Be still, and
know that I am God
Psalm
46:10a, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Psalm 46 is a Song of Zion. Zion
is another name for the city of Jerusalem.
The Songs of Zion celebrate Jerusalem primarily because of its special
relation to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Zion was “the city of our God” (Psalms 48:1-2, 8; 87:3), the object of God’s special love (87:2), chosen (78:68-70; 122:3-5; 132:13-18) and established (87:5) by Yahweh. Jerusalem, a symbol of unity for the scattered tribes of
Israel, could not be seen in simple terms. This place was Yahweh's. The second part of the name Jerusalem reminded
the listener of the word shalom, meaning peace. The root of that word denotes
completeness, wholeness and soundness.
“Be still and know that I am God” and we will sing of completeness,
wholeness and soundness.
Our theme for this newsletter is “Relax.”
We have a God and it is not us.
Knowing that God is God, and we are not, will invite us to seek
opportunities to be whole. My sermon on
the last Sunday of Easter was focused in part on what it means to be
whole.
Wholeness includes an element of self-care. A classical sermon illustration is the
instruction we receive during our safety briefings on airplanes as it relates
to oxygen masks: place your own mask on
first before helping others.
Be still, let God be God, and take a moment (or five) to breathe deep and
focus a little on self-care. In
Philippians 2, Paul invites the church in Philippi to “make my joy complete” by
being like-minded with Jesus as our example.
Jesus strove to take care of himself, retreating often to places alone
where he could pray and listen for God.
We are going to try and model a little of that this summer. The choir will take some time off, committees
are encouraged to pick a month they won’t meet, and this particular newsletter
is for both June and July. Other
examples could be offered up. The key is
to take a little time to relax, let God’s Holy Spirit be given a chance to
re-enter our lives and invite us to “be still.”
Marilyn and I are going to travel which will include seeing children and
grand-children but also seeing Utah. We
have as we start our fourth year here at Hilltop not seen much of the state
outside of the Salt Lake Valley.
We invite everyone to slow down and reestablish relationships and
practices that help make you whole. Self
awareness is a critical element of our Christian walks and pausing to discern
what it is that makes you whole, makes you complete, makes you sound is essential. Allow your spiritual tanks to be supplied,
use this summer as an opportunity to first place on your own oxygen mask before
trying to help others.
Relax and let God be God. Sing a
Song of Zion, a simultaneously simple idea embedded within a framework of rich
meaning and context. Be still and know
that God is God.
Selah, Pastor Dennis
