Thoughts on Life and Worship

  God of the Underdog I Samuel 1:4-20; I Samuel 2:1-10 Homily for 11/13/24   You and I, according to Scripture, are made in the image of God.  Into every human soul, God has hard-wired what one theologian calls “echoes of a Voice.”  Among those echoes are a yearning for beauty, relationship, spirituality, and justice.  Those human yearnings are unique among all of God’s Creation.  They demonstrate the distinctiveness of the human soul. I want to focus this morning on the yearning for justice.  No one has to teach a child the phrase, “That’s not fair!”  It seems to come naturally to us all.  And when we are the subject of injustice, we all rebel.  Rightly so.  Things are not the way they should be.  And so, we appeal to someone who can make things right.  That was the case with Hannah: I Samuel 1:4-20 (NLT) There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. H...

God for Us A Reflection on Psalm 146 November 6, 2024   In the providence of God, I find the selection of this psalm for this day after a national election to be simply amazing.   Did that fourth verse catch your attention?   Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.    I am sure that there are millions of people across this country who are feeling despondent this morning because their candidate or candidates – their “powerful people” – did not win.   On the other hand, there are millions who may be feeling euphoric today because they are on the winning side.   Both perspectives are short-sided.   As the psalm reminds us, “When [our politicians] breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.”   Instead, the psalmist puts his trust in God and lifts his spirit in praise.   Psalms 146 through 150 are all expressions of exuberant praise.   They all begin with ...