“You are God” Colchester Federated Church, June 25, 2023, (Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17) Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

This week was the Summer Solstice and there was a huge celebration at Stonehenge.  As I was perusing Instagram, there were amazing photos shared by BBC News.  The caption of the celebration read, “Summer solstice has arrived and some 10,000 people have gathered to welcome the longest day of the year at Stonehenge.  Druids and pagans joined a colourful mix of visitors to celebrate this morning’s sunrise at the ancient site near Salisbury, Wiltshire.  On the solstice, the sun rises behind the entrance to the stone circle, and rays of light are channelled into the centre of the monument.  The site’s distinctive formation aligns to both the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset.”[1]

After doing more research with the help of the Associated Press and NPR, I was reminded that Stonehenge has been important to some religious groups (like druids who trace their lineage to the ancient Celts) for centuries.  Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site and perhaps the most famous prehistoric monument still around.  The monument was built on Salisbury Plain around 5,000 years ago.  Some of the stones (the blue stones) have been traced back to Wales—150 miles away.  The origins of some of the other stones remain unknown.  This is partly why people have all sorts of theories about how Stonehenge came to be and what in the world the monument was used to observe.  As the NPR article related, “English Heritage, a charity that manages hundreds of historic sites, notes several explanations — from Stonehenge being a coronation place for Danish kings, a druid temple, a cult center for healing, or an astronomical computer for predicting eclipses and solar events.”[2]  To this day, folks gather beginning on the night of the summer solstice and perform dawn rituals.  It all centers around the natural cycles of life, death, and rebirth.  What’s fascinating is that on the night of the summer solstice, worshipers are permitted to be inside the stone circle and the stones end up matching perfectly with the sun at both the winter solstice and the summer solstice.

Some phenomena of the natural world and the ways that humans have ritualized events for generations remain mysterious.  Instead of being judgmental, we can be curious (as Ted Lasso reminds us).  It’s worth remembering that in our Christian tradition we praise God for the beauty, majesty, and wonder of God’s creation.  One of the most glorious prayers along these lines is St. Francis’ “The Canticle of the Sun.”  That prayer begins with:  

Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures;

especially Brother Sun, who is the day, and through whom You give us light. 

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor, and bears a likeness to You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;

in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.[3]

Or we keep in mind some of the words from the Book of Psalms.  The Psalmist wrote, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims [God’s] handiwork.  Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come into [God’s] presence with singing.  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?  Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.  Because you are awesome and a wonder-worker.  You are God.  Just you.”[4]

As summer has now begun, we may find ourselves out and about more in the natural world.  The long and lazy days of summer provide an opportunity to embrace a slower pace of life, to rest and just be.  We may find ourselves encountering the beauty of God’s good creation during sunny summer days—whether we are staying in and around Colchester or going on summer vacations.  Perhaps the beauty all around us may not be quite as dramatically experienced as those who gathered inside the stone circle at Stonehenge this week to mark the Summer Solstice. 

But still!  That is part of the reason that we are exploring a Psalm today as the summer season has officially begun.  Because the Psalms are a collection of 150 poems and many of those poems include praises to God as part of them.  Some of the psalms allude to the wonders of God’s creation and align with the moving words of St. Francis’ “The Canticle of the Sun”—praising God for the sun and the moon and the stars in heaven.  Many of these pieces of ancient literature are songs of praise and celebration that have been passed down to believers like us.

If we turn to the Old Testament Book of Psalms, we realize that most of the poems are either songs of praise (hymns) or prayers (prayers that were often asking God for help).  The psalms were both sung and spoken.  There are many types of psalms if we want to get specific: prayers for help, communal prayers for help, songs of praise, psalms of thanks, psalms of trust, wisdom psalms, instruction psalms, royal psalms, songs of Zion, entrance liturgies, historical psalms, psalms that center around God ruling the world, God wanting worldwide justice, righteousness, and peace, psalms that outline the role of God’s anointed and God’s people, the nature of true happiness, and waiting for God.  There are 150 of them after all.  So even though we can categorize the Psalms and there are patterns we can discover, some of the Psalms are quite unique.[5]

Psalm 86 is interesting because it’s attributed to David and has elements of petition, complaint, and praise.  Would we categorize this as a prayer for help or a song of praise?  That’s a conundrum.  The order is unusual as well.  Because it goes petition (“Have mercy on me, Lord, because I cry out to you all day long”), then praise (“There is nothing that can compare to your works!  Because you are awesome and a wonder-worker.  You are God.  Just you.”) and finally complaint (“The arrogant rise up against me, God.  A gang of violent people want me dead.”)[6]  What is a little funny is that the complaint section got shortened in the lectionary reading of Psalm 86.  It’s sort of like, okay David, we know that people are mean to you.  We get it.  But let’s wrap it up, and not end on a low note by complaining some more about all those arrogant people.

The psalms are so powerful in general because they capture the full range of human emotions.  Sometimes we ask for help.  Sometimes we complain.  Sometimes we are angry.  Sometimes we offer up our gratitude to God.  Psalm 86—in just one psalm—captures this range of human emotions.  It’s just a little funny that the order goes.  Help!  Wow!  Thanks God!  But by the way, those people are the worst! 

Though let us take comfort in that middle section of Psalm 86 in particular where David realizes that God is God and he is not.  There is humility here.  David realizes that God is there to listen closely to him and to answer him.  God is there to guard his life and to have mercy.  God is good and forgiving, full of faithful love to all who cry out to God.  “Because you are awesome and a wonder-worker.  You are God.  Just you.”  May God be with us and guide us all.  May this summer season be a season of blessing.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

[1] BBC News Post of Stonehenge on Instagram, June 21, 2023.
[2] “Summer solstice brings druids, pagans and thousands of curious people to Stonehenge,” June 21, 2023, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183408306/summer-solstice-brings-druids-pagans-and-thousands-of-curious-people-to-stonehen
[3] St. Francis, “The Canticle of the Sun” as shared by the Franciscan Friars, https://franciscanfriarscresson.org/the-canticle-of-the-sun/
[4] Psalm 19:1, Psalm 100:1-2, Psalm 8:3-5, NRSV and Psalm 86:10, CEB.
[5] J. Clinton McCann Jr., Psalms Introduction in The CEB Study Bible with Apocrypha.
[6] Psalm 86:3, 8-10, 14, CEB.

Photo by Brooke Bell on Unsplash