"Get Your Butt Off Your Throne, God" Psalm 80:1-7 sermon

Rev. George Miller
Dec 3, 2017
Psalm 80:1-7

Dressing up in our state is an interesting experience. The first week I moved here in 2010, I attended our Conference’s Spring Gathering in Naples wearing a pair of jeans paired with dress shoes, a pink button shirt and a navy blue sport coat.

A clergy colleague came over and said “I’ve been living here all these years and can never figure out what to wear, and it looks like you already have.”

7 years later I now know what he means. There are days in which long pants and a button down shirt feel just about right, other days a pair of shorts with Jesus sandals make more sense and is way more comfortable.

Look out into our congregation and you’ll see where the real meets the ideal, from folk like Hardric and Gerry who are always dressed to the “T”, to Ken who wears festive Hawaiian shirts and always ready for his next cruise, to Norma with her purple streak of hair.

All solid sartorial choices in which they are wearing what they feel comfortable with to praise the Lord.

As a pastor, I always want to look presentable, but I also want to be realistic. It doesn’t matter how fancy my clothes are if I’m sweating through my armpits or tugging on my collar.

There are events I go to and people to visit in which if I’m too dressed up it comes across as aloof and out of touch, but if I’m too dressed down, I can sense they are saying to themselves “Well bless your heart.”

That’s why I am ever-so thankful for the Emmanuel UCC polo shirts we have.

I can pair our church polo with a pair of slacks and shoes and look like I have the good sense God gave a goose. Or I can rock them out with a cargo shorts and Birkenstocks and I’m ready to go-go-go and get my hands dirty.

Or I can put a sports coat over it, and viola- ready for a banquet.

Yes- clothes can be a mystery here in Florida, but they can also be a ministry.

Is the pastor one of the people, apart from the people, or somewhere in between?

Which brings us to today’s reading. Here we have in Psalm 80 a song that is known as a “Psalm of Lament.”

It is sung by folk who feel like God has not been present in their lives, God has been somewhat asleep, and they have been left to fend for themselves.

Anyone here ever feel that way?

Anyone here ever have a time in your life in which nothing seems right, you’ve been crying for days, and it feels as if God is far, far away?

We all have, and we all will. It is part of the spiritual, human condition.

Three times in the Psalm they sing out to God “Restore us, make your face shine, and bring us back to a life worth living.”

But sadly, God seems silent; sleepy.

“Hear us. Save us,” they say.

“Don’t you remember that time you took our ancestors out of Egypt and put them in the Promised Land?”

But now?

Well now the people feel like they have been left unprotected and made vulnerable to all their enemies.

They assume God is mad at them; that God’s smile has turned into a scowl.

They feel like the bread and cup they used in worship has now been replaced with a pitiful portion of salty tears.

Yup- sometimes our experience of God can be that way.

If you go through this entire Psalm, you see all the ways they view God- as a Shepherd who leads the flock, as a farmer who clears the ground, and as a king who sits on a mighty throne.

All those descriptions sound wonderful…at first. Until you think about what they mean.

A shepherd and a farmer sound cool- hands on folk who deal with the every day. But the image of God enthroned upon the cherubim?

First of all, what the heck is a cherubim and how do you sit on it?

It’s cool to imagine God as king, but a king who is sitting on a fancy, schmancy throne while the people suffer?

I don’t know about that.

Sounds to me like this particular kind of king has been too comfortably snoozing while the people are crying and dying.

I can’t help but to feel that what the psalm is actually saying is:

“Hey, you- God. Get off your big ol’ BUTT and get down and do something to help us out!”

Personally, I love this, because once again we have another biblical example of deeply faithful people who have NO problem holding God accountable and telling God what to do.

Too often folk think they have to be all meek and mild with God, when sometimes we need to remind God just what it means to be God, just as Moses and Abraham did.

“God,” the psalm seems to say “Wake up, wipe the sleep from your eyes and help us out just like you helped all those slaves you freed hundreds of years ago.”

That’s faith. That’s courage.

That’s being in a real relationship with your Creator.

That’s covenant- making sure that all sides stick to their end of the deal.

“Get your butt off the throne, put on a pair of overalls and work gloves, and start to digging!”

…and as we enter into the Advent Season, isn’t that just what God did?

We are just weeks away of welcoming the birth of Jesus Christ into our complex world.

As Christians we claim that Jesus embodied the incarnate God, and by encountering Jesus one was encountering the face of God.

A face that was not scowling, or asleep, or set apart and far away.

But a face that was near, and dear, and real, a face that was like one of us.

With Advent we experience this amazing miracle that when God chose to enter into the world in a new and unexpected way, it was not as a prince in a palace with servants and tutors and trust funds and polished finger nails.

But when God entered into our lives, God did so in the most meek and mild, most messy, ordinary and vulnerable way-

A child born to blue collar folk, surviving the political climate of their time, who needed to learn a trade, figure out what his 20’s were all about, who wasn’t above drinking wine at weddings and talking to wild women at a well.

Forget about the Son of God being an untouchable king asleep on a throne, what we got in Jesus is a tangible, human presence who was not afraid to face the elements, mix with all members of society, and teach and preach and demonstrate what it meant to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with the Lord.

In Jesus Christ, we see that God was anything but asleep and far removed.

BUT- there is another element to today’s scripture.

If we feel that God is asleep, or not keeping the covenant or needs to get off God’s big BUTT…well that means we have to be willing to get off our big butt too, doesn’t it?

If we are in a true, honest relationship with our Creator, it means there are things for us to do as well.

And fortunately, as we learned last week, Jesus has made it so, so easy for us.

If you remember, last week we explored Matthew 25, which is so foundational to our UCC faith.

And what is it that Jesus invited us to do?

Give food to the hungry. Quench people’s thirst. Clothe the naked. Show care to the sick. Let the imprisoned know they are not alone.

Welcome the stranger.

So simple. So clear. So concise.

Not because we must, but because we may.

Not because we are trying to buy our way into heaven, but because we already know we were given a ticket via the gift of grace.

Feed. Quench. Care. Visit. Welcome.

Part of our Covenantal Relationship with our Creator.

In conclusion, there are times in all of our lives in which God will seem far away, life will be filled with sorrow, and all we want is to sense that God’s smiling, sparkling face is nearby.

Today’s reading reminds us that it is Ok to feel that way. It is Ok to call upon God.

It is Ok to remind God of what has been done in the past, and to expect God to do it again.

It is Ok to say to God “It’s time to get your BUTT off the throne and get to work.”

And it is Ok to say “Alright, God- you need to take off that sport coat and put on some shorts and get your hands dirty and face sweaty.”

And as Christians, we can expect that God will say the same thing too, and expect that we will work together.

It’s not just God; it’s not just us.

It is ALL of us- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, pastor, parishioners, friends, and Conference Ministers who can-

work together, clear the ground, plant the vine, and make the Kingdom of God a little bit better known right here on Earth. For that we can say “amen” and “amen.”