Good Morning, Church! I rejoice with those who tell me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.
Turn to your neighbor and tell him/her, YOU ARE WELCOMED HERE!
The psalm we opened with reads,
*How VERY Good and how Pleasant it is
when kindred [when GOD’s people]
live together in UNITY!
And we all know how amazing it is or can be to live in a harmonious household/relationship.
Right?
We don’t exactly know when David wrote this song, but one likely occasion was when he was finally anointed as king over all the tribes of Israel, ending a terrible season of national division and discord.
One of the unique teachings of the Bible is that our love for God and our love for others are closely connected.
*So, NOW, please, get out of your seats and Take 10 or 15 seconds, find someone you don’t always see or greet, and tell them, I’m glad I’m Seeing You!
And, before we continue, let us pray TOGETHER,
*Holy Spirit, thou art welcomed into this place.
Open our eyes to see,
Open our ears to hear,
Our minds to understand,
And warm our hearts to believe.
Now may the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts, TOGETHER, be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord our Rock and our Redeemer. AMEN.
*Our sacred text, meaning the Bible, reminds us – over and over, about the power of AGREEMENT, about the power of TOGETHERNESS, about the power of RELATIONSHIP.
*Jesus promised his disciples that “where two or three [or more] gathered in MY NAME, there am I with them.” – I don’t know about you, but that sounds to me like an AGREEMENT bound by RELATIONSHIP.
*Every movement, big or small, begins with a relationship, followed by and agreement , and seals with togetherness.
The beginning of one of the biggest movements on earth, is registered in the Bible. It is called the birth of Christianity.
The book of Acts, chapter 1, tells us of the moment when Jesus challenged his disciples to come together and agree to something that was going to challenge their humanity, their flesh.
It was the feast of Pentecost, a time when Jews from all over the land would come to Jerusalem to celebrate the harvest.
Jesus asked his disciples to come TOGETHER, stay together, and PRAY UNTIL the promised was received.
Now, it is important to understand that while Jesus had spoken of the Holy Spirit, they, most likely, didn’t have a clue of what that “promise” was going to look like.
The scriptures tell us that as they gathered and agreed to stay together in prayer, the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise occurred – the Holy Spirit descended in a mighty way that had never happened before.
The agreement of togetherness wasfollowed with a time of transformation that the nation had not seen in a long while.
It has been scientifically proven by various areas of science that we are not beings of isolation. We may need or can live alone for a little while, but eventually, we need some companion.
* In the movie CAST AWAY, with Tom Hanks, the main characterfinds himself stranded in an island after an airplane crash.After being alone for . . . a while . . . he uses a ball stuffed it with branches , and uses it as a companion. He paints a face on it, gives it a name, and establishes a/some sort of relationship with it, because isolation and loneliness were beginning to take a toll on his sanity. (details on the movie. Watch it.)
*In 1956, a incredible pop phenomenon occurred, transforming music and dancing on public television. Can anyone guess? YES! Elvis Persley. It was called the Elvis Effect, because a group of business people agreed that, this is going to transform the music industry.
This teaches us one thing, it is important that we pay attention to the fine print of whatever is it that we agree to.
Recently another music phenomenon emerged, BAD BUNNY. And, NO, I am NOT going to display an image of him because his message, what he stands for, and what people has agreed to promote is not healthy at all.
People dances to his music and his style not understanding the fine print, meaning the lyrics of his songs – mysigonistic, obsence, rude, etc. BUT people agree to it.
TRUE STORY: Back in the 70’s, during my teenage years, I belonged to a youth group whose topics of conversations where about God, spiritual experiences, theological discussions, missions, and worship.
One Friday night, a group of about 7 or 8 were, in one accord, meeting at a friend’s house. There were a couple of guitarists with no guitars.
At some point during the evening, we just started singing and from singing, the mood transformed into deep worship.
After a while, when we were done singing, I remember looking at one of the musicians asking, WoW! You put the guitar away so quick? To what he responded, I didn’t have it. My guitar is missing half of the strings.
I said, I heard a guitar accompanying us. Then someone else said the same and then another person and another one.
As we were, not simply singing, but worshiping, each of us heard the sound of a guitar beautifully playing, accompanying us.
The power of worship in agreement . . .
* “How very good and how pleasant it is,” GOOD and PLEASANT, and with that I would add delightful.
The word translated as “good” in this psalm is the same word used in Genesis 1, in the description of Creation. God saw that it was good; it was pleasant to look at; it was delightful to see and to experience, appealing and attractive.
How appealing and attractive it is for us to worship together in unison, in agreement?
This psalm speaks of how the kingdom of God is to operate in order to provoke God’s seal of approval to descend upon God’s people with the anointing, the oil of gladness.
It is about God’s divine presence in the midst of humanity placing God at the center of life’s experience, at the center of worship, making our work effective and powerful.
While we were created as individuals, meaning unique, we were NOT created to be separated from the community of God’s Children. Notice it does not say the community of the perfect. Because it is God’s offering, Jesus’ sacrifice what makes us perfect in God’s sight.
Moses was separated at birth from his birth family, but was brought into a new family that shaped him with strength, knowledge, and abilities he was going to need later.
LATER, he was separated and set apart from his adopted family, to come to know God and experience God’s presence, humility, and obedience.
ONCE AGAIN he was set apart to lead and bless a nation who was going to benefit from Moses’ life’s journey and experiences.
Yes. We may differ in many things, but we are called to be challenged in our individuality to learn to live in unity so that not only the glory of God may be manifested, BUT so that God’s purpose is fulfilled.
God’s message to Moses continues to be valid today, tomorrow, and for the time to come: “My Presence will go with you”
Look, it is true, oil and vinegar do not mix or do not mix well, BUT the truth is that they do make one wonderful and tasteful mixture for the right purpose.
To be good and pleasant when together in unity!