Sermon: Please Leave the Light On

Preached by Emily Tanis-Likkel, July 10, 2005 at Eagle Harbor Church .   Text is Psalm 119:105-112.

A neighbor and I were on the edges of our seats watching Cinderella Man one day at the Lynwood theater.   This movie is based on the true story of Jimmy Braddock, a boxer who suffered as so many did during the Great Depression.   He had once been a good boxer, but because money was so scarce he boxed with a broken hand.   He began a losing streak.   At his lowest point, he was told that he would never get a boxing job again.   He sustained physical injuries, which led to financial crisis for him and his family, which made for a wounded ego.   Yet Jimmy was not crushed.   He held onto hope.   His first priority was his family, and he went to work at the docks to bring in a little bit of money.   He was portrayed as a loyal and loving husband and father.   He always tried to do the right thing, whether it was teaching his son the gravity of stealing a salami, or giving up his breakfast for his daughter.   It was very difficult for him to stand in line to ask for government emergency relief, but he did it for his kids.   The story of Cinderella Man is about a lot of things, but to me what stands out is that Jimmy’s character remained solid in the face of intense suffering.   This is the story that came to mind for me when studying Psalm 119:105-112.

I invite you to turn in a Bible to Psalm 119.   You’ll need to turn the pages a few times to see it all.   This is the longest Psalm in the Bible.   It is an acrostic poem, which means that the Hebrew alphabet appears successively in the first letter of each stanza.   It is a wisdom poem, the Psalmist seeks wisdom from God by study of the Torah.   The Psalmist’s Bible would have contained the first five book of the Bible at the most.   The Psalmist loves the Torah, loves to have a set of instructions for life.   It is obedience to God that gives blessing to the Psalmist.

A ministry in Australia called “Laughing Bird” has published a down-to-earth paraphrase of the Bible.   This is how they translate today’s text:

What you say, LORD, lights up the track in front of me

........ so I can see where to put my feet.

I am committed to doing what you say is right;

........ I’ve given my word and signed on the line.

I have been put through the wringer here, LORD;

........ put me back on my feet, just as you promised.

I am giving you the credit for everything, LORD;

........ accept my gift and teach me how to do things your way.

Even though my grip on life is shaky,

........ I never forget what you have taught me.

Ruthless thugs are always trying to derail me,

........ but you have shown me the right track and I’m sticking to it.

Your guidance is a rich heritage for my future;

........ it has put a smile on my face forever.

My mind is fixed on following your directions,

........ come what may, forever.

I like the paraphrase “I have been put through the wringer here, LORD; put me back on my feet, just as you promised.”   Isn’t life a juxtaposition of hardship and joy?   Aren’t we so completely afflicted and wonderfully blessed?   Many of the Psalms articulate these seemingly at-odds ways of being.   The author of Psalm 119 is no exception, as lament and praise are co-mingled on the writer’s lips.

How many of you have owned a wringer washing machine?   You would take a piece of clothing and feed it through the wringer, while turning a crank.   Some were electric, so you only had to put the clothing in and the wringer squeezed out the water automatically.   The wringer was made of two wooden rollers placed close together would squeeze excess water from the cloth.

I hadn’t realized how dangerous wringer washers were. Early models did not have any kind of safety release, so injuries were common. Then came the model called “Nevercrush” which had a decal on the side of the wringer picturing uncrushed fingers.   This model had a safety mechanism that allowed the rollers to separate enough to pull out your fingers.

The Psalmist knew suffering, was suffering constantly.   Yet this person of faith also trusted, always looked to the light of God for guidance and wisdom.   We are afflicted, but we are to be faithful to the end.   Do you know anyone like that?   One who trusts God always through all of the ups and downs of life?   One who is put through the wringer yet trusts God through it all?

How about Jesus?   At the time of his death . . .   after being mocked, beaten, and nailed to a cross, he cried out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”   My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?   He was quoting a Psalm of lament.   “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?   Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?   O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.   Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel .   In you our ancestors trusted; thy trusted, and you delivered them.   To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame” (Psalm 22:1-5).

Jesus recites the words that we may feel at times, but don’t always say: God, please come to my aid!   It feels like you are not here!   Have you left me?   Sometimes we feel as though we have been put through the wringer:   we are worn out, stressed out, had enough, emotionally and physically exhausted.   Other times the feeling is more like we are delicately cradling our very self in the palm of our hand.

The Psalmist says “I hold my life in my hand continually.”   That is a powerful image.   Our lives can be precarious.   We feel at times that life is so unstable, that things are so uncertain, that life seems as fragile as glass.   Many things can make us feel this way:   Depression, ill health, broken relationships, and crisis of faith.   But the Psalmist doesn’t stop there, but says “but I do not forget your law.”   You may feel that your grip on life is unsteady, but don’t forget that God has spoken and continues to speak to us.  

This image is also used by Job, who endured immense suffering. He had everything taken away from him.   “I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand” (Job 13:14 ).   It is also used in the book of Judges when a military leader named Jephthah fought the Ammonites.   He said “I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand” (Judges 12:3).   It is an idiom we use when we are in a precarious situation, when the threat of being killed is real and close.   The Psalmist writes “I hold my life in my hand continually.”   The threat doesn’t ever go away.   Some societies today are under constant attack.   We are devastated over the news of continued suicide bombs in Iraq , and now also in London .   Many people this very day hold their lives in their hands.  

The Cinderella Man, Jimmy Braddock, was put through the wringer, in the boxing ring and outside of it.   He stepped into the ring for the sole purpose of buying milk for his kids.   He was once quoted, “I’m not the first guy willing to die to feed his family.”   He put his life in his hands for them.   We’ve all felt beaten up before even if we’ve never been in a boxing ring.   But the story doesn’t stop there.   There is a light.   Job and Jephthah and countless faithful people throughout the ages have trusted God in the midst of desperate circumstances.

From the depths of sadness, we look to the light.   The light shed by Scripture, and the light of the person of Christ.   Madame Guyon, a French mystic, once wrote “I have learned to love the darkness of sorrow; there you see the brightness of His face.” The author of Psalm 119 basked in the light of God’s Word.    The author’s primary concern was to remain faithful to the end.   The Psalm reads “I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.”   Being faithful to God is the essence of wisdom. Trusting God’s words as a light shining on our path, that is the way of faith.   The paraphrase of the Psalm reads “My mind is fixed on following your directions, come what may, forever.”   Maybe you have been put through the wringer.   Maybe you hold your life in your hands.   But take heart.   We are not on this journey alone.   There is a light.