April 3, 2011
Pastor Ronald T. Glusenkamp
“Annointed”
The angel for today's message is Abudance
PSALM 23
1The LORD | is my shepherd;
I shall not | be in want.
2The LORD makes me lie down | in green pastures
and leads me be- | side still waters.
3You restore my | soul, O LORD,
and guide me along right pathways | for your name's sake.
4Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall | fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they | comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence | of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days | of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the | LORD forever.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2011 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26681.
Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The psalm appointed for today is the 23rd Psalm. I want to say once again a line from that beloved psalm that summarizes the spiritual place, the physical space and the amazing grace that we are blessed with on this wonderful day.
“you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.”
Our cup(s) indeed do run over today as we celebrate all the blessings that have come our way. Our cup(s) indeed do run over today as we plan and meditate on how we can “Be the Blessing” in our community. Our cup(s) indeed do run over as we give thanks for that amazing gospel lesson, for the fantastic first lesson and for the 23rd Psalm that is really a GPS (God’s Positioning System) for us as we walk through the “valley of the shadow of death.”
I invite you to take in hand the ELW and turn to the section where the psalms are to be found. It is like the last red tab. Theologically the Psalms are the first hymns of the people of God. So that’s why they are presented and listed in that format. The first 150 hymns in the ELW are the 150 songs from the Book of Psalms.
This week we focus our attention on The Blessing of being Un-plugged! Our big idea is “Un-plug in order to recharge.” I don’t believe there is any passage in the Bible, there isn’t any song on our I-pods, there isn’t any slogan or card from Hallmark that “recharges” or “restores” the soul as much as the 23rd Psalm.
“you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.”
And so, just take a look at this marvelous poem. Six verses. It’s in many ways a psalm of being “un-plugged.” It’s about you and your relationship with God. It’s very intimate and private. It’s authentic. It’s affirming. It’s available. It is about you and your relationship with God. And what’s great here is that even if you or I have strayed from the flock to wander off, there is a point of access and welcome. Even if you and I are so busy or tired from doing whatever we do, there is a time for still waters. Even if we go into the valley of the shadow of death, there is light, life and love. It is about you and your relationship with God.
At the same time, it’s about us and our relationship with God. We don’t live in a world by ourselves. We live in and around one another. One of the riddles and rhymes of our global society and community today is that the world at the very same time gets smaller and larger. We can communicate, literally “reach out and touch someone” with our phones and send pictures around the globe in a few seconds. And yet, we don’t even know the names of people who live next door to us. We don’t know their story of where they came from or where they are going.
Individually and corporately we say, “The Lord is my shepherd” and looking around we acknowledge, “The Lord is our shepherd.”
Let’s read the psalm together:
1The LORD | is my shepherd;
I shall not | be in want.
2The LORD makes me lie down | in green pastures
And leads me be- | side still waters.
3You restore my | soul, O LORD,
and guide me along right pathways | for your name's sake.
4Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall | fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they | comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence | of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days | of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the | LORD forever.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2011 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26681.
Read quote from Lent for Everyone- Matthew-Year A by Tom Wright, (page 72)
“you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.”
This morning you have the opportunity to receive a sign of the blessings which have come to you. As you come up for Holy Communion you can be marked with the sign of the cross (in oil) and hear these amazing words, “Child of God you are marked in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are blessed to Be the Blessing.”
Being anointed is what the prophets did to the people who were going to become king.
That’s what the OT reading for today from 1 Samuel is all about. You and I through the waters of Holy Baptism have become part of God’s royal family. We are blessed to Be the Blessing.
A famous civil rights leader always used to respond with these words when he was asked “what gave him the right” or “who elected him” to raise such complex issues of justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with God.” His response was, “while others have been appointed, I’ve been anointed.” At first hearing that sounds a little arrogant, full of hubris and pride, but you and I have been called, we’ve been anointed and our cup overflows.
Take in hand if you will the BE the Blessing insert in your bulletin. Scan the front page and the open it up to pages 2-3. Check out the organizations, our partners listed there who are ready, willing and able for us on Sunday, May 22nd. There is a handy chart that lists the following: project description; project time frame; and age notes. Next Sunday, April 10 and Wednesday April 13th you will have the opportunity to “sign up” for where you choose to BE the Blessing.
www.bethany-denver2.org/outreach/btb-be-the-blessing/
Turn to page 4, a couple more sites are listed. We have FAQs with answers.
Today come up, to “taste and see” that the Lord is good. Take a time to be anointed!
Pray this week about where God is calling you to BE the Blessing.
Celebrate that “you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is | running over.”
Amen
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