Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

This is a special musical performance of Love is Come Again performed by the Chancel Choir of Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of Psalm 23, adapted and performed by Ryan & Addie Thompson

This is a special musical performance of Psalm 23, adapted and performed by Ryan & Addie Thompson

This is a special musical presentation by the Joyful Noise Childrens' Choir of the songs: Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land and Lord, I life Your Name on High. 

This is a special musical presentation by the Joyful Noise Childrens' Choir of the songs: Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land and Lord, I life Your Name on High. 

This is a special musical Flute solo presentation by Gwen Kadrofske of Songs Without Words by Felix Mendelssohn.

This is a special musical Flute solo presentation by Gwen Kadrofske of Songs Without Words by Felix Mendelssohn.

Pastor Ellen:

The 23rd Psalm is probably the most beloved and most well-known Psalms in scripture.  It is frequently the scripture passage families choose to be used for funerals of a loved one.  It is one of the go-to-texts for connection with God in times of trouble, tragedy and concern.  Many people know this Psalm by heart and the first three verses, describing peaceful, pastoral images, seem to provide enormous comfort to people.  So, I think it is fitting that on this Earth Day, we are given a scripture passage that describes this beautiful pastoral scene.

Natalie:

We 21st century earth dwellers live in a world of pavement and concrete, a world of hustle and bustle, a world of traffic and long indoor work days. Our waking hours are often filled with stress. On our time off many of us seek refuge, if only for an hour or two, at parks or other places with green pastures and still waters. The imagery of the 23rd Psalm leads us mentally to a place where we can experience earth in its calmer natural state so that we can rest and be restored, sit beside bodies of water, lay in a pasture of green grass, or walk and play in such places that provide the tranquility of creation. In a sense, this Psalm poetically transports us to the peace and quiet of the Garden of Eden in our minds, to places where we are protected from the din and bustle and hardships of life.

Ellen H:

Psalm 23 serves to bring us closer to God, and to remind us that with God we can know and understand a great measure of peace, that there is something bigger than us, the power of the universe, a power that cares so much for our seemingly little beings, that it desires our tranquility.  Indeed, that creating power intended such places for us, and will, if we let it, lead us to them. God, the maker of the vast universe, has time and lovingly cares deeply for us.   We can actually sense this in the psalm.  It creates for the reader of any faith a rare written portal, a thin place of words and images, which can bring us to experience God.

Warren:

It’s great to hear and experience in Psalm 23 a closeness to God and be transported to a greater sense of God’s presence through it.  However, we sell Psalm 23 short if we fail to take time to notice it is also rich with other meanings and lessons and Godly calls. Psalm 23 can teach us much about God and us and this little place called earth that matters to God in an expansive gigantic universe.

On this Earth Day, we come together and set aside this time to honor, revere and consider this amazing planet, this incredible, abundant, beautiful biosphere that we inhabit. Psalm 23 honors and reveres the earth too. In addition to the call to return in our minds to images of Eden and the great and wonderful connection with God, we can also hear in this Psalm an ode to God’s earth . . . creation.

Marla:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  The Hebrew version of that phrase, “I shall not want,” isn’t about our not wanting, as modern Americans hear it. That is, it’s not about our every desire being fulfilled with God as our shepherd.   The Hebrew words translated as “I shall not want,” are much better translated into modern English as “I shall lack nothing.”  The point is not that we will get everything we ask for or desire, but rather God will provide all that is needed to live securely.

Tammy:

In Psalm 23, “God as our shepherd” is meant to imply that we are God’s sheep.  That should be obvious.  And, the green pastures, that is the healthy earth God leads us to and gives to us, is a tranquil place where we can safely lie. We tend to get that. But what we miss, and what is also meant in this Psalm, is that the green grass is intended to be a place with enough food and clean air.  Sheep eat green, that is, new grass. A green pasture is to lambs what a prepared table and overflowing cup is to humans. It’s a banquet of abundance. The Psalm’s reference to green pastures needs to be heard as God providing enough air and sustenance, our daily bread, and guiding us to it.

Similarly, still waters are not just a healthy place where we can stop to rest and enjoy the water.  While still waters are created to be that, we need to also hear that good water provides the rest for what a shepherd’s flock needs from the earth; good, clean, safe water.  Sheep drink best from still water, there’s less risk of falling in.  When there are still waters, it is also easier for the shepherd to watch the flock and insure the water is clean and calming.  And, that same shepherd keeps us on the right paths, so we do not get hurt by dangerous things, or hurt ourselves, or others, or creation.

