Behold how precious and how good it is…
August 20, 2023
Scripture: Psalm 133: 1-3
Psalm 133 has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. Years ago when I was helping to run an annual music weekend retreat up at the camp each year, we would invite various gospel choirs from the area to come and share with us. And to say that that weekend was blessed and filled with grace is quite an understatement. And I say ‘grace’ in particular because each year I would marvel that over 200 excited attendees jumped around, clapped, and danced their way through several hours of music…and the sanctuary seemed to just roll with the enthusiasm!
And over time the variety of artists and musical presentations varied, as together we explored new and different ways to lift our hearts in praise and prayer. And one of the choirs had several Jewish women in it who were also part of a separate Hebrew Dance troupe. So of course the next year we added ‘Hebrew Dance’ to our weekend offering and excitedly looked forward to what they would share. And we were not disappointed as they invited us to join in with them as they danced their way through various scripture passages.
And absolutely one of my favorite dances was one in which everyone moved in a circle with one hand on the shoulder of the one in front of them, moving and stepping to a beautiful musical rendition of today’s psalm, Psalm 133. That particular dance truly brought the words of the psalm to life, as we all experienced a moment where it truly was precious and good to be a community dwelling at least for the moment in complete unity.
And then, fast forward some 20 years or so to this past Sunday, where I again experienced the truth of the words to that psalm right outside in our parking lot, where a dozen or so of us worked side by side preparing and serving yet another very blessed Chicken Bar-b-que. Yes it was a hot day, and yes it was a lot of work, but the spirit of grace combined with fun and laughter was no less a holy moment of unity and grace than that dance we shared so many years ago.
And it strikes me that today’s message also follows right along and in line with last week’s call to challenge and to overcome the fear that seems so omnipresent today, by insisting that God’s grace and the many blessings we all share together are proof positive that God is still present and joyously active amongst us. And that is good news!
And as I mentioned last week there are so many of these small little indicators available for anyone who is actively looking for them to see…moments of grace, moments of simple joys, and moments when we know that we know, that there is a God, and that this God of ours loves us so very dearly.
But then again, there is so much that is just amazing…genuine beauty that virtually surrounds us all in bold and splashy colors of summer flowers, or in the babbling and bubbling of brooks, in the sweet smell of a newborn baby, and the subtle knowing smile of one who holds your heart…each of these gifts can bring us to a place of warmth and peace deep within.
But little can match the beauty of a full-on rainbow lighting up the sky after a storm has passed by. Just last week, we were visiting my granddaughters, and all of a sudden everyone began to look up…for a perfect bow was arching across a cloud dappled sky, bending down to touch the earth in a spot only one’s imagination could conjure up. In fact, rainbows are one of the crowning glories of a Creation that was formed sometimes I think, solely for our own intense enjoyment. Which brings us back to Psalm 133. For in allowing ourselves to drink deeply of all that the Lord offers us in terms of the opportunities to share, to receive, and to give, and the beauty that fully surrounds us, we really are able to ‘Behold how very good and pleasant it is…’
The word ‘Behold’, is a verb meaning to ‘see’ or to ‘watch’, to ‘witness’, or to ‘contemplate’. It is a word that is asking something of us, and in the context of our psalm, a word reminding us that in truth, we are surrounded by something worth taking the time to look for, and to see. And in this psalm we are also being asked to reflect on a very particular type of beauty within Creation. A beauty and a glory first echoed in our scriptures in the opening account of Creation found in Genesis chapter 1, and verse 31.
For it is here, where after creating literally all that is, that God looked out over the results of the creative impulse and reflected on just how ‘Indeed, how very good’ everything truly was. For in that final reflective moment at the end of the sixth day, just prior to resting on the seventh, God’s comment,in the Hebrew tongue in which it was written down, was filled with meaning. The words that were used meant, ‘How very good everything is when it is all in balance, and in right and good relationship…how very good it is when all of Creation reflects the relational goodness God intended, when all things play their appointed role, when mutual benefit is the underlying quality of life that is found both between all and in all’.
And that brings us back to the balance of our words for today… ‘Behold how very good and pleasant it is for kindred to dwell together in unity’. This then is the other moment of real and genuine beauty, the call for us to find a way to dwell together as one people of faith.
For to be, in fact to dwell within that relationship in which we were first created as so-dependent upon God and each other, is meant to bring glory to God, as well as balance and joy to each one of us. Do not forget that Jesus said, ‘They will know you are my followers, by the love you have for one another’…by the love we each show and share through the living out of our lives together as people who follow after and reflect our Lord of love.
