June 13thPsalm 78 #2
Living the Story
72 David shepherded them with a heart of integrity;
he led them with the skill of his hands.
Several years ago, A.J. Jacobs wrote an amusing and insightful book, The Year of Biblical Living. Jacobs, raised as a secular Jew, decided to take the Bible literally and obey it as far as possible for one year. He vowed to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbour. To avoid wearing clothes of mixed fibres; to play a ten-stringed harp; to stone adulterers (you have to read the book to find out more about this one).
Jacobs admits that the quest transformed his life. He immerses himself in prayer; sings hymns with the Amish; and tells the absolute truth in all situations, much to his wife’s chagrin.
Psalm 78, as we saw last week, insists that we ‘remember the wonders God has done’ and pass those stories on to our children and grandchildren. But a key question then emerges: ‘How should we then live?’ in light of the stories of God’s presence and guidance in our lives? Jacob’s response is one way, and we can learn from it, but there are other ways to ‘live the story’ which can be illustrated by telling some current stories.
STORY l: John Bennett, a Canadian-born theologian was hugely influential in living out the gospel of peace, though he was not a strict pacifist. Over the years he advocated strongly for women’s rights, for justice for African Americans, and against the Vietnam War.
Holland L. Hendrix who followed Bennett as president of Union Theological Seminary, recalled that “the singular event that sums up President Bennett’s career at Union was his having to miss his farewell party at Union because he had been arrested in an anti-Vietnam War protest.”
STORY ll: Howard Zehr was a teen-ager when he heard Vincent Harding, the African-American Mennonite activist speak. Zehr later attended Morehouse College, a traditionally Black college. It was through these influences and others that he came to found the Restorative Justice movement. You can read an interview here: https://anabaptistworld.org/portrait-of-a-justice-artist/
THREE outcomes of doing the work empowered by God’s Spirit:
One, our work honours God. When we design, manage, maintain or build, we are doing the Lord’s work.
Two, our work is a practical way of loving our neighbours. Any activity – collecting garbage, or re-wiring an airplane, fixing a roof, or hanging drywall – is a contribution to making the world a better place, even when we are unconscious of it.
Third, our work embellishes human life and creates beauty. We can create beauty not just by writing or playing music or painting, but in the creation of wholesome meals, in the way we do business deals, in a community project, or erect a swing set.
PRAYER FOR OUR DAILY WORK
Bless the work of our hands, O God.
Bless the hands that move earth, plant seeds, and harvest,
hands with calluses, strong hands.
Bless the hands that drive cars and trucks,
that operate tractors and harvesters, skilled hands.
Bless the hands that manufacture and create,
working wood and metal, practical hands.
Bless the hands that shape furniture and turn bowls,
hands that are creative, artistic hands.
Bless the hands that cook and feed, heal and nurture,
hands with a gentle touch, loving hands.
Bless the hands that give away money or food,
hands that are always trying to be empty, Christ-like hands.
Our hands do the work of your hands, O God our Creator.
Bless the work of our hands, O God.
AMEN [Carole Penner, adapted]