Opossum Screed: March 2020

Athletic Revenues

Texas $215,829,101
Ohio State $209,102,666
Florida State $198,407,201
Michigan $175,006,632
Georgia $174,042,482
Notre Dame $169,547,625
Alabama $166,812,799
Penn State $164,529,325
Texas A&M $160,101,611
Oklahoma $159,286,136
Louisiana State $157,787,780
Auburn $152,455,418
Wisconsin $151,369,153
Louisville $148,667,940

He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

—Psalm 18:16-19

I love the image of the broad place that's mentioned in Psalm 18:19 (the exact same verse is found in 2 Samuel 22:20), and also used in two other psalms as well as the Book of Job. The broad place represents both safety and freedom. It's been argued that this is where the human psyche is most at home, since

By the waters, the waters of Babylon

we lay down and wept, and wept for thee, Zion.

We remember thee, remember thee, remember thee, Zion.

My Strength

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

—Psalm 18:1-6

The 18th Psalm opens with words of love for God. But the vocabulary is a bit deceptive in English. Though we usually have several words that can mean the same thing, apparently we're a bit short on words for love. That's because the first Hebrew word of this psalm is a bit unusual. אֶרְחָמְךָ is usually translated as love in English, but its actual meaning is not so much "I love you," but "I feel passion toward you." When this psalm was translated into Latin, therefore, it didn't open with the words Te amo (which we might have learned also means "I love you" in Spanish), but with Diligam te—more like "I delight in you."

So Psalm 18:1 becomes incredibly personal. I don't just love God, I delight in

I took these photos this morning at church at 10 AM. From the pulpit, I could see no people, but outside against the wall there were spring flowers.

A Future with Hope

Today I want to talk about two different scriptures that most of us probably don’t think of as related to each other. But of course, they are related—very closely, in fact. I’ve talked about these two scripture passages in sermons before (though not in Chardon), and I’ve always reached a different conclusion than I will today.

So what are the two scriptures? The first one is a psalm. The opening of this psalm is one of the most sadly beautiful laments in history. Listen to the first four verses of the 137th Psalm:

By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

These words were first sung, of course, at the beginning of Israel’s exile in Babylon. Israel had just lost a war, and most of them had been forced to leave

These are strange days. As a pastor, there have always been certain aspects of my job that can be done from home. In the case of writing a sermon, I even prefer working from the little study in the back of my house. But now we're all being told to do everything from home. It's not even responsible to go out, and most of us are staying in whenever possible. Sadly, I find myself ready to retire much earlier than in the past. I even pushed the garbage cans to the curb in my pajamas and robe at 4 PM the other day. The fact that I was also wearing my snow boots (there was no snow on the ground) and my hat with ear flaps

Show your marvelous loving-kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings.

—Ps. 17:7-8

I don't think there's a more confusing idiom in the English Bible than the one usually found in Psalm 17:8. Its not found in all English translations, but most of them have the psalmist praying that God would guard them as the apple of God's eye. Since an apple is a sweet piece of fruit, I have always assumed this was simply a term of endearment, and I've heard it used that way many

This prayer is from the United Reformed Church (United Kingdom)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

—Ps. 46:1

As so much is re-shaped by Coronavirus Covid 19,
let us pray with...

people left unwell, beckoned by death, or bereaved;
people providing professional health care and advice,
looking after loved ones at home
or working to create treatments and cures;
people shaping the response of nations and neighborhoods,

As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

—Psalm 17:4-5

The psalmist doesn't see the crowd mentality as an excuse. Having integrity means acting according to my own moral compass. Living in a violent society does not mean I have to live by violence. Just because everyone around me is armed to the teeth does not dictate that I need to keep weapons at hand. God's steadfast love is a better defense than a handgun. What's the point of

You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

✙ Ps. 16:11 ✙

To be human, alas, is to want stuff. Very often, the things I want and the things I need get mixed up in my head. And when that happens (which is most of the time), it does a number on my perception of God. If God satisfies my hunger, then the things I hunger for quickly become associated with God—or, worse yet, they become my gods.

Speaking about John 6:35—I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

—Psalm 16:8

There's a lot of movement going on in the world right now. I don't mean of people. Not only are people being told to "shelter in place," but entire nations are closing their borders to outsiders.

No, the movement we see is in public policy, in what we're being told to and what we're being told not to do, in statistics, in store closures, in unemployment. All that we used to count on is now untethered. But the Letter to the Hebrews [6:19] tells us that all is not, nor can it ever be lost, for we have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. And this hope is the

From the Belhar Confession

The Belhar Confession was written in 1982 and adopted by one of the Reformed (Calvinist) denominations in South Africa in 1986. This statement of faith is considered one of the major influences that led to the downfall of apartheid in the early 90's. The Belhar Confession has been adopted as an official confession in churches around the world, including the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Reformed Church in America. Here is part of it...

