Sun
Nov 1
2009
Bishop Dave deFreese
Nebraska Synod, ELCA
Over the years, I have shared various writings entitled: “I Love the Church Because…” In this month with a special holiday set aside to awaken our gratitude, please allow me another attempt at expressing my appreciation for the Body of Christ in this world. Using a beloved Psalm, my thankfulness matures and grows.
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
We have been given so much. Everything we could possibly need. We have been blessed abundantly. The Church has taught us of our Savior and Lord who cares for us, and who liberates us from self-centered worry, free beyond self-reliance, content to trust God.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul.”
Each Sabbath in worship, we are refreshed as God gathers us, tells us stories of being God’s people, and inspires us to live joy-filled. The Church reminds us of our Christ who promises to guide us and who, even in the midst of hectic lives, has invited us to rest in Him, to take up His “yoke for it is easy and His burden is light.”
“He leads me in right paths for His namesake.”
The church calls me to servant living that awakens a humble life beyond myself, to what is truly good and healthy and for the sake of all.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me.”
In a society that falsely denies death, the Church teaches us to trust our God who defies and defeats death and resurrects life anew. The Church helps us to recognize our God who lives on both sides of the grave… so that we might also.
“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
The Church enables us to sense the presence of God throughout our days, confident that we are cared for and protected. The Church empowers us to taste and see that the Lord is good.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
The Church deepens my honesty about myself; encourages me to confess my sin… which are my enemies of selfishness, of hatred, of greed, of envy, of coveting… God accepts me in the midst of all these my enemies and forgives me. The Cross of Christ casts its shadow over all my living so that I might truly live.
“You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
The Church points us to the incredible grace of God … love unconditional and freely given that God lavishes upon us day after day. Thanksgiving cannot help but swell up within us when we recognize all that God gives.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
Beyond our deserving, we are gifted. The Church helps us to celebrate God’s mercy and kindness, teaching us to worship and praise the Source of all that is good.
“And I shall dwell in the House of the Lord my whole life long.”
God has set eternity into our minds. The Church enables us to rejoice in the “foretaste of the feast to come” and to live hopeful in the promises of our God.
I am thankful for the Church!
Thanks for this interweaving of the 23rd Psalm with these meditative words on the church. It helps bring alive these words, especially as we prepare for a Thanksgiving service.