmist boldly says, happy are those who fear the Lord. That we don’t oftentimes put the word happy and fear in the same sentence. But this is not the fear of jump scares or horror films. It has nothing to do with monsters up underneath our bed. It is the fear of awe and wonder where we find ourselves standing in the presence of the grand mystery of God’s unending love. And any time we stand in the presence of something so sacred, it leaves us with fear and trembling because we are overwhelmed. And it includes the awe and wonder of moving together through the ways of Jesus and the love of God. It is like the wave going around and around the stadium that it creates this centrifugal force turning us outward towards the needs of others.

I still remember the playground of South Columbia Elementary School. We had all these swings and we had one big slide. And then we had what can only be described as the Hurl-a-Whirl. It’s like the teacups at Disney World. It’s this large metal platform that was a circle. And we would cram about 15 of us on it and there were a few places to hold on. And then the rest of the members of our class would run around spinning it faster and faster. And the faster it went, the centrifugal force started to pull you towards the edges, turning us outward. And like our good friend and wonderful theologian Fisher Humphreys says. The centrifugal force, the force that sends God’s people from themselves to others is evident in the biblical teachings about Jesus and his disciples. That if we look closely, there is this centrifugal force in the love of God. And we experience it, as we move together through the ways of Jesus.

In 2018, a young soccer team and its coach was trapped in a cave in Thailand. You might remember the constant media coverage that they had gone for a tour in the cave and then a severe downpour of rain flooded the entrance of the cave and they were trapped. And about 10,000 people participated in the rescue operation. Thousands more were glued to the TV watching every minute of the coverage, holding this young soccer team in their prayers even though they had never met them. They were trapped for about two weeks, slowly running out of food. They feared more rain coming and making the rescue operation completely impossible. And finally, they assembled a team of divers from around the world to come to Thailand where they were able to rescue every member of that team. And we all watched as they were reunited with their family. And we experience tears of joy. That it is the awe and wonder of the love of God, that pulls us outward, where we are paying attention to the needs of this world.

As the psalmist says, they rise in the darkness as a light for the upright. They are gracious, merciful, and righteous. That it is standing up in the middle of the darkness, joining with others so there might be light. It’s why Jesus says, you are the light of the world. And then none of us would light a lamp and hide it under a bushel basket. We put it up high on a lamp stand where it can illuminate the entire world. And if we take one candle and we place it with another and yet another, the light simply becomes brighter, reaching out towards all the darkness. That we are invited to let our light shine by joining it with one another.

In a beautiful book by Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These. She tells a story based on the painful history of the Magdalene laundry houses in Ireland, where young women who had nowhere else to go were conscripted to work in these laundry houses, where many times they were mistreated and forgotten. And she tells the story of Bill Furlong who delivered coal and timber so people could keep their houses warm in the winter. And he had grown up with next to nothing. His mother was always scraping by. If it wasn’t for the kindness of Mrs. Wilson for whom she worked, they never would have survived. That Mrs. Wilson not only supported them, but looked out for them when most people would have rejected his mother.

Later on in his life when he was married to his wife Eileen, they had five daughters and he was so grateful for their life. They were able to do far more for their daughters than his mother was ever able to do for him. And one night he said to Eileen, aren’t we the lucky ones? There are so many others. Who were badly off, and he would lay in bed at night going over all the small things which had created their good and grace-filled life.

One Christmas, he was making a delivery to the laundry house in town. And as he was getting back in his truck about to leave, he looked over and there were several young girls out front. And one of them goes running as fast as she can across the street and comes over up to him and says, Can you help us? Can you take us as far as the river just outside of town? And he was confused. He didn’t know what to say or what to do. He panicked. He got into his truck and he left. But this moment weighed on him. That night he told Eileen about it and she kept encouraging him just to remain quiet. Not to say anything, not to stir up any trouble. But he laid in bed thinking, what if this was one of my daughters?

Several days went by and he was making another delivery to the laundry house. This time he was carrying a bag of coal around back to their storage room where they kept it. And when he opened the door to the coal room, he found a young girl who’d been locked inside in the cold as punishment. And this time, he couldn’t remain quiet. He went to see those at the convent who ran the laundry house and voiced his concerns. But they quickly and diplomatically brushed them aside. So he went home carrying this heavy burden. All he could think about was all the small gifts of grace his mother had received. That enabled them to get by, that changed her life, that changed his life. And after a few days of carrying this burden, he had to go back. And this time, he walked around the laundry house back to the coal room. And when he opened the door, he found that young girl there again. And this time, he took his coat off and he wrapped it around. And he said, you can come home with us.

We are so thankful that we gather in this place. That we gather to worship and be with one another, small parts of a larger whole. And we might feel the centrifugal force of the love of God. Where we are sent out to care for others in so many small ways. We gather in this place thankful for the gifts of grace that we have received. And we are grateful that we can come together to worship and serve as a family of faith. And we are thankful for the opportunity of the global ministries offering, where in small ways we can share the grace that we have received with others, where we are small parts of the wave of God’s love. Amen.