Article 4

We believe

that God has revealed himself as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people;
that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged;
that God calls the church to follow him in this, for God brings justice

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

—Psalm 16:5-6

Literally millions of martyrs were created by the Nazis during the Second World War. But one of the best-known in Christian circles was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Protestant pastor. After his arrest and during his confinement in a Gestapo prison in Berlin, he wrote a poem which he sent to his family in late December 1944. It has lived on as a hymn of faith during confinement. It does not deny fear, but nonetheless looks forward to God's full salvation, which is our heritage as people of faith.

Many are experiencing a different kind of confinement and a different kind of fear right now. And yet the text of Bonhoeffer's poem is still meaningful. Here is

The Lamentations of Jeremiah open with these words: How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become. I thought of that when I was alone in our church building at 10 AM yesterday. This was the second Sunday we'd suspended worship, with no end in sight. I know our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters have already announced that they won't be gathering on Easter, and we'll probably be following suit.

I often think of the empty sanctuary on Sunday morning as a building awaiting its church. And so it seems a bit sad that the building—which has served us so

O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?

—Psalm 15:1

Zion was a physical location in the Hebrew Bible. But for Christians, it is a spiritual reality which refers to the Body of Christ—a people, not a place. So asking who may dwell on God's holy hill is quite the same as asking in whom God may find a welcome. The answer, it would seem, is a pretty tall order. Here is a list of standards provided by Psalm 15:

Those who tell the truth, not just outwardly but within—in other words, they don't just act right for appearance' sake, but have

On Glorifying God

Do you remember a TV show called Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? I hear it’s been revived recently with some brand new episodes, but the original series aired between 2003 and 2012. There were a lot of home remodeling shows back then, but Extreme Home Makeover was different. It chose worthy families living with difficulties or special needs, and completely revamped their

As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.

✙ John 9:5 ✙

Eternal God, who hast been the hope and joy of many generations, and who in all ages hast given men [sic] the power to see thee, and in seeking to find thee: Grant me, I pray thee, a clearer vision of thy truth, a greater faith in thy power, and a more confident assurance of thy love.

When the way seems dark before me, give me grace to walk trustingly.
When much is obscure to me, let me be all the more faithful to the little that I can clearly see.
When the distant scene is clouded, let me rejoice that at least the

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.

—Psalm 14:1

The 14th Psalm appears to be about the folly of atheism. But it's not, really. When I look at the two halves of the first verse separately, then put them back together, something becomes clear. First, it's not about those who loudly proclaim that they believe there is no God, but for those who believe in their hearts that God doesn't exist. It's easy to imagine that such people speak aloud of believing in God, even though they do not really believe what they're saying. And second, the psalmist wrote in an age when kindness was lacking.

When we combine these two thoughts (as, indeed, the psalmist no doubt intended), we see that a true faith in God is belied by kindness and good works. As we read in the New Testament...

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

✙ John 9:4 ❦

Give us grace, O Lord, to work while it is day,
fulfilling diligently and patiently whatever duty thou appointest us;
doing small things in the day of small things,
and great labors if thou summon us to any;
rising and working, sitting still and suffering, according to thy word.
Go with us, and we will go, but if thou go not with us, send us not;
go before us, if thou put us forth;
let us hear thy voice when we follow.
Hear us, we beseech thee, for the glory of thy great Name. Amen.

✙ Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) ❦

Mustache and Walking Stick

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

❀ Psalm 13 ❀

As is so often the case in the scripture, the 13th Psalm is an example of one of the faithful looking ahead confidently to deliverance, even while in the midst of pain. Doubt is natural, and it's hard to avoid it. But I don't need to nurse it.

A literary hero of mine, the Rev. John Ames, the narrator of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, put it best when he said, "I'm not saying never doubt or

You, O Lord, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever.

—Ps. 12:7

I don't tweet very much. But I love to follow twitter. It's where I get a lot of my news, plus it can be very humorous. With the COVID-19 situation changing so quickly these days, other people's tweets are one of the main ways I have of keeping up with what's going on.

But there's something that's really bothering me. There are so many "verified" accounts (meaning that Twitter has made sure those accounts actually belong to celebrities and other influencers) which are using their tweets to bully people into social distancing, especially telling us to work from home. Don't get me wrong. I agree. It's one of the ways we're going to lick this thing. But staying home is a luxury most Americans simply cannot afford. I need to occasionally

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to the mountains; for look, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind.

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence.

