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In God, whose
word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere
mortal do to me?
My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will
render thank offerings to you.
For you have
delivered my soul from death, and my feet from
falling, so that I may walk before God in the
light of life.
Psalm 56: 10-13
The Psalmist was
facing a challenging life. It seemed he was
surrounded by those who would harm him and
undermine his efforts. Yet he recognized that God
was with him and enabled him to “walk before God
in the light of life.” And he recognized his need
to perform his vows to God and render thank
offerings.
The entire psalm and
its characterization of struggle in life sounds so
familiar. This is such a challenging life that we
lead; between just the normal day-to-day “stuff,”
the economy, the threat of terrorism, and a
culture that embraces an inhuman pace. Try to
accomplish the simplest task and it can seem as
though the world is conspiring against you.
Our world is quite
different, much more complex, than that of the
psalmist. Yet the same response he applies to his
challenges is precisely the focus that we need to
maintain. Humans may have added to the turmoil of
the world, but God remains unchanged. His promises
remain the same. His steadfastness remains the
same.
As much as this is a
reflection on dealing with challenge, it is
primarily about stewardship and our Baptismal
Covenant. “My vows to you I must perform, O God; I
will render thank offerings to you.” Notice, the
quote from the psalm does not read “you require
that I perform my vows,” or “you require that I
render thank offerings to you.” No. God does not
need our performance or our thank offerings,
though he welcomes them as signs of our loving him
as much as he loves us.
The “must” in the
psalm refers to our need to perform our vows and
to render thank offerings. We withhold ourselves
from full relationship with God when we withhold
our fellowship, our worship, our ministries, our
talents, and our financial offerings. As you
observe the revitalized energy that a new rector
and renewed vestry are infusing into the life of
our parish, JUMP IN! Don’t hold back. Each of us
needs to be giving abundantly of ourselves to
Christ’s work in the world through our parish.
That is where the
light comes from. We walk before God in the light
of life when we put ourselves in the position to
bask in that light. We do that by performing our
vows and rendering thank offerings. |