Tula:

It’s important to note that God leads us to these things, to green pastures and still waters, and to follow on right paths. We are to follow. And following a lead requires effort. This Psalm, from an Earth Day perspective, is not about God magically fixing things!   You see, shepherds work hard, and they do not bend the natural law to fix what wanton sheep might sully. They also do not do all the work.  Shepherds lead, and sheep follow. This Psalm is not to be heard as God doing all the work to protect us from our own refusals to follow, or from our actions or inactions which lead us not to green pastures or still waters or right paths.  When we choose actions or inactions that get us off the good path, such actions lead to desecration of the water or pastures or air, and we hurt ourselves, others or creation. When we do our part and follow the good shepherd, God gives us good things. And God wants us to have them. They are what we need. But, we have to do our part. If we as sheep show up, get off the good paths and turn the grass brown, or stir the water up with pollution, that is not God’s doing, and it is not what God wants or leads us to.

Cecelia:

Creation is presently in danger and, regardless of whether we think there are catastrophic consequences on the horizon, we need to be worried that we might not be properly tending to the green pastures and still waters and clean air that God wants for us.   We need to be concerned that we might not be properly tending to this gift of creation that God has given, one intended for us to be led to and to lead future generations to.

Jack:

Theologically, Earth Day can be understood as a secular reflection of our wanting those poetic images in the 23rd Psalm to be there for us and for posterity in real forms – places we can really go for the tranquility and peace addressed in the Psalm.  The Lord is our Shepherd.  This Psalm calls us to follow God’s lead down paths of righteousness for all creation, and for generations to come.  And so, as we reflect this day on God’s creation around us and the work that lies before us, we know that in this task we are not alone. We know that God walks with us, that the incarnate Christ joins the earth in groaning for the healing of all creation, and that there is a way out of the dark valley if we can allow ourselves to be led by the trustworthy voice of the Good Shepherd.  May we be equipped to distinguish and heed this voice, one that guides, cajoles, urges us to follow the paths of goodness and mercy. May we recognize the goodness of the earth’s complex, beautiful systems and feel mercy for those who suffer disproportionately from the effects of environmental degradation. And, may we have ears to hear the voice of the earth, one that has been speaking all along and desperately needs our attention.

Pastor Ellen:

The 23rd Psalm is probably the most beloved and most well-known Psalms in scripture.  It is frequently the scripture passage families choose to be used for funerals of a loved one.  It is one of the go-to-texts for connection with God in times of trouble, tragedy and concern.  Many people know this Psalm by heart and the first three verses, describing peaceful, pastoral images, seem to provide enormous comfort to people.  So, I think it is fitting that on this Earth Day, we are given a scripture passage that describes this beautiful pastoral scene.

Natalie:

We 21st century earth dwellers live in a world of pavement and concrete, a world of hustle and bustle, a world of traffic and long indoor work days. Our waking hours are often filled with stress. On our time off many of us seek refuge, if only for an hour or two, at parks or other places with green pastures and still waters. The imagery of the 23rd Psalm leads us mentally to a place where we can experience earth in its calmer natural state so that we can rest and be restored, sit beside bodies of water, lay in a pasture of green grass, or walk and play in such places that provide the tranquility of creation. In a sense, this Psalm poetically transports us to the peace and quiet of the Garden of Eden in our minds, to places where we are protected from the din and bustle and hardships of life.

Ellen H:

Psalm 23 serves to bring us closer to God, and to remind us that with God we can know and understand a great measure of peace, that there is something bigger than us, the power of the universe, a power that cares so much for our seemingly little beings, that it desires our tranquility.  Indeed, that creating power intended such places for us, and will, if we let it, lead us to them. God, the maker of the vast universe, has time and lovingly cares deeply for us.   We can actually sense this in the psalm.  It creates for the reader of any faith a rare written portal, a thin place of words and images, which can bring us to experience God.

Warren:

It’s great to hear and experience in Psalm 23 a closeness to God and be transported to a greater sense of God’s presence through it.  However, we sell Psalm 23 short if we fail to take time to notice it is also rich with other meanings and lessons and Godly calls. Psalm 23 can teach us much about God and us and this little place called earth that matters to God in an expansive gigantic universe.

On this Earth Day, we come together and set aside this time to honor, revere and consider this amazing planet, this incredible, abundant, beautiful biosphere that we inhabit. Psalm 23 honors and reveres the earth too. In addition to the call to return in our minds to images of Eden and the great and wonderful connection with God, we can also hear in this Psalm an ode to God’s earth . . . creation.

Marla:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  The Hebrew version of that phrase, “I shall not want,” isn’t about our not wanting, as modern Americans hear it. That is, it’s not about our every desire being fulfilled with God as our shepherd.   The Hebrew words translated as “I shall not want,” are much better translated into modern English as “I shall lack nothing.”  The point is not that we will get everything we ask for or desire, but rather God will provide all that is needed to live securely.

