{"id":943,"date":"2019-04-15T02:15:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T02:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2019\/04\/15\/taking-refuge-in-god-based-on-psalm-911-2\/"},"modified":"2020-02-15T18:22:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T18:22:12","slug":"taking-refuge-in-god-based-on-psalm-911-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2019\/04\/15\/taking-refuge-in-god-based-on-psalm-911-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTaking Refuge in God\u201d based on\u00a0\tPsalm 91:1-2, 9-16 and Deuteronomy 26:1-11"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

I find it terribly interesting to be human, particularly
\nthe irrational parts of being human. \u00a0For instance, I am \u00a0quite
\ncapable of articulating the difference between God and the Church.
\nHere, I’ll prove it to you: \u00a0God is the creator of all that is, and
\nthe grounding source of love that universe is build on. \u00a0The Church
\nis a gathering of people who have learned about God largely through
\nJesus of Nazareth and try to be responsive to God, including in
\nsharing in the effort to make the world more loving.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nOK. \u00a0I know there is a difference. \u00a0I believe myself to
\nbe rock solid on the difference.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nExcept that many, many, MANY times in my life, I’ve
\ngotten confused between the two. \u00a0When the Church (big C) has messed
\nup, has proven itself to be entirely too human, has broken my heart,
\nand has failed to be what I think it should be \u2013 I’ve responded by
\ngetting distant with God, as if the failures of the Church are God’s
\nfault. \u00a0I’ve done this repeatedly in my life, and I don’t seem to be
\ncapable of remembering the difference between the two, even though I
\nalready know it (mentally).<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThis seems like a particularly good time to remember
\nthat God is God, and the denomination, the Annual Conference, even
\nthis local church are not. \u00a0God is dependable, steadfast, and loving;
\neven when God’s people \u201cturn away and our love fails.\u201d \u00a0Holiness
\nis present, even when we don’t feel loved or heard by God’s people.
\nThe Spirit offers us rest, support, and abundance; even when life is
\nfeeling frenetic, unhinged, and scarce. \u00a0The Divine calls us to
\nhealing, to wholeness, to authenticity, to full life; even when at
\nthe same time we hear voices telling us to form ourselves into
\nsomething we just aren’t.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nGod is God, and God is GOOD. \u00a0God’s steadfast love
\nendures forever, and it is enough. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIn the language of the Psalm, God is our refuge, our
\nfortress, our dwelling place, our shelter. \u00a0We are at home in God,
\nand we are safe. \u00a0We can relax with the Holy One, we can trust in
\nGod’s love, and goodness, and desire for our well-being. \u00a0We don’t
\nhave to fight to be \u201cenough\u201d or different than how we really are.
\n We aren’t competing against each other for God’s love, because it is
\nnot a finite quality. \u00a0Our natural state is \u201cbeloved by God.\u201d \u00a0We
\ndon’t have to earn it or compete for it. \u00a0It already is.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThat, dear ones, is how grace works. \u00a0Just in case it
\nhas been a while since you’ve remembered the nuances of grace, grace
\nis a word for God’s unconditional love for all of creation, and it is
\nGod’s nature to be loving, to be full of grace. \u00a0Grace isn’t earned,
\nit just is, because it is God’s essence. \u00a0As followers of John
\nWesley, even talk about various forms of grace including previenent
\ngrace, the grace that comes before (like someone wearing too much
\nscent). \u00a0Previenent grace is God’s love for a person that comes
\nbefore that person is aware of God, or of God’s love. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nWesleyan theology says that later on, if we become aware
\nof God, and of God’s love, and decide to work with God for good in
\nthe world, we are impacted by \u201csanctifying grace\u201d, also known as
\nthe process of sanctification. \u00a0 This is the process by which things
\nthat are not loving in us are allowed to wilt away, while love takes
\ndeeper and deeper root in us. \u00a0It is the process of letting our lives
\nbe defined by God’s grace for us and for others. \u00a0It is letting love
\ntake over. \u00a0The idea of John Wesley is that the work of Christians in
\ntheir own lives is to be sanctified, to become every more loving
