Keys to Unity

Psalm 41

St. John’s United Church of Christ
Greeley, Colorado
June 23, 2024
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes

The current world crisis reminds us that we live in a fallen world. One of the reasons I believe the Bible is because it makes sense of everything that happens in the world. This is the place that I find truth with all of the evil that we see in the world.

Today we are going to talk about the root cause of this discord, it is disharmony within. It is sin. The Bible tells us, this is why; we don’t need to wonder or guess, is it an education problem, is it a financial problem? It is within us.

We’re going to see that harmony in our lives is happiness, discord is destructive and unity is healing.

The book of Psalms is comprised of five different books in one that we call the Psalms. Chapter forty-one ends the first of the five books, something that reflects back to the five books of the torah. The word of God that we read and proclaim and we sing about is actually a song book. If the first book had a theme it would be “How to be Happy,” “How to be Blessed,” and who does not want to live a happy life?

Today we are going to see, and Jesus teaches us this, the way to be happy is not what we anticipate. And it is not what most people believe in our culture, even Christian people.  Today we are going to see the most surprising answer to how can I live a happy life. Today I want to challenge us to think about what the Lord presents to us in his word. The first thing is that happiness is harmony.

We’re in a series of sermons on how God helps us in life. We’ve focused on the psalms to address peace in anxiety, rest from exhaustion, purpose over indifference, freedom from comparison, faith over cynicism and today keys to unity.

The first three verses in this chapter 41 is dripping with happiness. The first word in the book of psalms says “Blessed is the man who does not sit is the way of sinners or walk in the way of sinners, instead delights on the word of the Lord and meditates on it day and night, always thinking about the commands, the truths of God’s law, that’s were the Psalms begin. And this is where the first books ends, the first word, a surprising ending: Blessed is the man who considers the poor.

Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

In the English Standard Version of the Bible there is an exclamation because the word “blessed” is an interjection. As if to say, “How happy is the one who considers the poor!”

Some of us may say, “Really? What does this has to do with my life?” And then look at what is says, “In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him.” This sounds like a strange place to find happiness. This word “poor” in the ESV might be better translated in the Hebrew word as “weak,” and “helpless.” It is a broader term and it includes the poor.

Notice the word “consider.” Often, time and distance and space and language lead us to wonder “I don’t know how this connects.” Watch how it does connect. This word “consider” means “to have a sustained reflection upon.”

I want us to reflect, to think deeply about the poor, that harmony is happiness. You say, “What does this have to do with happiness.” Well, unless you are poor, it will have a lot to do with your happiness and your wellbeing.

Consider the poor, those who are powerless or weak. I want you to think of those who are weak or powerless in your sphere of influence. In your relationships, maybe in your family, that person that is weaker than the rest of us, for some reason. Maybe its in the workplace, maybe its in school. Wow, they seem powerless, they seem to be in need. Think of someone in your own family.

Think about this, considering the poor, caring for their weak, raising up the helpless is a certain action to eliminate the opposite of harmony, which is disharmony, discord. It is to say, “I am going to enter into where I see discord, disharmony, inequality, disunity, and we raise each other up and it eliminates the discord that we see so often in relationships, in our families and in our communities and in our nation.

Because when those who are in power, who have resource, we all have resource, care for others in our lives, we leverage that power to raise him up.

This is precisely what Jesus talked about what it is like to live in the kingdom. See, without despair and inequalities, there is no need for discord, because everyone is equal at the foot of the cross, everyone has what they need and God is the only one that has power. You say, “Juvenal, that sounds a lot like heaven.” Yes. Yet God says, “Do you want to be blessed, happy, truly happy, live this way now.” And as people in the kingdom, this is the way it is, we’re all equal at the foot of the cross, different gifts, different roles that we play, all created in the image of God. If there is a sure sign that we are saved by the Grace of God, it would be this. Jesus said this himself. He said, “When I was in prison, you cared for me, when I was in need, you gave me something to eat, when I was hungry, you feed me.”

Then the question was asked in Mattehw 25, “When did we see you in need? When did we see you in prison?” Jesus so identified with the poor that he said, “When you do it unto the least of these you have done it unto me.”

Any of us who have gone among the poor and those who are in need, there is a tangible presence of the Lord. So to consider the poor is to think deeply about what keeps them down? To consider the poor means, “What can learn from them?” It has a double meaning here.

How is it that we can be more like Jesus. I want to ask you, “Who are you serving these days who cannot reciprocate to you at all?” Who are you serving?

One way to do that is to care for little ones, to visit folks at the hospital, to care for those who are less fortunate that us.

I want this message to challenge you because a sure sign that you are saved by grace is to do something for those who can do nothing in return for you; not the law of reciprocity, because that’s where most of our relationship go and that’s where discord comes: you have more than me, I want more than you, I need it more, who has power? And this where such disharmony is in the world and we can make a difference.

Remember that to whom much is given much is required.

I’m honored to be a part of church that is generous. Paying groceries for strangers at the grocery story, helping someone with hospital bills, taking meals to a friend in need, volunteering and giving to our local food bank.

This is what it means to think deeply, to consider the poor. What keeps them down? What keeps them poor? What can we do to help raise them up? We can use our money and leverage it for kingdom purposes. Because Jesus did the same for us. He moved into our neighborhood, into our sinless, helpess state, he came from the very top, says Philippians 2, all the way down to where we are. This is the way of Jesus.

Discord happens because we consider that others have less than what we have, but we think they probably deserve less than what we have. “I’ve worked hard for What I have. I deserve more.” It is often about our pride, our power, isn’t it? That is often the question, “Who holds the power?” Which is why it says, “this is what creates the day of trouble.”

Many of our troubled days are days of our making. We’re anxious about what we have and what we don’t have. We get nervous and stressed out because we want to have more. We want to make sure that we have enough, don’t we?

Friends, when we think about poverty, often we think about scarcity. Again, consider, think deeply about this. It is not ultimate about scarcity, because there is plenty to go around, particularly in the church, in the body of Christ and in our communities. It is a function of generosity, not scarcity. And those of us who have much, much is required. I am grateful for the generosity of the church. I am humbled by the way God is using all of us to pull together. And it takes all of us. If you have a little, give a little; if you have some, give some; if you have a lot, give a lot.

The blessing of God, the joy of the Lord is within you when you consider the poor. You will find true joy and happiness; you will eliminate discord and you will contribute to unity.

Methodist pastor Andrew Natarajan shares this true story. There was a boy who lost his parents when he was about thirteen years old. He has left an Orphan without hope of continuing his education. He was brought to a care home run by a Pastor. He was given food and education. The Pastor who believed in investing in young boys and girls, helped many children to continue their education through that home. But this particular orphan boy pursued his education, graduated from university, and employed as a scientist in the chemical industry.

The Lord blessed the boy and who became an overseas employee. He is very faithfully serving the Lord through his carrier. Also, he very faithfully honors God with his Tithe and other offerings. The Pastor who invested in this boy saw this development and rejoices over his career, prosperity, and blessings. Ecclesiastes 11:1 has fulfilled in this Pastor's life. Believe in God and in His word. God would repay multiple times. "Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again".