Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, June 16, 2019
Last week I was in Zion National Park—a place of natural beauty and majesty with deep canyons, high mountains, multicolored rock formations, a river running through and all sorts of vegetation and wildlife. Native Americans consider it a sacred place and gift from the Creator. One of the hikes I did is called Angels Landing. You begin deep in the canyon by the river and hike 1,500 feet up the side of the rock through steep switchbacks, through a narrow but deep crevice, and then up a ridge so narrow that it is more than a 1,000 feet drop on either side you look. The top is so high and narrow that a Methodist pastor who hiked it a hundred years ago said only angels could land in such a small, elevated area. I have never felt so tiny, frail, and mortal as I did on that hike compared to the majesty and immensity of that mountain. For many, it points to the wonder of the Creator of all things.
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Psalm 8 is a similar “aha” moment for the psalm writer. He has an epiphany as he steps out in the dark of night. He looks up at the vast expanse of stars and is overwhelmed with how small and insignificant humans are by comparison and the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. This is not just one gaze at the stars. He has been watching the course of these stars, planets, and moon. Along with many ancient peoples, he tries to make sense of their unusual movement. Many conclude they are gods in the heavens. Our psalmist knows they are all part of God’s marvelous creation. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses, what is man that you should be mindful of him, the son of man that you should seek him out?” He too realizes how small we all are, our frailty, and our mortality compared to the night sky filled with burning lights. “What is humankind?” “Why does God even notice you and me?” “Why should he care?” “Why would he seek us out?” The psalmist is amazed that God is mindful of us creatures and pursues us with unrelenting love. When God revealed himself to Abraham he challenges him to count stars in the sky and sand in the earth. So God would bless him and would make him a blessing to all the families of the earth beyond our wildest dreams.
I hope all of us will take some time this summer—if not any time of the year—to go outside and enjoy God’s creation. The lake is just a few blocks that way. There is a bird sanctuary and a zoo that is just a brief walk from here. I believe one reason that we can be such poor stewards of this rich, blue planet we all live on is that we have not marveled at creation. We do not understand how precious, how fragile, and how much of a gift life is. When we look at the beauty and majesty of creation, we have a better understanding of ourselves and place in the universe. Along with the psalmist we are swept away in the mind-blowing truth that God still has us individually in mind—that he cares for you and me—that he pursues us over and over again.
Jesus encourages us to learn this lesson from creation. He says, “Look at the birds of the air... Consider the lilies of the field...so God will feed, clothe, and care for you even more than flowers and birds.” We should be amazed that the creator of galaxies, solar systems, stars, planets, moons, mountains, seas, lush pastures, desert sands, creatures who fly, run, climb, crawl, and swim much better than us—that this creative Master of the universe would not only form us out of the dust but also pursue us with his love. The more we come to know and be in awe of God, the more we see ourselves in our own true light—the light of God’s nature and grace.
Who is this God who is so mighty and transcendent and beyond human comprehension that he would want a personal relationship with each of us? Who are we mere mortals to deserve the attention of the eternal and triune God? What are human beings that the Lord of lords and King of kings would adopt us as his royal daughters and sons? Who are we flesh and bones that the eternal Son of God would take on our humanity and be born an infant child and still maintain his divinity? Who are we to have him teach, heal, die, and rise again so that we can have the assurance of forgiveness of sins and eternal life? Who are we—both sinners and now saints at the same time struggling to be stewards of his creation? Who are we to receive the promise of Jesus that the Father and the Holy Spirit will continue to teach and nurture us? Who are we to receive the majestic Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit in the waters by the Holy Spirit and be called children of the Most High? Who are we to come the Lord’s Table and feast on his true Body and Blood for the enrichment of our bodies and of our souls?
Your light to ev’ry thought impart,
And shed Your love in ev’ry heart;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.
Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And you, from both, as Three in One
That we Your name may ever bless
And in our lives the truth confess. (LSB 498 “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest” vv. 4 & 5)
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