\nuntil love is all that is left. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nI like that part \ud83d\ude09 \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nDeuteronomy is \u2026 it is many things at once. \u00a0Walter
\nBruggemann, in his commentary on Deuteronomy, often talks about how
\nthe text criss-crosses generations. \u00a0He says, \u201cThe rhetoric works
\nso that the speaker who is a belated rememberer of an old event
\nbecomes a present tense participant in that old event. \u00a0In
\n‘liturgical time,’ the gap between past time and present time is
\novercome, and present-tense characters become involved in remembered
\nevents.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n This gets even more criss-crossed when we attempt to put this text
\ninto context.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nDeuteronomy places itself on the far side of the river
\nfrom the Promised Land, it is a series of speeches by Moses to the
\npeople before they finally enter the Land. \u00a0So, from that
\nperspective, this series of instructions of what to do with the first
\nfruits of the land \u2013 the promised land \u2013 is a future tense
\nreality. \u00a0Within the text, the people are dreaming of living in the
\nland, and haven’t gotten there yet. \u00a0Yet, the instructions are for
\nwhat people will say with their tithes, and the words people are
\nsaying reflect back on the process of getting to (and into the land)
\nwhich in the story hasn’t happened yet. <\/p>\n

\nIf you want to add more layers (which clearly I do),
\nthink about the fact that this was likely written down during the
\nexile \u2013 so a person who once lived in the land \u00a0but did no longer,
\nwas writing down the \u00a0words of one who never lived in the land, to
\nthose who would enter the land, about what they would say when they
\ngot produce out of the land, about their history before they got to
\nthe land. \u00a0 Which is to say, I think Brueggemann is right, and there
\nare ways that time gets messy in these texts \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nI’m interested, as well, in the fact that re-telling in
\nthis liturgical way of the entrance into the Promised Land doesn’t
\ntalk about the wandering in the desert. \u00a0It is huge theme in
\nDeuteronomy, where it is said time and time again that the people
\nneeded to learn that they could rely on God before they could be
\nready to deal with the abundance of life in the Promised Land, so
\nthey wouldn’t think it had come to them from their own doing. \u00a0It
\nalso functioned to led the old generation pass away, so that those
\nwho had known the oppression of slavery were not the ones who build a
\nnew thing. However, none of that is mentioned in this particular
\npiece, even though the rest of the history is.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nBishop Karen Oliveto posted on Facebook this week, \u201cYou
\ncan take people out of Egypt but the main task of liberation is to
\ntake Egypt out of the people. Perhaps this is why wilderness
\nwandering is necessary in our journey?\u201d \u00a0That was when I noticed
\nthat this particular text glosses over the wandering. \u00a0Perhaps it
\ndoesn’t have to be named here, because in the idea that the person is
\ngiving first fruits, we know they haven’t forgotten the lessons of
\nthe wandering. \u00a0In any case, remembering that the wandering exists to
\nteach us liberation is definitely of use!<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nI’m struck by the way the Promised Land is constructed
\nas being itself a refuge, throughout the Bible. \u00a0 Granted, just like
\nchurches, it is an often broken one, and just like churches it gets
\nconfused with God. \u00a0When the people lost the land they took it to
\nmean they’d lost God’s favor. \u00a0Yet, it might be easier to read this
\ntext with awareness that land IS sacred, and that means land is HOLY,
\nand certainly for those who have been without land, land is a refuge
\nonto which they can build a life. \u00a0Space can become home, it can
\nreflect God’s own home-like attributes.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nDid you hear the end of the passage? \u00a0After the first
\nfruits have been given and the past has been remembered, it says,
\n\u201cThen you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside
\namong you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God
\nhas given to you and to your house.\u201d \u00a0I LOVE this part. \u00a0After all
\nthe labor of growing and harvesting the food, after all the
\nremembering (and bouncing around in time) the end game is a feast of
\nbounty to which ALL are invited. \u00a0 All, including those without land.
