Psalm 25:1-10, Genesis 9:8-17

Psalm 25:1-10, Genesis 9:8-17 = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = GPS for Lent <= /p>

Mar= . 1, 2009 &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; By Rev. Kathy McDowell<= /span>

These days, we’= ve got all sorts of technological tools for helping us find our way.

In the old days, all = you had was a compass, and then maps and atlases.&= nbsp;

Then came the interne= t and mapquest and google maps,=

and now, my favorite,= the GPS - Global Positioning System.

This is the one some = of the folks in the church gave me for Christmas.=

At any given moment, = these GPS devices can tell you where you’re a= t

and the best route to= take to get you to where you want to go.

And of course, if you don’t want to use any of these tools,

most of us have a bac= kseat driver among our family or friends

who is happy to tell = us where to go.

Or maybe you ARE one of those backseat drivers.

These are just some o= f the tools that can help us find our way

when we’re talk= ing about geography.

But there are also to= ols that can help us find our way when we’re talking about our spiritual journeys. <= /p>

Today is the first Su= nday of Lent, a 40 day journey (not counting Sundays) of preparation for Easter.

The way to God is not= always the easiest way. <= /span>

But fortunately there are guides - people and practices - that can direct us to God along the way. =

Psalm 25 is an ideal = introduction to this season of Lent, this season of repentance.

The word repent means= to turn toward God, and away from the things that keep us apart from God - sin, if = you will. This season of Lent is = one of the times of the church year

where we are finally = brutally honest about our Christian faith,

in much the same way = that the Psalms are brutally honest. There’s no mistaking it during Lent. There is a cross to our faith. We are called to demonstrate what = it means to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus.

We answer that call n= ot just with our words, but with our steps.

“If you want to= know who you are, watch your feet.

Because where your feet take you, t= hat is who you are.”(Frederich Buechner)[1]

This psalm is an expr= ession of trust, and a prayer for guidance and deliverance

from shame, sins, ene= mies and more. The psalm begins “= ;To you O Lord I lift up my soul,”

and with these words = we know that the writer has trusted all that he is to God.

We don’t know h= is history, but we know that he has humbly turned to God.

For the psalmist, God= is the road to life.

We’ve all heard= the expression “You lose something in translation.”

And that is certainly= true of the Bible too. Unless we read= this psalm in the Hebrew,

we would never know t= hat it is what is called an acrostic poem.

We have only heard 10= verses today, but there are 22 verses in this psalm

and each verse begins= with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

So we can think of th= is psalm as the writer saying “This is my experience of God from A to Z.”

This psalm, like many= of the psalms is also a prayer.

The writer is seeking God’s direction, God’s teaching and guidance.

“Make me to kno= w your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. <= /span>

Lead me in your truth= , and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation,

for you I wait all day long.”

But asking for direct= ions - even from God - goes against the grain for many of us.

We are just too independent.

Several years ago, I = was the staff leader for a church mission trip to a Navajo reservation in Utah.

The reservation was l= ocated in a very remote and rural section of the state, near Arizona. To get to the reservation, we had = to drive alongside a steep canyon,

then down into it to = cross it, and then finally up the other side and across a wide plateau, the mesa = they called it. =

I remember the first = day we were on our way to the home of the resident

where we had been ass= igned to work for the week.

There was only one wa= y to go, or so I thought. <= /span>

We had already gone d= own the canyon, crossed it and were heading up the mesa.

But things were a lit= tle different on top the mesa.

All these dirt roads crisscrossed the mesa, with tiny little numbered signs.

It wasn’t long = before I was lost. So we were driving = along, and came to an intersection.

At this intersection,= two Navajo women we had just met– Jenny and Barbara – sat parked in their blue pickup truck. When we stopped, they asked us where we were going, and I told them the name of = the person whose home we were supposed to find. So they said, “Follow us, we’ll take you there.” <= /span>

But I in my great wis= dom, said, “It’s okay. We’ll find it. We’ve got a map and instructions.”

So we took off and so= on we were even more lost in that crisscross of reservation roads.

But fortunately, it w= asn’t too long before I saw a cloud of dust behind us

and there was that bl= ue pickup truck.

They passed us with a= wave, signaling us to follow them,

and I knew that they = were going to take us where we needed to go.

The story reminds me = that we sometimes do the same thing with God.

