Sunday Homily, May 26, 2013, Trinity, C
Readings:
Proverbs 8, 22-31, When the Lord established the heavens I was there.
Psalm 8, O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth.
Romans 5, 1-5, We have peace with God.
John 16, 12-15, I have much more to tell you.
Observations on Proverbs
What : basically a collection of moral and religious teachings. Pretty boring. Some amusing like—
“The lord hates people who use dishonest scales. 11, 1
If you don’t punish your son, you don’t love him. 13, 24
Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than to have a
banquet in a house full of trouble. 17, 1
Children naturally do silly things, but a good beating will teach them.
22, 15
And my favorite….
Better to live on the roof than share the house with a nagging wife. 25, 24
Author:
Who knows. Not Solomon, as was thought for a long time.
A Trinity
Last Friday Rosemary & I made one of our usual morning bike trips around White Rock Lake. We come down the White Rock Creek Trail from the north and proceed south, clockwise along East Lawther Drive by the Arboretum, to the dam, where we take a vista stop.
The bike path running along the south shore of the lake and Garland Road is pretty high over the lake and the dam. There is an observation deck extending out over the lake and dam, which is about 20 feet above the lake and the spillway. We are looking north across the whole expanse of the lake at this observation point.
Friday when I rode up and stopped just ahead of Rosemary, there was a
young dad with his one or two year old little boy. Dad had a trailer for the boy and he towed the trailer with his bike.
When I arrived the little blond haired boy with about two teeth was
being held by his dad against the black wrought iron railing. The boy was throwing little sticks into the lake and watching them go over the spillway.
He was squealing with delight and when I applauded he was more
joyful. We talked a bit and I was enchanted.
I want to talk this morning about the marvelous Psalm 8 we have just read. It is talking about us and God’s work in us when it says,
You have made people a little less than the angels,
And crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them rule over the works of your hands.
I looked at the nice dad and his delightful son and thought to myself, ‘What beauty.”
The psalm writer also talks about the work of His Fingers. Another striking image. I saw the work that Friday, also, in the beauty simply in the rich tones of green as we rode along the path in the woods.
Then he talks about the heavens and says,
When I behold
your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place.
Have you ever done this? Lie down on the ground on your back and look up at the sky?
I do this when we are backpacking in the mountains and I find it
terrific. Whatever the sky is doing, clear blue, partly cloudy, or windy, it is
sensational. I come away feeling humbled, awe-struck, and blessed to be here.
Why I never do it except in the mountains, who knows. Every year I
intend to.
Take a look at that marvelous Psalm 8. When is the next time you will look at the sky? When look at the colors of nature. When look at a child, like the kids running around here, and say to yourself, 'What beauty!'?