God helps those who are

A sermon on Psalm 127 for DuPage Care Center, Wheaton, IL
November 11, 2018

Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives sleep to his beloved.

Children are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127 was one of my Dad’s favorite Bible texts. He seemed to be always finding occasions to have it read. I think it is one of the most relatable psalms, because it seems to be talking about our life: rise up early, go to rest late, eat the bread of anxious toil. Who hasn’t done that? Remember how we had an economic crisis in this country, in 2008, and companies everywhere started getting rid of employees? And then, when the crisis ended, we had got used to doing the same amount of work with fewer people, so we just stayed that way instead of hiring most of them back? We wake up early, we go to bed late, we eat the bread of anxious toll. And then sleep doesn’t come, because we are worried.

But this psalm describes two kinds of life, two philosophies of living. One, which i have started to describe, could be called “God helps those who help themselves”. We all know this expression, right? God helps those who help themselves. God helps those who wake up early, go to bed late, and worry their nights away. When we think like that, it’s easy to turn things around and, looking at those who seem more successful than us, to imagine that they must have worked harder, or somehow been more blessed by God.

However, the psalm doesn’t stop there. There is, there, a second, much different philosophy. If the first group is “God helps those who help themselves, perhaps the second group could be called “Let go, and let God.”

Those are the real heroes of Psalm 127, the “let go and let God” crew.

Just for the sake of variety, i would like to read Psalm 127 again, from the modern translation called The Message:

If God doesn’t build the house,
the builders only build shacks.

If God doesn’t guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.

It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.

Don’t you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?

Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.

Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!

Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you;
you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.

Here is our hero: the victorious person who doesn’t need to fight, because his children fight for him.

I picked Psalm 127 because it is one of the readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for today. If you are not familiar with the Lectionary, it is a three-year long list of Bible readings, meant to be used during the church service. It is used by Roman Catholics and many Protestant denominations. The other texts in today’s Lectionary illustrate the meaning of “let go and let God”:

First we have the story of Naomi and Ruth. The reference is Ruth 3.1–5 and 4.13–17. It is an extraordinary story. Ruth was a Moabite: a foreigner from a country that was a traditional enemy of Israel. She was also a widow, and a refugee. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, had moved to Moab from Israel with her husband and two sons, because of hunger. Now, her husband and sons had died and once more, what had been left of the family — Naomi and Ruth — were on the move again, returning to Israel, once more to escape hunger. Can’t you just hear the politicians complaining about the invading caravan of Moabites bringing disease? bringing crime? bringing bad people? But contrary to our expectations, Naomi and Ruth, with God’s blessing, were able to survive and thrive in their new home. The very last verses of the book of Ruth contain a surprise: Ruth the refugee became the great grandmother of David, the most famous Biblical king. and incidentally, the man who wrote many of the Psalms. And many generations later, Jesus was born from that same family line. Though it can be said that Naomi and Ruth worked very hard and had to endure many difficulties on their way to survival, they were blessed in a way that nobody; could have predicted.

Then, there is the story of the prophet Elijah and the widow: 1 Kings 17.8–16:

The word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

This is a person who trusted God when she seemed to have arrived at the end of her resources, and was blessed in a way that nobody could have predicted.

The next text is Psalm 146, which says:

The Lord executes justice for the oppressed
He gives food to the hungry

The Lord sets the prisoners free
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down
The Lord loves the righteous

The Lord watches over the strangers,
He upholds the orphan and the widow

But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Are we beginning to see a pattern?

Then there is Hebrews 9.24–24 which at first seemed out of place, until i realized that it talks about how Jesus took care of our spiritual problems once for all and left nothing for us to do, in that department.

Then finally the Gospel text, which is Mark 12.38–44: the story of the poor widow’s offering. This was probably the one which provided the theme for today’s Lectionary collection.

Jesus was in the Temple, watching those who came and put money in the offering box. Many rich people came and made large contributions. And then a poor widow came and gave two small coins. Two cents. Not enough to buy anything, really. Jesus said: the truth is that she gave more than all the others put together; because they gave out of their abundance, money that they would never miss; but she gave all that she had. She gave extravagantly, what she couldn’t afford.

So where does this leave us?

I hope these texts and this conversation will encourage us to look at this world more like God does: with generosity and a calming sense of trust. Jesus himself said that nobody ever became richer, prettier or healthier by worrying about things. Don’t worry, be happy! Trust that God will provide what you really need. Trust in the abundance of the Universe he created. Life is not a zero-sum game.

Somebody posted recently in Twitter proposing a new social program based not on the work of Karl Marx, but Groucho Marx: “workers of the world, relax!” Now, that’s the kind of Revolution i could join. That’s the kind of revolution we need.

So relax, smell the roses. Do something that brings no profit: learn how to play the ukulele. Read or write some poetry. Learn how to draw. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Happy is the person who is victorious without ever having to fight. Amen.