August 11, 2013
Worship
in the Park
Patten
Pioneer Days
Habakkuk
3:17-19 NIV
Let us pray... (Pray for the Spirits Guidance
and God’s word to be heard)
Good
morning Patten…! You know, ever since my family moved here from New Hampshire,
I have had a feeling of being back home. This community has been so loving and
welcoming that I feel we have been part of it for a long time.
During
this past week I have felt even more as part of this community. You see…I grew
up in a town that celebrates a homecoming week just as Patten does. It has been
like turning back the clock to when I was young. A time when community came
together to celebrate a time in its history…a time when community set aside
it’s differences…it’s pain…it’s sorry…and finds one common bond to celebrate.
There truly strength in community. In community we find hope.
You
hear about communities coming together after a tragedy on the News. These
communities have suffered some sort of disaster but they make the choice to bond
together and help one another out. It is within this choice that they find hope
for each new day…it is within this choice that you see God working…it is within
this choice that you hear of peoples strength and resolve that can only be
attributed to God who gives strength and courage in the face of diversity.
But,
it is not an easy time as we go through trials. It may be difficult to see God
when there is much despair in our lives…we may question God’s motives sometimes
as we go through those times of trial. We may question God’s love during times
of hopelessness. We may ask “God…where
are you? Why have you allowed this to happen? How can we face such hopelessness
and still remain faithful””
I
am reminded of the Prophet Habakkuk. He too wrestled with these same questions.
He saw the wicked prosper while the faithful suffered. He saw the pain and
sorrow of the people and needed some answers. So the Prophet decided that he
needed to have a dialog with God about this. I think that his vision he had
from God is one that we too need to hear and experience. In his vision he
discovers that these things were not of God that were happening but of the
world in which they lived. God is always there wanting His people to turn to
Him. Then…then they would feel the joy of
the Lord again…if they would turn from their ways and back to the ways of the
Lord…
Let
me read for you the last part of Habakkuk’s prayer at the end of his vision. It
gives us hope for each day…it gives us assurance even in the darkest times. It
is found in Habakkuk 3:17-19. Here the words of hope…
17
Though the fig tree does not bud
And there are no grapes on the vines,
though
the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though
there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.”
And where can we find the strength to pray this
prayer for ourselves? The strength is found in community. There are many
cultures throughout the world that their strength is found in community.
Without community their whole way of life would be destroyed. We
find peace and we find hope in community.
When we reach out with love and hope to someone
in need we give them strength for the journey. When we help our neighbor
rebuild their life again we give them hope for the future. We find peace and we find hope in
community.
When we come together as a community and set
aside our differences and concentrate on our similarities we are a force to be
reckoned with. We can conquer our trials and difficulties because we are strong
when we bond together. We find peace and we find hope in community.
I have this analogy that I would like to share
with you…why I feel that community is so vital and important to humanity. You see this is how I see it. Like any other
artisan who puts a piece of themselves in their creation, God too does the same
thing. He created humanity with a little piece of Himself in it. Now…as we come
together in community that piece of the Divine in each of us connects with that
piece of Divine in others. As we connect we are made stronger. Just think about
it…the Divine in you reaching….touching…the Divine in another… Now you may not feel as if you have
any bit of the Divine within you…you may feel that there is no way God lives
within you…you may feel that you are worth nothing at all…but I am here to tell
you that God doesn’t make junk and that all that God has made is of sacred
worth...God did say when finished creating human kind that it was very good…it
is within community that we find that piece of the creator within the created… We find peace and we find hope in
community.
Beloved child of God…and yes, we are all beloved children of God, our adoption papers were
signed by the blood of Jesus on that cross on a hill long ago…we were
created to be in community…community with each other and community with God. We
were created to ban together and share our lives with one another. We were
created to share that piece of the Divine we have within us with the hurting
world around us. We find peace and we find hope in community.
I would like to end my sermon with something
that was written by one of my favorite poets…my husband Ray. When I shared the
Habakkuk scripture with him he did something that is amazing to me. He rewrote
the prayer…let me read it to you and you decide for yourself if it is one that
you can pray for your own life…
17 Though the mills may be shuttered
and the forests are empty,
though the fields do not provide
their bounty, their harvest,
though the young are departing
for greener pastures,
18 yet I rejoice in my God
I will be joyful in Christ my Savior.
19 The Creator of the universe is my rock
I am like the deer, its hooves
steady on the Mountain.
Sure within thee
safe in thy arms
We find peace and we find hope in
community.
Amen
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