The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 26, 2012 Proper 16B
St. Andrew’s Church
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel, Jr.
Psalm 16
“Connections”
He came to work at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, as a newly minted PhD in physics. He was not assigned to any existing research projects. A premise of employment was that the new hires were smart people who would create their own research projects.
He was living in the Bronx at the time and he began to notice networks of people and industry. He observed communities large and small; he saw water, gas and electrical networks. He wrote a research paper on networks and submitted it to journal after journal. The response was, time after time, in his own words, “this is rubbish.” Finally, after five years of rejections, his paper was accepted for publication by Nature. In October 2000, Nature published his research with the catchy title, “The Large Scale Organization of Metabolic Networks.”
The author’s name is Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, and he is one of the pioneers of a new field in science called Network Science. While he was doing his work at IBM, Dr. Steve Strogatz was working with a graduate student at Cornell, Duncan Watts in the same area. Network Science is an interdisciplinary field that studies complex networks using the theories and methods of math, physics, biology, chemistry, computer science, graph theory, statistics, linguistics and sociology.
Do you remember six degrees of Kevin Bacon? Three years ago, the Science Channel premiered a documentary titled “Connected: the Power of Six Degrees.” The film is about network science and it featured an experiment somewhat like the game, six degrees of Kevin Bacon. For the experiment, a package was given to 40 people who were chosen randomly in 28 countries. The goal was to get the package to Dr. Marc Vidal in Boston at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by sending it to someone they knew who would send it to someone they knew until it arrived in Boston and was handed to Dr. Vidal.
One recipient of the package was a woman in a small village in Kenya. She asked all her fellow villagers, but she could find no one to who knew anyone to send the package to. Then an aunt from Nairobi visited who had a friend in New York and the package was on its way.
A woman in Germany had a friend in Canada. A dancer in France had met a dancer from Boston at an international conference, but when the package arrived in Boston it was found that the dancer was no longer there and the package was returned to France. In Burma, a man knew a lawyer in Germany who knew someone in the U.S. In the end, 3 of 40 packages made it to Dr. Vidal. The experiment became an illustration of how well the six billion people on this planet are connected.
The thesis of network science is that there is a hidden blueprint to nature. As Christians, we know who created not only the blueprint, but the entire universe. Network science says that we are “more connected than ever thought.” Christians, with the author of Psalm 16, can say we are connected through God, the creator of all things. Once we realize this, our lives are then lived in gratitude for our connection to our creator through His Son, Jesus Christ.
I heard Laszlo Barabasi speak briefly on Monday night at Boston University as he introduced network science to 20 high school students. Network science is about connections and interactions among connections. Connections are elemental, essential, and enriching. This morning, we will look at the power of our connections and what they mean for our lives.
Psalm 16 begins with a prayer and an assertion. The prayer is
“Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you. “ (v. 1a)
The assertion is
“I have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; my good above all other." (v.2)
Because the psalmist knows that he is connected to the Lord, he knows that he can pray
for protection. He believes that he receives protection because of God’s power in his life.
Notice the personal language, the psalmist says that the Lord is “my Lord.”
Furthermore, God is “my good above all other.” Is that true for you?
The Lutherans have Martin Luther; the Methodists have John Wesley, and the Roman
Catholics have Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas is that influential in the Roman Catholic
Church. He has influenced Roman Catholic theology since his own time, the 13th
Century, and he became required reading for clergy in 1879. [Crash Course in Church
History, p. 66]
For Aquinas, God is the greatest good, the ultimate end or goal of life “to which all
human action is directed.” [EncyclopediaBrittanica.com] Aquinas believed that
“happiness is found in the love of God.” [ibid.] He taught that there is nothing in this
life that will satisfy human hearts and minds apart from God. According to Aquinas,
“God alone satisfies.” [Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed]
God is our highest good. He is the truest and best connection to all of life. That’s part of
what Psalm 16 teaches us.
The Psalm continues,
All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, upon those who are noble among
the people. (v. 2)
Did you know that there are saints in the Old Testament? These saints are the godly
ones who love God and trust in Him. The psalmist’s delight is to be among God’s
people.
These past weeks it’s been a delight to work alongside so many of you as we’ve been
renovating 400 West Wendell Street in Endicott. We’ve made significant progress on
the building, but the best part is the time that we’ve spent together, working together
toward a common goal.
I believe that the church empowered by God the Holy Spirit is the most powerful force
on earth for connection and good. We are worldwide and we are committed to the
highest good for this world. Our mission is the highest mission on earth: to help people
connect with God. As verse 2 of our psalm says, there is nobility in serving God.
In the New Testament, Peter says in his first epistle that we in the church are “a royal
priesthood. In the 70s, Harold Hill was a best-selling author among Christians. Hill
came out of the charismatic movement of that day and he wrote the Christian best-
seller, How to Live Like a King’s Kid. This is our identity – Christians are children of
the king of the universe.
In contrast,
“But those who run after other gods shall have their troubles multiplied.” (v.3)
The gods these days are a bit different from those of ancient times, but there’s still
plenty of overlap. There are what pastor and author Timothy Keller calls the
“counterfeit gods” of money, sex, and power. These are the perennial gods of this world.
For those who run after these gods, verse 3 holds a promise: they “shall have their
troubles multiplied.”