On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

❈ Psalm 11 ❈

Considering the state of the world during a crisis, I am called to reflect:

What is the foundation of my world? Is it what I own? my politics? my job? my family or friends? Any of these things can be diminished, taken away, or even

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

—Psalm 10:17-18

Like Psalm 10, the Apostle Paul warned the Galatians against the sort of crass sin that separates the faithful from the faithless. Then he talked about a solution he called the fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23). The law of God, the psalms, the prophets, the apostles, and our Lord Jesus himself all remind us that there are consequences for the mistreatment of the least among us But Paul reminds us that we have complete freedom to perform good deeds:

Crisis is in the air. But so is spring. And though we're told to self-isolate, we can still take walks. The signs of God's greatness and God's love are still there to be found... sometimes right in our neighbors' front yards. Though spring doesn't usually begin in the Western Reserve in mid-March, I'm already seeing

They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.

They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.

—Psalm 10:10-12

Today is a time of trouble. The world is experiencing a pandemic and there is a great deal, not only of sickness, but of fear. And, to be honest, the fear seems worse than the sickness. The trouble is not limited to the disease, however. It's also economic. Stock markets are tanking, and entire industries are being

House of Cards

For the needy shall not always be ignored, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

—Psalm 9:18

Rich secularists have always paid little heed to the poor. And when they do, it seems to be in order to use them for their own purposes. But when people calling themselves Christians lose sight of who they are and Whose they are, when they forget that Jesus' ministry was with, among, and for the poor—that Jesus himself was poor!—then how can we not get discouraged? Where is the hope of the poor, if those who are called to identify with them instead ignore

Forces of Love

So we all know the story of the Woman at the Well. A lot of what we know is right there in the story. One of those things is that Jesus is not supposed to talk to her. The woman herself beats John to the punch: Why are you even talking to me? she says, after Jesus asks for a drink. And then John adds

that Jews and Samaritans aren’t on speaking terms. Though he doesn’t mention that neither were men and women in that place and time, most of us remember that that’s also the case.

But some of the stuff we know is stuff we’ve never been told— at least not by the Bible. One of those things is that she’s been shunned. That’s why she has to go to the well to get water in the heat of the day. She’s immoral, and the reason becomes clear: she’s been married to all those men!

But let’s look at that more closely. And by “more closely,” I mean let’s see how other parts of the Bible might help us understand this better. And let’s start at

God will also be a stronghold for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.
Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

—Psalm 9:9-10

I always find it interesting when nonbelievers use the suffering of others as their excuse for not rejecting the notion that there is a God. My experience (which, I admit, is mostly of people of faith), those who are doing the actual suffering are the ones who are most likely to have faith. Of course I know that there are many who suffer who do not believe, but a person of sincere Christian faith does not turn their back on God when bad times come. That's because in the suffering of Christ on the cross, we know that the hard times

Believe it or not, God is simple. When theologians say this, simple is like unto pure. So when we read in the Bible that God is love, it means that God is love unalloyed with anything else. Or to say that God is just, that means there isn't even the slightest possibility of injustice being mixed in with that justice. Or that God is good—no speck of evil mars God's goodness. God is without parts, and any complication we find in God is something we've introduced to the relationship.

Humans, of course, are never simple. Any emotion we feel, any characteristic that describes us, is mixed with something else. Our hearts are divided and we

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

✵ Psalm 8 ✵

The universe that the writers of the psalms perceived was far smaller than the one we know about today. Yet even they recognized that, when compared to its vastness, human beings were just a speck in the eye of God. Too often, today's

Driven by the forces of love, the fragments of the world seek each other so that the world may come to being.

—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), On Love and Happiness

Everything Is Transformed

One of my favorite songs about karma is Jorge Drexler's Todo Se Transforma. The refrain goes something like this:

Everybody gets what they receive,
and later they receive what they get.
Nothing could be simpler, there's no other norm:
Nothing is lost, everything is transformed.

Since the artist is Jewish, it's highly unlikely that he's paraphrasing the Apostle Paul, who wrote (in Galatians 6:7):

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked,
for you reap whatever you sow.

But Paul isn't the only biblical writer who addressed the theme of karma. It's

The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.

—Psalm 7:8

This is a scary prayer to pray. Traditional Reformed theology informs me that I have no righteousness of my own, so praying to God to judge me according to something that I'm incapable of having seems more than a bit risky. And yet the same set of beliefs that would condemn me also assure me that the perfect righteousness of Christ covers me as a garment, head-to-toe, if my faith in him is genuine.

Since the righteousness of Christ is mine, my prayer should be for integrity—that state of being in which my thoughts, words, and actions measure up to the

The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer.

