A Sermon of Psalm 12 at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago

Lutheran School of Theology Chicago

Sep. 25^th, 2019

Psalm 12

 To listen: Itunes or Soundclowd 

¹ Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
    the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
² They utter lies to each other;
    with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
    our lips are our own—who is our master?”

⁵ “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
    I will now rise up,” says the Lord;
    “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
⁶ The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
    silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷ You, O Lord, will protect us;
    you will guard us from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among humankind.

Today we read a Psalm written in times of crisis; a crisis caused by the apparent success of the “evil ones”, of the proud and mighty. “Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly”.

The language of double heart, according to Craigie, does not indicate “in two minds” (or uncertainty), but rather indicates a double standard, and hence implies lies and deceitfulness.^[1] Those who are supposed to execute justice, are mainly concerned with their own interest and power. Justice matters as long as it serves their interest. They would not speak truth, though they knew it.^[2] For them, might is right.

They boast in pride and arrogance: “With our tongues we will prevail; our lips are our own—who is our master?” It is interesting here to say, as a commentator put it, that “the essence of evil is presented here in terms of speech, not action”.^[3] They are dominating the discussion, as it seems.

What is most troubling in all of this is the silence of God – or so we think! But the Psalmist – in faith – is confident that God will speak one day; why? “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan.”

God speaks here, and his words here are a response to the words of the evil ones. He “rises up” – precisely for the sake of the poor and afflicted. He rises up to protect them. These are words spoken by David in faith; in faith in the promises of God. Notice where David puts his trust: “The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure... You, O Lord, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever.”

This is a statement of faith that did not depend on circumstance. This not confidence based on “political analysis” or evaluation, or based on David’s knowledge of his army’s might. This is not why David claimed: “it will be good” – as false hope or wishful thinking. Rather, this is a statement of resistance; of resilience – a statement of trust in the promises of God.

This is a psalm that feels at home today in my part of the world. These were the cries of the Daivd in ancient times, but may as well reflect the longing of many today who cry, “Where are you, O God?” “Why do you keep silent about this injustice and tyranny?” “How can the proud control the lives of the meek of the earth?” In fact, the cry “Help, O Lord”, is a prayer the people of Palestine have been praying for too long. Rev. Mitri Raheb summarizes our history as people and as land as follows:

Geopolitically, the mountainous land of Palestine is on the periphery of history. For the most part, it has been used by the empires as a battlefield to test and transfer arms and soldiers to suit their powers… The people of this land are trampled over again and again. Each time they try to take a breath, they will receive another blow that drags them through the mud: Their cities get destroyed, burned, and robbed. Their harvests are seized before their time. Their youth are forcibly captured, tortured, displaced, and killed while striving to make ends meet.

So where is God?

Every Christmas season, we are reminded in Bethlehem that Jesus is Immanuel-- God with us, God as one of us. For he, too, became another victim of oppression. In his childhood, he had to survive a massacre. He then became just one more refugee among many other “faceless” and “nameless” refugees in our world. In Christ, God has spoken!

Amazingly-–it was in Bethlehem, and it could only be in Bethlehem, that God chose to become human, to join our struggles as humans and become part of this mess. Have you ever wondered why God chose to come to Bethlehem? Palestine? The “Middle East”? Well, if there is a place that so desperately and constantly needs to see the “mighty brought down from their thrones”, or “the hungry filled with good things”, as the Virgin Mary prayed, it is this place. If there is ever a place that so desperately and constantly needs to hear an answer to those who speak lies and deception, it is Bethlehem.

If there is ever a place that so desperately needs a divine visit, a visit from the God who is love, mercy and compassion, it is this place! The incarnation had to take place here.

God is not silent. God is not far away. When we read the history of the world through eyes of faith, we will see that kingdoms have come and gone, but the kingdom Jesus established is the only one that remained. And today, 2000 years later, Jesus is worshipped and crowned as king all over the universe. He is the Christ of the Gospel; the slaughtered lamb who has lifted the sin of the world.

In Christ, we are confident that the silence of God is no more. From the words of this Psalm and of the Hebrew prophets, and precisely through the Word who is Christ, we have known God as the God who takes sides; with the oppressed, the poor; the ones suffering from injustice. And because of that, the church of Christ, cannot and should be silent. If God rises up for the sake of the poor and the needy, then so should we! Because God has spoken, the church cannot be silent. In the face of the so many arrogant and proud all over the world, whether in Palestine or USA; in Africa or Latin America; in the face of those who exploit the poor for their own advantage; and those who preach supremacy of privilege – the church cannot and should not be silent.

And just as the Psalmist was confident in God’s promises, we too can have confidence in the same God who continues to speak and promise. When people ask, where do you find hope today? I answer that I have hope because we believe in a good and just God. “God is good” and “God is just”, are more than cliché terms. As the saying goes: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

And I have hope because I believe in the God of the resurrection. The empty tomb is God’s word and promise today; it reminds us that life will overcome death, light will overcome darkness, and love will overcome hate. The empty tomb is our prophetic word that gives us hope today. This is not merely wishful or positive thinking. The resurrection is real and therefore our hope is real. Because of the empty tomb, we can hope.

Amen.

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^[1] Craigie, P. C. (2004). Psalms 1–50 (2nd ed., Vol. 19, p. 138). Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Ibid.