The psalmist asserts in verse 4,
“Their libations of blood I will not offer, nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.”
We have our own forms of human sacrifice today and we are also not short on violence.
Instead of these, the Psalmist affirms,
“O LORD you are my portion and my cup; it is you who uphold my lot. “ (v. 5)
Walking in Boston on Wednesday, I passed St. Francis House on Boylston St. I saw a crowd of men and women standing outside and I was curious as to why they were there. I googled St. Francis House to discover that it is a day shelter that is open 365 days a year. They welcome on average over 800 poor and homeless men and women everyday with meals, showers, medical care, and other basic services.
God provides for people in many ways. God provided for His people in the Old Testament manna, quail, and water in the wilderness, and the fatted calf in the Promised Land. Today, God provides for His people and through His people by many means. As we’ve seen from John chapter 6 these last few weeks, God puts His presence within us through the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. He does this to bless us and to empower us to be a blessing to others.
Can you say with the psalmist,
“My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; indeed, I have a goodly heritage.” (v. 6)
God has provided for you a pleasant land; God has placed you in the greatest country on earth. In the United States, we have unparalleled religious freedom. We have unprecedented opportunity for material prosperity. In America, there is a generosity toward others than is unsurpassed worldwide. Whether you are a home owner, a renter, or in some other living arrangement, God has provided you with a goodly heritage.
The psalmist’s response to his blessing is
“I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night.” (v.7)
To bless the Lord is to offer Him praise. God is praised for His counsel to us – how He guides us by Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and by others, particularly other Christians. The psalmist focuses on his heart that is taught and shaped by God, night after night. Through worship, prayer, and meditation, our connection with God is deepened and enriched.
What are your nights like? Are they a time when your heart is taught and shaped by God? The Psalms can assist you in that God-shaping work. The Psalms are a prayer book within our prayer book. Our prayer book includes not only the entire Psalter, but worship services that can be used by groups and individuals at any time of the day or night. It is an excellent practice to conclude the day in prayer, thinking about the day that has passed and looking forward with God to the day that will begin to unfold in the morning.
The Psalms are the prayers of Israel that became the prayers of the Church. They are all about connections – connection with God and with others. Verse 8 says,
“I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall.” (v. 8)
The psalmist’s connection with God is uppermost. He is conscious of always being in God’s presence. The right hand position is the place of power – God is the power for his life. How about yours?
“My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.” (v. 9)
This is the result of following God: glad hearts, rejoicing spirits, and bodily rest. In verse 10, the psalmist has more to say about bodily rest:
“For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the Pit. “ (v. 10)
The bodily rest of verse 9 is identified with death in verse 10. The author of Psalm 16
has what we heard about two weeks ago from John chapter 6, assurance of salvation.
He knows that his place after death is with God. The Almighty does not abandon His
saints, even at the time of our passing from this life. This is affirmed in the Old and New
Testaments of the Bible.
In the first sermon of the Church, as recorded in Acts 2, Psalm 16 is quoted. On that
first Pentecost, the Apostle Peter addresses those who have experienced a miracle
bestowed on the church by God. The church is enable to connect with the pilgrims in
the native languages of the pilgrims who have come to Jerusalem for the Feast of
Pentecost. Peter uses verses 8-11 of our psalm today to interpret what God has done and
what it means for his hearers.
Peter proclaims that David, the author of the psalm, foresaw the resurrection of the
Christ and that God would not abandon the Christ to Hades, nor would the flesh of the
Christ be corrupted. All this from Psalm 16 was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Thanks to
Peter, the church has understood from the beginning that Psalm 16 is infused with the
power of the resurrection.
The resurrection power of God is released in everyone who is connected to God through
faith in Jesus Christ. With that connection, we can say with the psalmist,
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your
right hand are pleasures forevermore. (v. 11)
There is fullness of joy on the path of life when we are connected with God. There is fullness of joy when we are connected to each other in the church. I recognize that everything is not always sweetness and light in the church; we are still sinners. But, the grace of God has significance for our life together in the church.
This week I learned about something I had never heard of before – Network Science. However, the field confirms what you and I experience every day – connections. The most important connection is your relationship with God. You are a hub for many connections, particularly those with whom you are in close contact: family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, those with whom you serve others in the community, school, play, wherever you are in relationships with others.
It’s the connections that give your lives texture and richness. It’s in the connections along the path of life that we find the fullness of joy of God’s presence. It’s in the deepening connection with God and God’s people that we find the deepest, most sustained, and satisfying pleasures. That’s what Psalm 16 is talking about.
What’s your takeaway from Psalm 16?
Is God your good above all other?
Do you delight in being with God’s people?
Can you say with the Psalmist, “O LORD you are my portion and my cup; it is you who
uphold my lot. “ (v. 5)
Is your heart taught and shaped by God?
Is God the power of your life?
That’s a lot of questions. They’re all from Psalm 16. Which one is God speaking to you about?
Together, let us walk the path of life that leads to the fullness of joy in the fullest presence of God. As we walk together, “let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds” as Hebrews 10:24 (NIV) says.
Connections are the very stuff of life. They are elemental, essential, and enriching. The emergence of social media like Facebook show us the power of connection. So does Psalm 16.
