Sermon Title: "Weeping Willows"
Author's Name: Rev. Alex Knight
Imagine with me that about right now the doors in the back of the sanctuary bust open and the door here on the side busts open. Armed troops come in and begin to herd us out the front doors. As we come out we are separated. Husbands will go one way, wives another, children yet another. Friends are divided. You are put in buses where there are other people that you don't know. You are taken far away from here. Somewhere down the way, the people who have taken us away, stop and let us take a break. They say to us, "Before we came into that little church of yours, we heard you singing. Why don't you sing to us now?" As they spoke, they have this smirk on their face.
It would be pretty hard to sing, would it not? The Psalmist writes about a time like this. Psalm 137.
(Psa 137: 1-6 NRSV) By the rivers of Babylon--there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. {2} On the willows there we hung up our harps. {3} For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" {4} How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? {5} If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! {6} Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy..."
The kingdom of God had been divided into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom and the strength of those kingdoms had diminished. Finally there was one last invasion. The Babylonians came and swept through the country. They conquered Israel and took prisoner's of war. The Babylonians knew if they put their own troops in the land and let the people stay there, they would have to deal with problems all the time. Instead, they took prisoners out of their homeland to their country. They would teach the prisoners their language. They would divide the families so there woul be no source of inner strength. They would try to get the prisoners assimilated into their country. Those that were not killed in the fighting are taken captive and off they go to this foreign land. On the way the captors poke fun at the prisoners and say, "Where are your songs now?" You heard what the Psalmist wrote: "On the willows there we hung up our harps" This is where we get the expression, "the weeping willow."
This took place about six centuries before Christ. At this time in the history of Israel the people had been scattered abroad. You can feel with them the sense of desolation they had. Everything they had hoped for and longed for in their life had been destroyed. Families were separated. They felt totally defeated.
For most of the history of Israel there was an oral tradition that was passed down from one family to another, from the priest to the people of God. But now, because the people were scattered everywhere, they were losing their oral history, so God moved within the hearts of the people to write down the stories of God that they might be distributed among the people. And one of the first stories that they wrote down ...
(Gen 1 NRSV) In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, {2} the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. {3} Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. {4} And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. {5} God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. {6} And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." {7} So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. {8} God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. {9} And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. {10} God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. {11} Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. {12} The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. {13} And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. {14} And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, {15} and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. {16} God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. {17} God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, {18} to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. {19} And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. {20} And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." {21} So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. {22} God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." {23} And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. {24} And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. {25} God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. {26} Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." {27} So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. {28} God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." {29} God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. {30} And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. {31} God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
(Gen 2:1-4 NRSV) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. {2} And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. {3} So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
Those are the words the priestly writer of Genesis wrote to distribute among all the people of God who had been separated from their homelands. How would you feel if you received this account of creation at such a difficult time in your life? What it did for Israel was give them hope that one day they would come back to their homeland. The words of the creation story reminded them that though they may not understand all that was happening they could trust that God created this world,. . . they did not create it. They did not create themselves. They were the sheep of His pasture. This knowledge gave them a sense of order, a sense of the sovereignty of God that resonated through the people of God and gave them hope that God has created, God is creating and God is not through yet.
One of the things that has amazed me over the years is the sense of a dichotomy or a paradox in our human experience. The human being is incredibility strong. It takes a lot to kill us. But we also know that the combination of all that we are, body, soul and spirit is very fragile. Sometimes it only takes a few brief words and our world comes down around our head.
When someone receives a call from the doctor and the biopsy is positive, at that moment their whole world changes. Nothing is the same, nothing will ever be the same again. Someone receives a call at work and finds they have been "down-sized" out of a job. All of a sudden there is concern about the mortgage payment, the bills and financing the children's education. The world changes. No longer do they have that sense of security. There were people last year in Tallahassee that had been working for the state government for years and thought this was the most secure place to work. Then the legislature downsized and hundreds lost their jobs. No longer do they have that sense of security.
Sometimes husbands and wives are trying to resolve difficulties and the question is asked, "Are you seeing somebody else?" The words, "Yes I am" cut to the quick. Your life, all of a sudden, comes down around your shoulders. A simple short sentence changes your life forever and you find yourself walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes the shadow of death is worse than death. Sometimes we mortgage our future on things that we think are going be, but circumstances beyond our control come in and alter our lives. Our lives change and they change forever. We lose our innocence. Nothing remains the same. It's like being carried away to Babylon. Our world changes.
In the midst of those circumstances, it takes a long time to find the answers we are looking for. It may be years before we can begin to look back in our life and say, "Yes, God is working good in my life." In time we can see all things coming together in a way that our life is changing for good. We will see God raising us up out of the ashes of life as a new person, as a new creation in Christ.
One thing is for sure. All of us are going to walk through that valley in our life. When we are walking through valley of the shadow of death, it is hard to see God working in our life. That's why it's important for us to affirm the truth about who we are as God's people, the truth about who God is and His love and His mercy for us.
We may not understand with certainty what is happening, why we are in the valley. Sometimes we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, we can't see our way out. One thing we can hold onto is our faith in God. He is with us and He will walk through the valley of the shadow of death with us. His rod and His staff are there for us. I think the Psalmist says it best of all in Psalm 46:
(Psa 46 NRSV) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. {2} Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; {3} though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah {4} There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. {5} God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. {6} The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. {7} The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah {8} Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. {9} He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. {10} "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth." {11} The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
God is our strength. He is our shield, He is our refuge. Indeed He is a very present help in time of need.The story of creation is a marvelous story. To me the most powerful aspect of that story is when God chose to write it down. To remind us in the midst of the turmoil of life that we all experience, that God is in control. This is His world and He loves us, He is with us and there is absolutely no power on earth that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I know the circumstances in many of our lives today. I know many of you are struggling with something in your life, in your marriage, in your family. Most of us are either in the valley or know somebody who is. In our time together this morning, we want to affirm that God's mercy is new, every morning. He is our refuge. He brings order to our chaos. We can trust Him with our lives. You may not understand what is happening in your life or in the life of your loved ones right now, but you can rely on God as your strength and as your refuge. You can experience His peace, which passes all understanding.