Sermon: "Counting Our Blessings - Gratitude"

3rd in the "Soul Training" series.
Delivered March 7, 2010 by Rev. George Antonakos.
Sermon Text: Psalm 131

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I was insulted this past week by none other than a well-known theologian who made insinuations about most pastors. He said that most pastors are a quivering mass (I mean right there you know it's bad), are a quivering mass of availability. Can you believe that? What is he accusing us of? What is he accusing me of? This is an insult to the profession. No, it's an insult to the calling that a theologian would say that. Quivering Mass of Availability.

But you know what? Maybe he's right. Maybe sometimes people go into helping ministries and helping professions with an inability to know where to draw the line. So they become QMAs. Why don't we know the limits? Why? What do we think? That we can be a savior of sorts? We think one of the most difficult places for a pastor to be or any leader to be is to believe that we're responsible for somebody else's salvation. That's a heavy burden to carry.

What's behind QMA syndrome? Fear? Pride? Some unmet need? All those might be in play at some level, but I think there is another bottom-line cause. And Psalm 131 speaks to that cause today. So I want to invite you to turn to page 568 in the Bible. You can find it right under the chair in front of you. And look at a very short psalm, Psalm 131. It's at the top of page 568. It's only three verses. It is; I counted them. At least in this version, it's 61 words.

And I think this psalm presents one of if not the most powerful image to what all of us supremely need in this life today. And what is that bottom line? A quiet trust in a loving God, a quiet trust in a loving and faithful God. That's the bottom line. I think QMA syndrome is about a lack of quiet trust. So let's look at this life that Psalm 131 calls us to. It's both challenging and beautiful.

And let's pray first: Lord, we thank you for your word because in your word we see light. And so we ask that your Holy Spirit, beyond whatever is heard through my own lips, would speak to each heart from this psalm, all of it or some portion of it, so that we might become conformed and transformed to the image of your dear son. We pray it in his name, Amen.

"My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed myself and quieted my ambitions. I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore."

Okay, so I started with some pastoral self-effacement, so now I can pick on you, all right? I'm just kidding. I just know that pastors are not the only people with problems. Everybody needs help. And so I'm going to ask you a series of seven questions, and I just want see if they'll hit a nerve. Of course I'm not going to see if they hit a nerve because we're not raising hands, and nobody's going, I mean maybe I'll hear somebody gasp, but then you'll be exposed, okay? Try to stay calm, okay?

Seven questions. Think it of as the Quivering-Mass Challenge, Mental Challenge Test, okay? Here it is. Here they are. And they could be 20 questions; these are just some.

1. Do I worry excessively about my current circumstances?
2. Do I focus too much on what others think?
3. Do I always feel the need to defend myself?
4. Are jealousy or envy constant companions?
5. If I fail at something, do I ruminate excessively about it?
6. Can I say, "No," without stressing over it?
7. Do I have a problem with anger?

So how did you do? Any QMWs, you know quivering masses of worry out there? Or QMEs, quivering masses of envy? Or QMPPs, quivering masses of people pleasing?

In Psalm 131, David is no quivering mass of anything. He's the complete opposite. How does a person develop this kind of spirit? That's what the psalm is trying to teach us and trying to answer for everybody. And I don't think it's such a short period of verses and words, there's a more beautiful description of faith, love, and hope. That's what the end of 1 Corinthians talks about. Faith, hope, and love are the greatest things. I think Psalm 131 deals with those things. And that's what the psalm is about, and that's what today's message is about.

That these are the, verse 1 is a declaration of humble faith. Verse 2 is a description of secure love, and verse 3 is a destination of sure hope. And that's, that's where we're going. And so let's look at them one at a time, and look at verse 1.

1. Declaration of humble faith. "My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty." The word "heart" here speaks of the whole person-intellect, emotion, and will. And so what David is saying, "I renounce from the very core of my being arrogance, haughty spirits, pride, pretentiousness." That's the first thing he says. There are two parts of verse 1. First speaks of a humility toward others, and the other one speaks to a humility before God.

