|
|
Lenten Sermon Series, Lent 3 - Oculi, February 27, 2005
A Sermon based on Psalm 25:15 by Sam McPeek (->current sermons ) |
Collect “My eyes are always looking towards the LORD, so that he can bring my feet out from the net.” When I was a young boy, my family had a ranch out in western Nebraska. One summer afternoon we were working cattle at the ranch. As the rest of the crew was finishing up, I took the pickup to go and bring in a sick steer that we had to treat before we left. There was a metal gate next to the horse barn that I would have to go through in order to go out to the pasture. I stopped the pickup, opened the gate, drove through the gate, got back out and closed the gate. As I turned to get back into the pickup, I heard the buzz of a rattlesnake right under my feet. Immediately I froze and was unable to move and couldn’t see the pickup less than 15 feet in front of me. Sometimes fear has a way of not only paralyzing us, but also blinds us at the same time. Perhaps you have had an experience like that. The psalmnist, who most likely was David, must also have experienced something like that, as he writes in our text for today: 15 “My eyes are always looking towards the LORD, so that he can bring my feet out from the net.” Being Caught in the Net In verse 15, he describes his dilemma as having his feet caught in a net, implying that he is unable to free himself from the predicament that he finds himself in. It is interesting to note how we use similar metaphors to describe situations and circumstances in our own lives. How many times have we said to someone that “we are tied up right now,” or that we are bogged down in our work; our stomaches are tied in knots, or we can’t seem to escape from some vice or habit. There are times when we may feel imprisoned by our past and unable to move forward in our lives. We know all to well that our ancient enemies of sin and death oftentimes seem to overwhelm us and make us feel as though we are imprisoned and cannot set ourselves free. Indeed we lack the strength and ability to set ourselves free. Look to the Lord The children’s movie “Finding Nemo” is the story of a little fish who strays too far from his father and is caught by a scuba diver and held captive in a fish bowl. Despairing over his loss of freedom and fearing his own doom, he tries to escape from captivity. The only way, it is decided, is that he would have to fake his own death in order to be flushed down the porcelean pot and find his way back to the ocean. Our freedom does not come to be by faking our own death, but by entrusting ourselves to the one who allowed himself to be bound and nailed to the cross. For it is through the death of Christ that our redemption was made and by his resurrection, our salvation is secured. This is also what the psalmnist realized. He knew that the same God who rescued the children of Israel from captivity, would also rescue him from his peril. Centuries after the psalmnist wrote his words, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews addressed Christians who were also “bogged down” because of their faith. They experienced the same abandonment and isolation that the psalm writer refers to in Psalm 25. In encouraging them, the letter writer said: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Henry Francis Lyte was an English minister who served a parish in the small fishing village of Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England for twenty-five years. (1) For several years, Henry struggled with a lung ailment that was irritated by the cold, damp weather of the English coast. When in his mid-fifties, he realized that his lung disorder had deteriorated into tuberculosis. At age 54, he decided to take a therapeutic holiday in Italy, where hopefully he would be able to recuperate and regain his strength. On September 4, 1847, he preached what was to be his last sermon before departing to the coast of the Mediterranean. He died there two months later. While many of us may not recognize his name, we do recognize the well-known evening hymn which he left us: “Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide. What comfort these words bring to us as we continue through our earthly journey. Frequently we face perils of which we are unaware and deal with difficulties that are not anticipated. The last stanza, I think, best illustrates the words of David, and can be a reassuring comfort as well as an expression of confidence in God’s compassion and mercy: “Hold now your cross before my closing eyes. Rev. Sam McPeek (1) Morgan, R. (2003). Then sings my soul. Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN.
|
|
(top) |