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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Valuing the Valuable |
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Psalm
49 Fifteenth
Sunday after Trinity August
31, 2008 Psalm 49 is about values. Not necessarily moral values, though they are definitely a part of it. I often ask people if they value the things God values. As we go through life we have a tendency to value our own creature comforts, when, sometimes God requires us to value self- denial. We tend to value wealth and prosperity, when sometimes God tells us to value simplicity. We tend to value accumulation of wealth when God wants us to value generosity and justice and unity. And this whole thing of being a Christian is about learning to value the things God values, and it takes time and work because His values are different from the things we naturally value ourselves. So it’s a “learning curve” as the people like to say today. But Psalm 49 is about a different kind of values. It’s about learning and valuing the things that enable us to live the life of faith God expects of His children. We can compare the life of faith to a journey. The Bible makes that comparison many times. And we have to decide what things we are going to take on our journey. We just need to remember that this is no pleasure cruise, or luxury train trip. The journey of faith is more like traversing the Oregon Trail. I have been in St. Joseph Missouri, one of the main “jumping off places” for the Oregon Trail. I am told there was a sign there that said, “Choose your rut carefully, you’ll be in it a long time.” I didn’t see that sign, but it sounds like good advice. I do know that the trail was strewn with items that would have been valuable possessions in New York and Richmond, or even St. Louis. But in the arduous journey of the Oregon Trail they were useless burdens. They were refuse. So the people gradually discarded them, furniture, extra clothing, even pianos. When possible they traded them for items like wagon wheels, oats and hay for the oxen, a good gun to hunt game, and salt to pack it in to preserve it. Their values were changing as they progressed along their journey. We see the same thing happening in Psalm 49. Here is a person who has been “down the trail” a way and has learned what is valuable and what is excess baggage. He has learned not to fear in the days of evil, because he is prepared. He sees that some put their trust in their goods and the multitudes of their riches (vs.6). But He warns that worldly goods are of no value in the great Heavenly transaction. Money cannot ransom souls. It cannot buy forgiveness of sins. It can’t get us into Heaven. As the Psalm says in verse 13, “This their way is very foolishness.” I am
reminded of the words of Paul in Hebrews 12:1,
“Wherefore, seeing we also
are compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset[or encumber] us, and let us run with patience [endurance and single-minded
purpose] the race that is set before
us.” So today I am asking the question, do we value the things that enable us to run the race that is set before us? Do we value those things that help us grow in grace? Do we value those things that lead us deeper into God? Or do we try to run the race of faith with the heavy weight of worldly encumbrances? Look at your amusements and avocations. Even from a purely worldly point of view, are they the things that contribute to a sense of togetherness and love and inclusiveness in your friends and family and church? Or do they draw you apart from them? More importantly do they help you along the road of faith? Are they profitable to your soul? God help us to value that which is profitable to our souls. Amen. The Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Campbell, Vicar, Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
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