Look at it. When he says, "My eyes are not haughty," it refers to self-exaltation that looks down on others. Proverbs says, "Seven things the Lord hates." First one on the list, haughty eyes, pride, because it's a sense of elevation to look down on. Now think about this. This is King David writing this. It's a king. He's the king of Israel. He's the one saying, "I don't look down on others." That's what God has done in his heart, even though he would have every right by virtue of his position to do that.

And then the second part reveals a humble heart before God when he says, "I don't concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me." It indicates a humility that refuses to elevate himself above God. One of the things that the Scripture indicates is that the adversary of our souls, the enemy, Satan, the devil, father of lies, that the, how did that happen according to the scriptures in Isaiah 14? This created being elevated himself above God, which led to fall.

And so what David is saying, "I don't do that. I don't elevate." When it says the word "wonderful" here, it speaks of surpassing things, things beyond one's power to comprehend. Now it's not saying that we shouldn't be inquisitive, we shouldn't try to learn everything we can about the universe or an atom. What it is saying, in effect David is saying, "I am content with the level of revealed truth that we have received." Maybe you've talked to folks. I know I've talked to folks. They say, "Because I can't figure this out, I'm not going to believe. I just can't understand how the Trinity works." Who can? But they'll say, "Because I don't understand it, I'm not believing it."

David didn't say that. He said, "I'm going to deal with the level of revealed truth that I have, and as a result, I'm not going to challenge holy mystery because I can't figure out every hidden thing. I have a sufficient level of knowledge, and so I respond to God on that basis." If you've been in the Navy, you've heard the term "need-to-know basis." David is like a good Navy man when it comes to God. "Everything I need to know, I will respond to by faith."

And it's not a blind faith, because look at verse 1. "My heart is not proud, [who?] LORD." Every time it's capital letters in the Scriptures, it speaks of Yahweh, the name revealed to Moses. And so what he's saying is, "I am responding to a God who has revealed himself already to us." This is not blind faith. It's humble faith. And his humble faith is one reason he wasn't a quivering mass of fear. When life became difficult, by virtue of his humble faith, David was able to stay focused.

Maybe an illustration of a truly simple life will unpack this for us a little bit more. I don't usually read, let alone use, email forwards. Maybe a lot of you are like that, too. But I got an email forward from a member of our community, this past week that really stood out to me and kind of speaks to this whole idea of humble faith. And I've condensed a little bit here. It's written from the point of view of Kevin's brother.

"Kevin is 30. He is mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (6'2''), there are few ways in which he is an adult. He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a seven-year-old, and he always will. Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk the Cocker Spaniel and eat his favorite macaroni and cheese for dinner, and later to bed. The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her new-born child.

He does not seem dissatisfied. He doesn't shrink from a job when it's begun and he doesn't leave a job until it's finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax. He's not obsessed with his work or with the work of others.

His heart is pure. Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he's hurt, angry, or sorry. He's always transparent, always sincere.

And he trusts God. Kevin seems to know God, to really be friends with God in a way that perhaps is difficult for an educated person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion."

Then Kevin's brother closes with this. "In moments of doubt and frustration with my Christian faith, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith. I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the disability. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances-they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care. Does Kevin comprehend things I can never learn? Maybe. After all he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, soaking up the goodness and love of God."

A person with a calm, contented spirit is a person of humble faith responding to a God who has revealed himself to us.

The second point, verse 2, teaches us the second characteristic of a calm heart.

2. It is a description of secure love. Now notice in the beginning of verse 2 the word "but." Instead of kind of getting all agitated and thinking about things that I can't quite figure out, David says, "But I have calmed myself." Other translations of this psalm read, "I have composed my soul." Soul, myself-the Hebrew word is "nephesh." It speaks, it is translated "soul."

But also it can be translated "soul stirrings," what is going on as a result of my inner being. And so that's why the TNIV chooses to translate this, "But I have calmed myself and quieted my ambitions." Ambitions are like soul stirrings. He says that he is "like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child," he says, "I am content." You know what a weaned child is, right? A weaned child is a child who is no longer breastfeeding, no longer receiving milk from its mother but has been weaned.

