2021.08.08 | Taste and See
“Taste & See”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, CA
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 8, 2021
The primary text for today’s sermon is Psalm 34. It’s one of my favorites. When I’m feeling particularly blessed, phrases from this psalm come easily to mind and roll off my lips. I’ve been known to use this passage as a Call to Worship in festive services like weddings, baptisms, the eucharist, and church dedications and anniversaries. It’s a robust piece. The sense of joy is palpable. You can’t miss that feeling.
I chose this text several weeks ago because I love it. But, truthfully, as the day grew nearer when I would have to actually prepare and deliver this message, I became increasingly ambivalent about my selection, because I haven’t been feeling all that joyful this past week.
Data on the Delta variant has been so discouraging. As of Wednesday, all Bay Area Public Health Officials were ordering a return to masking indoors for everyone, regardless of vaccination status.
We currently have 40 active outbreaks of the virus in nursing homes across California, and the hospitalization rate is up at Children’s Hospital in Oakland and Kaiser-San Leandro where most of our members end up if their conditions require hospitalization.
In addition, I learned that even though we are ahead of many other counties in the US with our 65% percent vaccination rate, we didn’t hit the 70% mark fast enough to get ahead of the Delta variant, so now we need 84% of the population vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity.
The truth is grim. Just seven weeks after “re-opening California,” the Bay Area is in the midst of our third virus surge, and the number of the positive cases are growing exponentially, including among people who have been fully vaccinated.
To make matters worse, current CDC models are forecasting that the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Alameda cases will be 2X what they were on January 8, 2021 (the worst date in the pandemic so far) by Labor Day 2021.
I’m convinced that we will eventually get through all this drama, but not for a while. We are months--not weeks--away from vaccine approval for children under 12, and receiving booster shots for those of us who are currently considered “fully vaccinated” and whose vaccine efficacy may be waning. So, I confess, I’m just not feeling that same joyful spirit that the Psalmist exudes in No. 34. How about you?
II
Ya, that’s what I thought. So here’s an interesting surprise. The person who drafted Psalm 34, and those who have sung it for centuries were not always feeling that joyful either.
Note that UCC Hebrew Bible Scholar, Walter Brueggemann, explains in his book, The Message of the Psalms, that Psalm 34 was “not an emotional outburst of gratitude,” but rather a “disciplined statement” grounded in the social marginalization of a desperate person who was literally liberated by God from their situation.
So this passage is anything but a spur-of-the-moment, happy-clappy praise song. It is a passage that was carefully crafted over time, and handed down through the ages. We know this, because the passage is constructed in the form of an acrostic.
An acrostic is a poem in which certain letters spell out a word or phrase. The biblical Psalms are constructed by beginning each line with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Acrostic poems aren’t unique to the Hebrew Bible. There are numerous examples in other languages and cultures, including Early American history and the poetry of pioneer women who traveled by wagon train across the US during the Western Expansion.
Edgar Allan Poe, for example, wrote several acrostic poems, and countless pioneer women needlepointed acrostic poems on pieces of fabric to use as teaching tools for their children.
Anyone who's taken a poetry writing class or done any needlepointing knows that one does not just crack out a poem like a receipt coming out of an ATM machine, or complete a needlepoint project in a heartbeat. No, poetry writing and needlepointing take time and intention. A well-developed poem and a needlepoint project typically take anywhere from several hours to several days to complete.
The lengthy process required to write a poem, or finish a needlepoint project provides the author or artist ample time to consider their words and to plumb the depths of their emotions, including their most extreme feelings of panic and desperation that likely preceded their liberation and feelings and expressions of gratitude.
Consider, for example, the circumstances out of which Psalm 34 emerged. Most of us know that King David is the most revered ruler in the history of Ancient Israel. Given that, we may be tempted to think that he had a pretty cushy life, but that was not the case. Psalm 34 is associated with the period of time that immediately followed his predecessor’s three successive attempts on his life.
Remember that although David was Saul’s successor, he was not Saul’s son, so he was not the heir apparent. Remember, too, that David was the son of Jessie, a humble shepherd, and that David was the youngest son of a man who was part of the peasant class, not the royal or priestly classes.
Despite his humble beginnings, David rose to great acclaim. He was successful in battle against the Philistines. He won the hearts of his comrades and the people of Israel. And as a result, Saul grew jealous of David, and plotted to kill him. Saul made three attempts in total on David’s life, but was unsuccessful with everyone. (See I Sam. 21:1-22:23:2.)
David survived and went on to thrive. Saul’s corrupt sons were passed over for King. David was anointed leader of Israel, and ruled 40 years over the 12 tribes of Israel. To this day, David is remembered as the most faithful (though flawed) King of Israel.
Throughout Psalm 34, David described what God has done for him, and he strove to inspire others--especially the anawim--those who were afraid, ashamed, distressed, persecuted, unhappy, and vulnerable--to trust that what God had done for him, God would do for them.
III
Now there’s a type of piety that I can respect and relate to--piety that’s grounded in real-world grit and struggle. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been suspicious of happy-clappy, pie-in-the-sky piety, and the people who espouse it.
Unless a person has experienced doubt, can they claim to have faith? Unless a person has felt despair, can they really know joy? Unless a person has gone without, can they truly be thankful? I don’t think so.
That’s why Psalm 34 is so powerful. It’s tried and true. It’s been taste-tested by our ancestors in the faith.
As a consequence, we can trust the veracity of these verses, and hold onto the hope that they exude, even when we may not yet be able to proclaim the words of Psalm 34 with our whole hearts. Thanks be to God. Amen.