2020.12.27 | Pause for Praise
Pause for Praise
Rev. Pepper Swanson
Dec 27, 2020
Merry Christmas to one and to all!
Our Bible reading today is one of five final songs in the Book of Psalms, all of which call for praise of God.
The Psalm summons first all the heavens to praise God, meaning the angels, the sun, the moon, all the shining stars, and the waters above the heavens.
In an echo of the Genesis creation story, the heavens are called to praise God because their very existence, their creation, was commanded by God, who made them eternal and fixed.
Then the Psalm calls all of earth to praise, including sea monsters of the deep, elements like fire and hail, as well as mountains, hills, trees, wild and domestic animals.
Finally, the Psalm calls all the people of earth, royal or not royal, of every age and gender to praise God.
All, animate and inanimate, are called to praise God for God has raised up a horn, which is a symbol of strength in praise of the people who are close to God's heart, the faithful of Israel.
Bible scholars often puzzle over the ending, asking are we, meaning every living creature and all that surrounds above and below, really called to praise God because God praises us for being faithful?
For me, two answers are most compelling. I do believe people show God praise best by being who we were created and called to be. Created to be faithful, God finds praise in the faithfulness of the people.
Second, I believe that praise of God is not complete unless there is symbiosis, a coming together, of humans and our natural environment. One without the other is incomplete, in the same way some carols and hymns feel incomplete unless the music and singing come together. We praise God most fully when we live in harmony with
In this year 2020, a year in which COVID makes it so challenging to praise God, I find that beyond my two beliefs that we praise best when we are best selves and when we are in harmony with nature, there are three other lessons for praising God that we can draw from the Psalm
First, our praise must be authentic: We all know the difference between a real and a less than real “Praise God.” Real ones usually come with exclamation points, right? As in the moment you realize you have enough money for rent and groceries, and you say: Oh, Praise God!! We’ve all met people who praise God a lot, usually in a formulaic way. It’s easy for that type of praise to just slide over you because it feels as forced as a child thanking you for a gift they didn’t like. It probably slides right over God as well.
Second, your praise is unique to you: The sea monster and creatures of the deep probably praise God for how dark and cold and salty the ocean water is. You not so much. You praise God for that which reflects the life God has given you. I have never praised God so much as when my daughter had just learned to drive on her own. The sound of the garage door opening elicited praise that others, without children or my concerns, would have thought unnecessary. But my praise is unique (and as necessary) as your praise is to you. The uniqueness of our individual praise ensure that God is fully praised, praised for every aspect of our humanity and God’s creation.
Last, the praise-worthy is worth searching for: There are times, as 2020 has pointed out in extreme, that it is not patently obvious what we should be praising God for, as in “Praise God for the world’s best virus, COVID 19” or “Praise God for economic turmoil.” If you ever get to the point you can’t think of a reason to praise God, it’s time to go looking. Walk outside and find a flower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk, or a beetle the size of your thumb, or a blue jay with the most intense blue you’ve ever seen. Or go online and study the new and ingenious ways people are turning plastic waste into bricks and coats and furniture and imagine our dumps, those repositories of indestructible waste, being harvested in the future. Or study up on vaccines and the people who make them. I am guessing that between nature and the God-given talents of our fellow humans, you will find something that elicits an authentic “Praise God!” and that finding that something will lift up your spirits and open your heart to finding more and more to praise.
In praise of Christmas, I like to think that what happened over 2,000 years ago when Christ was born was that despite their best intentions, the people ran short of reasons to praise God and that God came to them in the form of a person so that he might restore their perception of themselves and of God. Perhaps like us, they got so tangled up in what was happening, all their authentic praise was swallowed up by some ancient form of doom scrolling, that addictive process of endless searching for reasons to be horrified.
In the Gospel stories that we have received, God as the man Jesus interrupts the daily news, news that had driven many into the dark corners of their lives, to say, “Good news, there’s a way out of this mess; we’ve just got to work together.” And he said it as a man of faith, called to thank and praise the God that gave him life.
Whenever we celebrate Communion, we remember that before Jesus broke the bread or offered the cup, he gave God thanks and praise. Authentic, unique, and worthy praise for God who gives us bread and drink and endless reasons to thank and praise him, even in a year as bad as 2020.
I’ll end by echoing Psalm 148. This is our call: Praise God, all you people, young and old, rich and poor, ready or not, praise God for the gift that was and is the person of Jesus Christ, for all reminders that praise is fundamental to our humanity, and for praising us when we find and express our authentic praise for God and the amazing creation in which we live. Amen.