Psalm 148

1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!

3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,8 fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!

9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! 10
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike, old and young together!

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!


Raise your hand if you’ve the Fishkill Creek thundering over Beacon Falls this past week... all that water surging through after the snow-melt and rain. Not only is it in plain view from my office, I can hear the crashing of the water, even through closed windows. Talk about power!

And, did you notice Mt. Beacon on Monday morning? The sparkling white of the bare, frost-covered branches against the backdrop of the blue sky was breathtaking. Talk about glory!

Both of those sights – the power of the water and the glory of the mountain – made me say out loud, “Praise God. Praise the Lord!”

Now, I have to confess, that I haven’t always been comfortable saying, “Praise God,” out loud. During my teen years, I encountered other Christians who expressed their faith in ways very different than my reserved, decent-and-in-order Presbyterian background. And, inevitably, I always felt somehow judged … because I worshipped silently… because I didn’t have a story of when I was born again… because I listened to MTV… or some other way that my faith never quite lived up to their expectations. Their declaration of, “Praise the Lord,” was like some kind of code word that only seemed to emphasize that I was not one of them.

Like most adolescents, I was so wrapped up in how others perceived me that I totally missed what this whole praising God stuff is about. It’s not about me at all… or, at least, not in the way I was hung up on. It’s about God. Bottom line, it’s all about God… and we’re not just talking about the old man with the beard sitting on the cloud… we’re talking about the ground of being, the divine mystery, the very breath that we breathe, the energy of the cosmos, Life with a capital L.

In that great confrontation between Jesus and the religious authorities, when he was making his triumphal procession into Jerusalem and the people were waving their coats and palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord,” the religious leaders said, “Tell them to be quiet.” Do you remember Jesus’ response? “If these people were silent, even the stones would shout.”

Every moment of every day, creation cries out in adoration and gratitude to the Creator. The birds and flowers – as we talked about a couple of weeks ago – burst forth in song and color. Lions roar, volcanoes erupt, oceans undulate, and supernovas explode, sending cosmic dust dancing throughout space.

“Praise God, sun and moon; praise God, all you shining stars! Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling God’s command!” our scripture says. And, indeed, they do.

So, if all the cosmos are continuously praising God... a God who clearly doesn’t need us humans to offer praise, why do we emphasize praise, weekly, when we gather on Sunday mornings?

Because, quite simply, we need to praise God. We are the ones who need to praise.

As the old confession states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy God forever.”

Let me unpack this a bit. Our Christian faith, and two thousand years of life experience, has taught us that we are most fully alive when we are connected... to creation, to the human family, and to the Creator. And, think about this... think about the moments that you truly feel alive, when you feel truly connected. Maybe it was one of those Mt. Beacon views... maybe it was an amazing piece of music... maybe it was holding the hand of your grandparent or your grandchild. You know the moments I’m talking about... those moments when you are totally connected to others, to creation, to God.

What is the emotion that inevitably bubbles up? Gratitude. When we are fully connected, we are fully alive. And, when we’re fully alive, we can’t help but be grateful... for the gift of life... for the connection.

This is why we praise God.

So now, despite my adolescent hang-ups, whenever I walk down Russell Avenue, past the house of my Pentecostal friend, Minister Miller, and she yells out, “Praise God!” when she sees me, I say, “Yes. Praise God.”

Her joy and her gratitude is a reminder of who I’m called to be... connected, fully alive and fully grateful.

You may have noticed that we aren’t singing the traditional Lenten hymns today, and I’m not preaching on the traditional scripture for the first Sunday of Lent, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. And, we’re not going to explore - as a community - what we might give up for Lent. Don’t get me wrong, I believe fully in Lent as a solemn season to journey with Jesus toward the Cross and to reflect on those things that get in the way of our connection with God. If you have made a commitment to abstain from those things that might keep you from God... those things that might keep you from being fully alive... I encourage you to do so.

But, several months ago, Lynette Pfund, our Chair of Christian Education and I were discussing the alarming reality that so many of our youth know very little about worship. One of the drawbacks of our current set-up, is that our youth rarely get a chance to physically be in worship for the entirety of worhsip, and thus, rarely get a chance to learn about what it’s about... about what it all means.

I started to think that it’s possible that - though we hate to admit it - many of us grown-ups might have some learning, or re-learning, to do when it comes to worship. It’s probably safe to say that, when it comes to worship, we sometimes just go through the motions. It’s good to come to see friends, it’s good to enjoy the food at coffee hour. But, the reason we gather is to worship the Lord our God, the Maker of heaven and earth...to remember the connection... and to be grateful. And, our order of worship - our liturgy - has been refined over the years with deep symbolism and meaning to help us do so.

So, instead of giving up things that get in the way of us and God this Lent, we’re going to explore the components of worship and how they help us connect with God.

The Book of Common Worship reminds us that, “Worship begins with God. God takes the initiative and calls us into being. In the name of Christ we answer God’s call and assemble as the community of faith. From its beginning, the Christian community has gathered on the first day of the week, the day Christ rose from the grave, to hear the Scriptures read and proclaimed and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.”

During Lent this year, we will explore the components of worship, discussing why we do what we do in worship. Liturgy means “work of the people” and our prayer is that this Lenten season, we will all have a better sense of the meaning and power of our worship together...that we’ll have a better connection with God because of it.

Today’s theme is gathering before God - praise and prayer. We’ve already talked about praise... about that gratitude that bubbles up when we recognize the gift we’ve been given and the adoration we feel for the Giver.

The other part of the equation is prayer... something we do every week in a variety of forms. And, something, I’d venture to guess that we’re not all comfortable with on our own.

One of the best acronyms for teaching young people about prayer is ACTS... adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. We express our love for God, we confess the ways we’ve not been the people we were created to be, we give thanks, and we ask for God’s intervention in our lives and the world.

But, really, prayer is just a way of connecting. Prayer is a way of plugging in. Sometimes, it might be listening in silence. Sometimes it might be bursting forth in song. Prayer is just nurturing that relationship... that connection with God.

This Lenten season, I would encourage you to consider regular prayer in your life. Don’t worry about what you say or how you say it. Isn’t it funny that whenever someone prays on TV or in the movies that they always use words like “Wouldest Thou heed my request?”

Just be honest... just be real. Scripture quotes Jesus as praying, “Abba” which really means “Pappa.” As magnificent and powerful and overwhelming as God is, God is also close and intimate... like a parent. No need to put on airs. No need to be something you’re not. Just be yourself. Just be real. That’s how true relationships, how true bonds are formed and nurtured.

Whatever you do, don’t be dismayed. We are all learning on the journey of faith. And, two thousand years ago, our scripture says that some disciples came to Jesus and said, Lord, teach us how to pray.
Teach us to pray.

Jesus response was, pray like this:

Our God beyond this world in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with food on the table.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Tempter.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let us all praise the name of the Lord, for God’s name alone is exalted; God’s glory is in and above earth and heaven.

May it be so... this Lenten season and always. Amen.