Tammy:

In Psalm 23, “God as our shepherd” is meant to imply that we are God’s sheep.  That should be obvious.  And, the green pastures, that is the healthy earth God leads us to and gives to us, is a tranquil place where we can safely lie. We tend to get that. But what we miss, and what is also meant in this Psalm, is that the green grass is intended to be a place with enough food and clean air.  Sheep eat green, that is, new grass. A green pasture is to lambs what a prepared table and overflowing cup is to humans. It’s a banquet of abundance. The Psalm’s reference to green pastures needs to be heard as God providing enough air and sustenance, our daily bread, and guiding us to it.

Similarly, still waters are not just a healthy place where we can stop to rest and enjoy the water.  While still waters are created to be that, we need to also hear that good water provides the rest for what a shepherd’s flock needs from the earth; good, clean, safe water.  Sheep drink best from still water, there’s less risk of falling in.  When there are still waters, it is also easier for the shepherd to watch the flock and insure the water is clean and calming.  And, that same shepherd keeps us on the right paths, so we do not get hurt by dangerous things, or hurt ourselves, or others, or creation.

Tula:

It’s important to note that God leads us to these things, to green pastures and still waters, and to follow on right paths. We are to follow. And following a lead requires effort. This Psalm, from an Earth Day perspective, is not about God magically fixing things!   You see, shepherds work hard, and they do not bend the natural law to fix what wanton sheep might sully. They also do not do all the work.  Shepherds lead, and sheep follow. This Psalm is not to be heard as God doing all the work to protect us from our own refusals to follow, or from our actions or inactions which lead us not to green pastures or still waters or right paths.  When we choose actions or inactions that get us off the good path, such actions lead to desecration of the water or pastures or air, and we hurt ourselves, others or creation. When we do our part and follow the good shepherd, God gives us good things. And God wants us to have them. They are what we need. But, we have to do our part. If we as sheep show up, get off the good paths and turn the grass brown, or stir the water up with pollution, that is not God’s doing, and it is not what God wants or leads us to.

Cecelia:

Creation is presently in danger and, regardless of whether we think there are catastrophic consequences on the horizon, we need to be worried that we might not be properly tending to the green pastures and still waters and clean air that God wants for us.   We need to be concerned that we might not be properly tending to this gift of creation that God has given, one intended for us to be led to and to lead future generations to.

Jack:

Theologically, Earth Day can be understood as a secular reflection of our wanting those poetic images in the 23rd Psalm to be there for us and for posterity in real forms – places we can really go for the tranquility and peace addressed in the Psalm.  The Lord is our Shepherd.  This Psalm calls us to follow God’s lead down paths of righteousness for all creation, and for generations to come.  And so, as we reflect this day on God’s creation around us and the work that lies before us, we know that in this task we are not alone. We know that God walks with us, that the incarnate Christ joins the earth in groaning for the healing of all creation, and that there is a way out of the dark valley if we can allow ourselves to be led by the trustworthy voice of the Good Shepherd.  May we be equipped to distinguish and heed this voice, one that guides, cajoles, urges us to follow the paths of goodness and mercy. May we recognize the goodness of the earth’s complex, beautiful systems and feel mercy for those who suffer disproportionately from the effects of environmental degradation. And, may we have ears to hear the voice of the earth, one that has been speaking all along and desperately needs our attention.

For those of you who either read her book or were able to come and hear Jacqueline Bussie in February, you will remember she talked about the many unspoken “rules” or “laws” Christians so often feel they must obey, rules that are often more harmful than helpful.  Bussie urges us to be Outlaw Christians and break some of those rules.  She describes Outlaw Christianity as a new, life-giving faith for those who ache for a more authentic relationship with God and other people by no longer having to hide their doubt, anger, grief, scars, or questions.  Jacqueline says that one of the unspoken laws people tend to follow is this:  Don’t doubt.  Doubt is faith’s opposite and is therefore sinful.  She suggests most people have grown up believing this very harmful rule.  Bussie then reminds us, as theologian Paul Tillich did, that doubt is a very necessary element in faith.  In fact, a living faith includes doubt and such doubt requires risk and courage.  Bussie, when talking about doubt being a good and necessary element in faith, writes:

How can doubt, rooted as it is in uncertainty, be a good thing, or at the very least an acceptable thing?  For starters, we should acknowledge and name the doubt within us because, much like snot and passing gas, doubt is natural and human – that is to say, embarrassing and unwelcome but real and impossible to be healthy without, much as we want to pretend otherwise.  But more than just natural, doubt is also necessary, healthy, and good for our faith life.  Doubt functions as a robust spiritual virtue, rather than faith’s wimpy opposite. (Outlaw Christian, p.50)