—Psalm 6:9

Do not study how to arrange your words when you come before the Lord. Leave the expression to the occasion—it shall be given you in the same hour what you shall speak. When your heart is like a boiling geyser, let it steam aloft in pillars of prayer. The overflowing of the soul is the best praying in the world. Prayers that are indistinct, inharmonious, broken, made up of sighs and cries and damped with tears—these are the prayers which win with Heaven. Prayers that

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues.

—Ps. 5:8-9

When praying the psalms, I try my best to focus on the more uplifting verses. This morning, however, I can't help but be intrigued by Psalm 5:9—especially the fact that the psalmist's enemies' "throats are open graves." It's an odd verse, but it was important enough to be quoted by the Apostle Paul (Rom. 3:13), who didn't use it to refer to his enemies, but to help prove the unrighteousness of all humans and our need for a savior. Knowing this, however, doesn't help me understand the meaning of the idiom, "their throats

Again from the Top

Introduction: Nick at Night

We all know the story of the first part of the 3rd chapter of John. Parts of it we know better than just about any other chapter of the Bible. It’s a story that finds Nicodemus visiting Jesus after dark. One of the first things about Nicodemus that might catch our eye is the fact that he’s a Pharisee. Having been taught all our lives that Pharisees are horrible hypocrites, it might be difficult for us to wrap our minds around the fact that here’s one who actually sought out a real theological discussion with Jesus— maybe not in broad daylight, but still, he was willing to receive what Jesus offered. Because Nicodemus visited Jesus after dark, I have always referred this story as Nick at Night.

So let’s put Nick at Night in its broader context today. The opening chapter of John speaks of the divinity of the Word— and it’s very much like a Greek

Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

—Ps. 5:1-3

In his commentary on Psalm 5, Matthew Henry wrote (over three centuries ago):

Morning prayer is our duty; we are the fittest for prayer when we are in the most fresh, and lively, and composed frame, got clear

But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent.

—Ps. 4:3-4

Being set apart for God is one of the more phenomenal truths found in the scriptures. It's not just (and not even always) an honor. As often as not, it's an awesome (read: awe-ful) responsibility. Think of Noah and the ark, Jacob wrestling God, Israel in Egyptian bondage, Paul in prison, Stephen being stoned, and Christ on the cross.

Yes, we all have our own cross to bear, though they're seldom delivered in such biblical proportions as what we find in, well, the Bible. But with this cross

Yesterday, the first part of Psalm 3 led me to think about how, though people's religious experiences differ, I'm in no position to judge another's relationship with God. And here at the end of Psalm 4 I see more clearly why this is so:

Salvation is of God. Your blessing be on your people.

Ps. 3:8

God is the One who saves. Who am I to tell God whom to save or how to do it? I have no power to save even myself. Why should I expect to instruct God in how to wield a power that is utterly beyond me?

In 1 Corinthians 4:12, Paul wrote that "when we are reviled, we bless"—which

Many people say to my soul, "There is no salvation for you in God."

✙ Ps. 3:2 ✙

I live in a country that, since its inception, has had no established church. This means that the government has never endorsed one religion or another, has never supported any sect with citizens' tax dollars, and has never coërced its citizens to worship in a certain way or believe any particular doctrines. Because of this freedom of religion, no one interpretation of Christianity has held sway over all others. Indeed, a variety of religious movements have

Why do the nations rage, and why do the peoples plot such a vain thing? The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against God and God's anointed, saying, "Let us break their bonds apart, and cast their cords aside."

✙ Ps. 2:1-3 ✙

The language of the Second Psalm is strange and beautiful. The "anointed" mentioned was probably David, but Christians enthusiastically interpret this psalm to be about Jesus the Messiah (messiah and christ are the Hebrew and Greek words for anointed). I read the following comment on it by a Puritan

Blessed are those who don't walk according to the advice of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of God, and on God's law they meditate day and night.

—Psalm 1:1-2

As I begin my Psalm meditations anew, I want to once again quote Alexander Maclaren, who said that "the Psalter may be regarded as the heart's echo to the speech of God, the manifold music of its wind-swept strings as God's breath sweeps across them."

This, I believe, is the reason the psalter has been prayed by the ancient Hebrews, by cloistered monks and nuns in medieval times, by the Reformed

Do you ever experience the internet as a rabbit hole? I don’t mean “rabbit hole” literally (obviously)— I’m talking about it in the figurative sense, like in Alice in Wonderland— a weird place or situation that you seem to fall into, and find it very difficult to find your way back out. For example, last week’s sermon: I was doing my due diligence by visiting the California Dried Plum Board’s website, only to discover that after almost twenty years, they’d changed their mind and decided that dried plums could once again be referred to as prunes. After several steps in between, I naturally made my way to the Wikipedia article on the African nation of Malawi, then somehow found some books on gutenberg.org by a guy named A. Huitt Verrill. And this,