We hear God calling, = and we respond “that’s okay, I can do it myself.”

We don’t want t= o trust God or anybody.

But God has a plan we= can trust, if we pay attention to the spiritual nudges,

the holy whispers, th= e gentle leadings, in our lives.

When it comes to bein= g led by God,

wise travelers seek o= ut companions along the way.

Because of our tenden= cy to “go it alone”

we sometimes fail to = seek out other people as resources.

But spiritual friends, spiritual guides, spiritual directors,

have long been an imp= ortant part of Christian history.

Such relationships can encourage us, help us see our blind spots, keep us challenged. The potential for growing in our f= aith in these relationships

is one of the richest= resources we have in our churches.

But too often we tend= to keep our relationships at the friendly surface level -

you know, “How = are you? Fine” -

instead of at a deepe= r level where we actually are being formed into followers of Christ. This doesn’t have to be complicated. It might simply mean calling someone up and inviting them for coffee and conversation every so often, and then sharing prayer concerns.

Or joining a small gr= oup, or Bible study, or Sunday school class.

But what it does mean= is a willingness to be vulnerable enough so that trust grows.

The other tool that c= an guide us to God during this season of Lent

is the practice of sp= iritual disciplines.

When we hear the word practice,

it kind of sounds lik= e what I used to have to do when I was a child taking piano lessons. Practice! Ugh!

But if we can set asi= de the idea of practice as a dreaded chore,

there is something to= be learned.

Right here in this ro= om there are people who play tennis,

run, sing, or do any = number of skilled activities. =

What I can guarantee = is that each one of us has to practice a skill

in order to get and s= tay good at it.

It’s the same w= ay with our spiritual lives.

The ancient and tradi= tional spiritual practices of Lent have been prayer,

Bible reading, fastin= g, and giving to the poor.

Without practice, we = just never experience the benefits of these spiritual disciplines.

But there is an impor= tant distinction to be made between these practices

and practicing tennis= or piano.

These are not just fo= r our own self- improvement.

We engage in spiritual practices in order to grow closer to God

who is already in a c= ovenant relationship with us.

These practices not o= nly help us come to know who we are, <= /o:p>

they also show us whose we are.

The other scripture w= hich we have heard in worship today is part of the story of Noah,

a familiar story to m= any of us. In this reading we heard = of God’s first covenant with humanity,

where the rainbow is = given as a sign of that covenant.

And if we can get pas= t our childhood memories of this story of Noah and the ark and the animals and the rainbow, we can see this st= ory for what it is: This covenant= is not a legal contract or agreement.

It is here that God establishes a promise to be in relationship

with each of us and a= ll of us, and to pursue that relationship no matter how we respond. When we practice spiritual discipl= ines, like prayer and reading the Bible, we grow in that relationship with God. It’s a yielding to God on our spiritual journeys. It’s a slowing of our lives enough to hear God’s voice.

The idea of yielding = to God is not a comfortable thought to many of us.

There’s a poem = I like about this season of Lent that gets at some of our discomfort:

The Walk

Those of us who walk = along this road do so reluctantly.

Lent is not our favor= ite time of year.

We’d rather be = more active - planning and scurrying around.

All this is too conte= mplative to suit us.

Besides we don’= t know what to do with piousness and prayer.

Perhaps we’re a= fraid to have time to think,

for thoughts come unb= idden.

Perhaps we’re a= fraid to face the future

knowing our past.

Give us the courage, = O God,

to hear your word

and to read our livin= g into it.

Give us the trust to = know we’re forgiven,

and give us the faith= to take up our lives and walk.[2]

From Kneeling in Jerusalem<= /st1:place> by Ann Weems

As we take up our liv= es and walk, there are tools for the spiritual journey, too.

We might even use a <= st1:stockticker w:st=3D"on">GPS in this journey.

But in the case of our spiritual lives,

we don’t need a= Global Positioning System.

When you think GPS in your spiritual life, think God’s Positioning Spirit.

It’s a good ima= ge for Lent, for as we journey as individuals and as a church, <= /p>

we need the spirit of= God among us, to reposition us,

to help us turn our l= ives towards God --

and away from the thi= ngs that keep us apart from God and each other.

Guided by people, gui= ded by practices,

may we journey - and = grow - in faith this season of Lent. Amen.