Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Wisdom Wednesday: Pause, Psalm 27

Have you ever made an embarrassing mistake? Have you ever made an embarrassing mistake in front of 100 people? Have you ever made an embarrassing mistake in front of a hundred people during a worship service which was also being livestreamed so that your mistake will be on the internet forever? Grace and peace to you, I’m Rev. Joe Cailles, the pastor of Peakland United Methodist Church in Lynchburg Virginia. Today is Wednesday, February 28, 2024 Last Sunday at Peakland’s 11:00 worship, in my enthusiasm to preach my sermon, I skipped right over the reading of the scripture which was Psalm 27. We didn’t hear the scripture on Sunday. I’ve made many, many, many mistakes before in my ministry but that’s a colossal one. So, here is the reading, three days later than it should have been, of Psalm 27, selected verses. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh- my adversaries and foes shall stumble and fall. Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though a war arise against me, nonetheless, do I trust. Here, O Lord, my voice when I cry aloud, and grant me grace and answer me. Come, my heart said, seek the Lord’s face. Your face, O Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn Your servant away in wrath. I believe I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with hope! Let your heart be firm and bold, wait and hope for the Lord. As I said on Sunday, this Psalm swings back and forth between faith and hope and between fear and doubt. The Psalm starts out faithfully – The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? But before too long, doubt and fear creep in and the Psalm writer is pleading for God’s’ presence. Your face, O lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn me away in anger. I certainly know what it’s like to swing back and forth between faith and doubt and between hope and fear, particularly when I make a colossal mistake. Psalm 27 is a comfort to me, knowing that when doubt and fear surround me and I’m feeling very foolish, God is good and God’s face shines upon me when I do things correctly and when I do not. That’s very good news for me and for all of us. God’s face shines on all of us. God’s love surrounds us. God blesses us and uses us to bless one another. If you’d like to learn more about our great church and God is using us to bless each other and bless the world around us, visit our website PeaklandUMC.org, or come to worship Sundays at 8:30 and 11:00 in the sanctuary and 9:45 Horizons worship in our fellowship hall, and livestream worship at 11:00 a.m. I promise, from now on, you’ll hear the scriptures in worship, and you’ll find a warm welcoming church community. Reach out to me at PeaklandPastor@gmail.com. Thanks be to God!