Behold how very good…and pleasant! Both of these words offer a starting point for consideration. The origin of the word ‘good’ is actually Old English…it comes from the word ‘God’, and was pronounced with a long ‘o’ sound. Since then, our word ‘good’ has come to mean all that we now associate with the word which the dictionary defines as, ‘virtuous, desirable, having the right or desirable quality’, and even including interestingly, ‘to unite or to be associated with’…there is that unity thing again. Behold…how very ‘God’, and pleasant it is for kindred to dwell together in unity…how very ‘God’…
The word ‘pleasant’ in our psalm, speaks to me of how enjoyable or joy-inducing such a purposed and dedicated life together in communion with God and one another can be. How pleasing it is to dwell within the real and lasting beauty that Christian life together is meant to be. So it is both ‘godly’, as well as pleasing to our souls, when we are able to draw near to this call which the psalmist puts before us…how amazing, how joyous, how fun, and how supportive it is, to dwell together as brothers and sisters in faith.
This notion of ‘unity’ however, is not always an easy concept to grasp. It is all well and good to speak of how we are all supposed to be ‘one in Christ’ or how we are all ‘children of one God’…but really coming to grips with what a call to holy unity might look like may take a deeper look…and perhaps even a deeper commitment as well.
And as we consider this, we must be careful not to confuse unity with uniformity…to feel that in order to be in unity we must walk, talk, think, and act alike…something that is confusing many in our nation today. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. We are not supposed to subscribe to some single set of rules for proper or righteous behavior, but rather to live within and celebrate the wonder of diversity that is present throughout all of Creation.
For it is only in diversity that we find the energy which is at the heart of true creativity and imagination; it is diversity that best reflects the images of our Lord in which each one of us was Created to begin with. The ‘unity’ we are called to walk in, and to work towards, is best achieved within a gathering of diverse understandings and points of view. In contrast, uniformity of human behavior and habit is usually forced, and often artificial when it asks people to subvert or to quash their own contributions, and to surrender instead to the will of some majority.
The history of modern Western culture then has been one that more often than not tends towards isolation and reliance on self, which has led to our present state of brokenness, distancing us from interdependence and communal fellowship. In his book, The Unity and Diversity in New Testament Ecclesiology, Raymond E. Brown writes, ‘There is a difference between unity and uniformity. Dwelling together in unity does not mean that we are rubber-stamped into a similar form. The church is not to be involved in cookie cutter Christianity. Christian unity is not brought about by mechanical restrictions and regulations. Christian unity is at heart, a union of believers ready to work together for the purpose of glorifying God and furthering the work of his kingdom.’
True Christian unity is the outward expression of the love God pours lavishly into a willing heart…and like the image of the oil on Aaron’s beard in our psalm, it can be messy when it is overflowing. Like the oil of anointing poured over one’s head, dwelling together in Christian unity can be an interesting, if not wondrous blessing.
And as I also mentioned last week, the truest expression of the love and unity we are asked to share with another, is a life fully in imitation of the life and words of Jesus found within the gospels. Christian unity is a call to pursue the same passions that Jesus had…a call to work together to end oppression and hasten the day of our Lord. There are no preconditions required to search for unity, just the willingness and a desire to seek a more peaceful and compassionate life in community.
True unity is found in shared purpose and goodness, not necessarily shared or even similar ideology, doctrine, or practice. Unity as a shared purpose of goodness is a commitment to pursue a life of sufficient opportunity, even abundant if possible, for all people. It is a call to pursue a just and holy life for all those created in the image of our God of love…
In the end, unity is all about how well we make and then keep true friends. For you see, people were created for other people…as well as for all the rest of Creation. But specifically, we were formed in order to show compassion and love to each other.
Unity is why we are here…it is our shared call…and the closer we can come to making Godly unity the underlying experience of all of our lives the more blessed life will be for all of humanity. If we truly believe what we say about God…if we are sure that God is love, then we must share that truth with others as one people together in faith…for it is only in community, and in the action of common fellowship, that we can show the true identity of our God.
In closing I would like to share a quote I came across in Text Week referring to this week’s psalm. Written by Lance D. Watson the quote sums up the need for us all to search diligently for unity. Watson says, ‘When it was born in Jerusalem, the church was a fellowship. When it went to Greece, it became a philosophy. When it went to Rome, it became an institution. When it went to Europe, it became a culture. When it went to America it became an enterprise. Oh how the Church needs to return to being a fellowship again.’
…may it soon, and forever, be so…amen
