Whom All Blessings Flow
Text: Psalm 33
By: Rev. Terry Carty
Date: 06-10-2012
Place: Kingston Springs United Methodist Church
Season: Second Sunday after Pentecost
Main Point: We find our joy in seeing God’s unfailing love rather than dwelling on the brokenness of the human condition.
Last week our congregation, represented by a 16 person team, spent time working among the Cherokee people in what is known as the Qualla Boundry. I had expected that we would be uplifted by immersion in Native American culture and retelling of ancient legends. Instead we found ourselves constantly reminded of the injustices perpetrated on the Cherokees by the westward movement of the United States. This movement culminated in the US Government’s attempt to remove all “aboriginal people” from the eastern US to areas in the west.
The presidency of Tennessee’s favorite son Andrew Jackson was known for two things: the paying off of the national debt and the removal of the native americans to reserved land in the western desert.
Our experience with the Cherokee people belied the beauty of the land in which they live. The mountains are magnificent and the forests are deep and lush. The rivers run joyfully down through every crevice. The wildlife is protected and revered. And yet every Cherokee man, woman and child sadly begins every story with a reference to the Trail of Tears.
It made me sad to see these people who live with this burden of being an oppressed people. Even today when every member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Tribe is experiencing new financial wealth, many are seeing the oppression of the evil that accompanies the casino business.
Instead of experiencing the first Americans who drew their strength and joy from the Creator and the Creation, I was reminded of the heritage of the people of Israel who also remember their history as a litany of events which have torn them away from their Promised Land.
Our Old Testament is the story, repeated over and over again, of the plight of the tribe who worshiped the God they called “Yahweh.” They feared Yahweh and blamed God for every bad thing that happened to them. They presented sacrifices to God to try to make right their mistakes. For the most part they considered God to be easily angered and having a violent temper.
That is NOT who we are. The same God that the Israelites called “Yahweh” and the Cherokees call “Creator” is the God that sent Jesus as savior to show unfailing love to all creatures.
Friday afternoon we visited the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains and gazed out over miles of breathtaking creation. I turned to return home down the mountain through the forests beside rushing rivers. I began to lose that feeling of burden and blame that had dominated my week. Instead I remembered with hope the awesomeness of God’s creation and God’s love that heals the hurts and binds the wounds of life.
I remembered a savior who showed us true love which we celebrate here often. And I returned home simply wanting to rejoice in that love.
Today’s worship is simply that – worship. Our theme is the worship of a loving God who gives us the best a Creator has to offer. In spite of the abuses of the “created,” the Creator finds ways to reward righteousness and justice. For that we rejoice.
Instead of seeing a broken man on a cruel cross, we see a victory that brings us freedom to live in loving service to others. Today we joyfully worship our God.