\n All, including those who don’t know or worship God. \u00a0Those with
\nplenty, those without, those set aside to do God’s work, those who
\nare doing normal daily work, those who don’t have work \u2013 ALL the
\npeople are coming to the feast. \u00a0The work that is given to God is
\nmeant to be redistributed so that everyone can access it together. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThat Promised Land, the one the people were waiting to
\nenter? \u00a0It wasn’t meant to just be a refuge for them. \u00a0It was meant
\nto be a refuge for all. \u00a0The \u201claw\u201d of the Torah seeks to ensure
\nthat widows, and orphans, those without someone powerful to care for
\nthem, will still have enough. \u00a0The Torah seeks to ensure that
\noutsiders \u2013 the foreigners, the immigrants, the refugees – \u00a0will be
\nwelcome and cared for. The Torah OBSESSES over the poor, and puts in
\nplace practices that will prevent long term poverty and allow people
\nto be lifted up. \u00a0The land isn’t meant to be a refuge for some, or
\nfor the lucky, or for those who do right. \u00a0It was designed to be a
\nrefuge for all \u2013 a refuge that reflects God’s nature.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nNow, after fussing over these texts sufficiently, I want
\nto get a bit practical. \u00a0God IS our refuge, and an excellent refuge
\nat that, but we are not always prepared to receive the goodness of
\nGod’s gifts because we tend not to pay attention them. \u00a0We are
\nsomething, maybe too busy, too distracted, or too scared. \u00a0(Scared
\nbecause we’ve been around broken humans enough to be afraid that God
\nisn’t as loving as we’d hope, since humans often aren’t.)<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nHowever, the rest, the refuge, the HOME that God IS for
\nus, is a gift to us that we can receive if we make time and space to
\ndo so. \u00a0I, personally, am best able to connect with this gift when I
\npractice Centering Prayer. \u00a0Centering Prayer is \u201cjust\u201d being,
\nbreathing in and out, and letting thoughts float away without
\njudgment or attachment. \u00a0It is a type of prayer that takes practice,
\nbut it is transformative. \u00a0Other times, to access the rest, the
\nrefuge, the home that God IS, I need to be in physical places where I
\nfeel safe; other times I need to be with those with whom I can laugh.
\n Still other times, a quiet walk in the woods, a good deep cry, or
\nsome time coloring mandalas will make space within me to let God’s
\ngifts in. \u00a0What helps you? \u00a0Are you doing it? \u00a0Do you need help
\nfinding new or different ways to let God’s rest, refuge, offer of
\nhome take hold in you? \u00a0If you do, let’s talk.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nBecause the world doesn’t need us exhausted, aimless,
\nand scared. \u00a0 God and the world most need people being sanctified by
\ngrace, and I think we should make space to let God help us be those
\npeople! \u00a0 Amen\n<\/p>\n

1<\/a>Walter
\n\tBrueggemann, Deuteronom<\/i>y<\/i>
\n\t(Nashville:
\n\tAbingdon Press, 2001)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
\u2028https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 10, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I find it terribly interesting to be human, particularly the irrational parts of being human. \u00a0For instance, I am \u00a0quite … Continue reading \u201cTaking Refuge in God\u201d based on\u00a0\tPsalm 91:1-2, 9-16 and Deuteronomy 26:1-11<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,221,214,220,218,56,64,215,219],"class_list":["post-943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-cant-push-forward-all-the-time","tag-lent","tag-refuge","tag-rest","tag-schenectady","tag-sorry-about-the-umc-world","tag-spiritual-practices-for-lent","tag-we-love-lgbtqia-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1158,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943\/revisions\/1158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}