An unweaned child, many times, will cry and seek for what what it needs. I think, I think of our granddaughter. She gets to the place now, at six months, where when she just sees a bottle, it's all over, right? Till that bottle gets in her mouth, it's all over. Okay, well this is a weaned child. This is a child who wants to be in Mother's lap just because. It's not for what she has; it's for what she is.

He's resting in God's love. He's resting on God's bosom, is really the picture of secure love here. And I can't imagine for a moment that a, that in his mind at that moment, as he's thinking about resting in God like that, that he's worried about his performance. He just knows he's accepted. Many people see God... maybe you see God this way; I don't know. Many people see God as a scout master, handing out merit badges for good deeds and accomplishments. And if you have done well enough, then you get good-merit badges. You get the list, you know? You get the whole thing, the sash.

If you grew up believing that you were loved and accepted based on performance, it's quite easy to think of God in that, in those terms. This is what A. W. Tozer said. "How a person thinks about God probably determines more about him than any, or her about, than anything else."

So, so think about this... what if God, of all the images that we could convey, that we could drum up, what if God was like a good and loving mother who just loved to be with her children, who just loved to have them in her lap. And so that when the child just runs to them, not for anything that Mother has, but just for who she is, what if God were like that. I'd like to suggest God is like that. I think that's what the psalm is saying. And I think if we really believe that, we would have a very different way of going about our lives.

This is what 1 John 4:10 and 11 says, "This is love." In other words, we're, I mean, the Scriptures say that God is love. But here, God is love, but now this is what love is like. It's "not that we loved God." It's not that we came to this great realization and said, "Okay, I'm going to love God." "... but that he loved us." God is previous in everything. God initiates everything. And he sends his Son as the deepest expression of that love, "as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." What a beautiful song the worship team did to remind us of the Cross.

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." When God's love grips us like this, we find ourselves us just fulfilling the great commandment. The great commandment is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength." When you see God like this, just to respond is to love God.

And so we have this table this morning. We respond to the gift of God's love made visible in Holy Communion. Many names for this table: Lord's Supper, Holy Communion. But there's one called the Eucharist. Do you know what Eucharist stands for, what it means? Eucharist is Greek for thank you. So this is the thank-you table. This is the place where we come and say, "Thank you, God, that you love us so much. And by the way, I'm responding by coming to this table to say, 'I love you, too.'"

The 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich once said, "What do you think God wants most from us?" Her answer? "What God wants most is to see you smile because you know how much God loves you."

I remember one time I was doing a clinical pastoral education program back in the mid-80s, and I don't know, something happened in the course in the whole thing. It was six weeks at a, I was working at a psychiatric hospital working as an intern. And something happened. I don't know. Something clicked to help me to get a little bit more how much God loved me. And so I remember walking down the sidewalk singing Stevie Wonder's song. You know, "For once in my life I have someone who... " And I was singing that in terms of God. "For once in my life... " I got that. I got it. I mean, something that we never, always, but I got it. At some level, again, at some deeper level, I don't have to perform.

Julian of Norwich also wrote, "The greatest honor we can give to God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love." Not complicated. The last couple of times I received communion in this space, I happened to be holding our infant granddaughter, Ellie. Is Ellie here today? Is Ellie here? She's here. Hold her up back there. There she is. Hold her up, Ang. Come on, hold her up. I want to show off. That's Ellie. Yeah! I'm glad she was awake.

But I was holding that little baby. She's six months now, and it was when she was four months, three or four months. And I remember coming to communion and I was holding her. And as I was holding her, I had this strong impression that the way Ellie is in relation to me, in some ways that's the way I am in relationship to God, that God is carrying me through this life, just holding me and you under His arms.

And so I can rest content in His secure love. I'm carried to the table by Christ. I'm carried in this life. I love that little baby so much, and yet God's love for me exceeds that by miles. So little Ellie can, so like her, I can quiet myself in God's bosom. A person with a calm, contented spirit is a person of humble faith and a person secure in God's love.

Then there's one more thing. It's a little shorter. Number three, verse three teaches the third characteristic of a calm heart. It believes in a...