Well, in today’s gospel, we come face to face with doubt.   And, while doubt comes to the forefront in the story of Thomas, the truth is that all the disciples were experiencing doubt.  You see, it is the day of the resurrection and here we find the disciples sitting in a room behind locked doors because of fear, doubt, and quite likely more than a little shame.  They have blown it completely, they are hiding in fear, and they are doubting everything their master had said.  And, what I find so fascinating is that, in the gospel of John, when Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection, nobody initially recognizes him.  Notice in the beginning of today’s reading, the disciples do not recognize him until Jesus shows them his hands and side.  They all doubted him!  They doubted it was Jesus!  It is only after Jesus shows them his hands and side that the disciples rejoice because they have seen the Lord.  While the other disciples also have experienced doubt, for some strange reason, only Thomas gets labeled “doubter.” 

Far too often we judge Thomas because of his doubt.  We need to cut him some slack and give him a break.  In Thomas we find the yearning of one who wants to see with his eyes and touch with his hands that of which he has been told.  He has real questions, real concerns, and a desire for a real encounter with the risen Lord.  I think the story of Thomas captures our hearts and minds because we, too, were absent to the Resurrection experience two thousand years ago.  When faced with the mystery of the Resurrection, the story of Thomas names that part in each of us that wants to scream out, “Show me!”

Thomas has just had a very harsh encounter with reality.  Reality had hit hard in the form of a cross when his dear friend had been crucified.  And, when he fled that horrible scene, not only had Jesus died, Thomas’ hopes and dreams had also died.  Jesus’ crucifixion had destroyed his hopes for the future and very poignantly reminded him that there is an end.  And, it is the same for us.  When the harsh realities of life hit us – whether it be the death of a family member, the loss of a job, an unexpected illness, a broken relationship, or whatever – reality deeply cuts into our hopes, our dreams, the very fabric of our relationships, and we are reminded that there is an end.  There is an end over which we have no control as we feel we have been taken captive by an extremely cruel conqueror.  And, we usually experience doubt!

The reality that sliced into his hopes and dreams left Thomas emotionally bleeding and broken.  As he again joins the community of disciples, within the context of those who proclaim Jesus is alive, Thomas lays bare his doubt.  He is very honest about his doubt as he says, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  In the depth of his despair Thomas articulates his doubt, and it is in that place where he is now confronted with the risen Christ.  It is in that place of despair that Thomas is greeted by the risen Lord whose presence exudes forgiveness and grace as he hears the words, “Peace be with you.”  In that moment, Thomas knows he is in the presence of God and he believes. 

Theologian, David Lose, describes the experience of Thomas in this way:

When Thomas is greeted by the forgiveness and grace embodied in the words, “Peace be with you,” he instantly believes and makes the great confession of John’s gospel: “My Lord and my God!”  In a heartbeat Thomas knows that he is in the presence of God, has been saved and redeemed by that God, and that he will never be the same again. 

Thomas lays bare his doubt which takes him to this encounter with the grace of God, embodied and enfleshed in the risen Lord Jesus.  Doubt drives him to question and it takes him to this place where he is encountered by the risen Lord and his entire reality is changed.  Wow!!  Did you get that?  Reality itself has changed.  The despairing Thomas does not escape from the real world and there is not a break from the tangible reality of the world.  No.  But, there is something very different, something very, very new.  God’s grace and God’s kingdom have invaded the real world, transformed it and nothing will ever be the same again. 

I think Thomas experiences Easter in the way many of us begin to experience it.  Thomas finally gets Easter when he brings forth his questions. He wants to see and touch. He wants tangible proof and needs his own encounter before he can trust the story.  It is doubt that compels Thomas to ask the questions and it is doubt that takes him to the place where he is looking for what is really real and what truly matters.  You see, without doubt, our faith is shallow and rootless.  We fail to go down deep.  And, quite honestly, if we do not express doubts and have only certainty, it closes us off to the newness that we so long for.  Doubt is a sign of a healthy and deep-rooted faith, though most of us are taught to believe the opposite.  And, when doubt takes us to the deeper places in faith our reality changes.  We are transformed and our perspective on all of life changes.

The story of Thomas and doubt is one of the most compelling, believable, realistic stories in the Bible because it is our story.  Doubt is an element of faith because it gives birth to the questions that arise which take us to the deeper places in life.  So, be honest about your doubt.  Doubt functions as a robust spiritual virtue, rather than faith’s wimpy opposite.  In fact, doubt and the questions that arise are the heartbeat of our faith!   They enable us to be open to the newness of the risen Christ.   And, the risen Christ is always breaking into our doubt and the questions we ask, transforming our lives and making us new.  Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!