3. Destination of sure hope. Now it's not just a destination, but we have tremendous hope that this world is not it alone, that God has a plan. And this third verse, this third verse where, where David says, "Israel, [people of God], put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore." It's a clear call to trust God.

Many of you remember Pastor Smoot. For many of you who have not been around, except for the last couple years, when you come in the entrance, maybe you notice the picture, a portrait of a pastor right there on the pillar. That's Pastor Murray Smoot. He's the founding pastor of this congregation. And maybe some of you can remember like I do, his definition of hope, which he often would share and which, I was talking to somebody between services and she said, "I remember that. I remember that definition. I always say it to myself."

Here it is. Here's Murray's definition of hope: "The constant expectation of good from the hand of God." That's hope, that I constantly expect good, not just in this life, but in the one to come. Even when difficulties come, we can have hope in Christ.

George Buttrick was pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York for 27 years in the first half of the twentieth century. And in his book titled Prayer, he tells the story of a man who used a unique illustration to help people see the goodness of God. And this is a way to help us think about how do we cultivate hope? And thus, the reason for the title of this sermon. Here's an actual quote from the book, "He displayed [this man displayed] a sheet of white paper on which was one blot. He asked what they saw and all answered... " Maybe you got the answer? All answered a... ? Oh, you don't know what it is? That's a blot. Okay? Everybody answered, "A blot."

But the book says, "The test was unfair because it invited the wrong answer. It was like a setup." Went on to imply, why, why do we see the blot? Why don't we see everything around the blot? And so he says, like, there's an ingratitude, "Nevertheless, there's an ingratitude in human nature, by which we notice the disfigurement and forget the widespread mercy. We need to deliberately call to mind the joys of our journey."

And so in order cultivate a calm spirit of hope, we have to train ourselves to deliberately see something beside the blot. Most of us start our day getting out of bed, thinking about the blot, or our problems. But a deliberate, soul-training exercise of counting our blessing allows us to be reminded that God loves us even when blots happen in life.

I remember back in January when I was first reading the book A Good and Beautiful God, which our Grow Group is studying, and which I'm getting a lot out of and then some of it is coming through in this sermon. Our power went out in our home, and it was very cold. And I was in a complaint mode and so I'm reading, I start to read this counting your blessings part of the book, and while I'm reading it and sort of being complaining in my spirit, I realize, "Wait a minute. The sun is just beating in on me. It's just coming in, just warming me up. I can feel the warmth of the sun coming through the window."

So as we end today, let's think about the blessings on purpose. And so that's why, in the bulletin today, we've provided a space that you can jot down a number of things that, maybe, you don't normally think about thanking God for. I was in a complaint mode. I did not, before that moment, before reading that book, I did not think about thanking God for the sunlight and for the warmth of the sun.

Let me ask you another question. If you lost your eyesight, how much would you give to get it back? I think I'd give all the money I could get my hands on, but how often do I go along saying, "Thank you, Lord, for my eyesight"? How long do I write down, "Thank you, God, for glasses"? If I didn't have glasses, I would be toast. There's no way I could function. Thank you, Lord. I'm too chicken to get the surgery, so there you go. I've just primed the pump for you. You can write down "sunlight" and "eyesight" as a starter. But just, but if you think about it, you'll start to think of all kinds of things. And this is a cultivation of hope.

So I challenge you to put down, not right now, but today or this week, put down 50 things. I bet you can think of 50 things. And what you'll experience, as you put down and look at this list, you'll be reading a list of all the unearned blessings of God and cultivation of hope, that even when there are blots in my life, I can think of all the good stuff, the widespread mercy that God has blessed me with.

So to avoid the whole quivering mass of anything, the psalmist teaches us to humbly trust in God, to respond in love to God's love and wait in hope through the literal counting of our blessings. And when that happens, we will become, as Augustine wrote, an "alleluia" from head to toe. So let's work on this blessing list for just a few minutes and then we'll move to the table.

© 2010, Rev. George Antonakos
Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD 21204 410/823-6145
www.centralpc.org