17th Sunday after Pentecost

In the show “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” there’s a scene where Snoopy is pretending to be a World War One flying ace, and Schroeder is playing the piano. Remember this? Snoopy enjoys the medley of World War 1 tunes, some happy, some sad. One of the songs is called “Pack Up Your Troubles” and it goes like this:

          "Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, and smile, smile, smile. What’s the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile! So pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag and smile, smile, smile!”

The song was written in 1915, a year into World War 1 as a British marching song. By that time, the excitement and glamour of what was supposed to have been a short, glorious struggle had been replaced by endless mud and mustard-gas. Things were growing more and more grim as the trenches spread across Europe, and the machine of war advanced around the globe. This is a song for men marching to their possible death against a very real enemy. And they're supposed to not worry and instead smile? It’s ridiculous.                                           

But  Psalm 37 seems to say the same kind of thing, doesn’t it? " Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do wrong.  Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, the one who succeeds in evil schemes. Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil."       

          That sort of matches up with part of the World War I marching song, "What's the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile," but does this Psalm tell us to personally "pack up our troubles"? Does Psalm 37 say that in the face of evil we should just "smile, smile, smile" and pretend that everything is fine?             

No.  Psalm 37 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD," "Commit your way to the LORD," "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him;" "Refrain from anger, and leave rage alone!" The Psalm isn't telling you to 'take your frown and turn it upside down.' This is not a Biblical version of "Don't worry, Be Happy."          Instead, our eyes are directed to the Lord in this Psalm.  We are reminded that God knows the end and the beginning. We may not be able to see the end of the wicked, or how things that are evil will work for good--but God does.  

And this helps us answer the question that many people have--what do we do when the bad guys win? As one small example--since 2009, roughly 125,000 Nigerian Christians have been slaughtered by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group. And that’s just in one country. On Wednesday, Jews were murdered by a terrorist at a synagogue in England, while praying on their holiest day. What about here--what are we to do with another mass shooting? Another attack on a house of worship? Another incidence of violence?

What are we supposed to do when there seems to be no way to turn the tide in this country? When we have a broken justice system, a broken political system, a broken healthcare and insurance system, and broken lives, broken hearts? What are we to do when we cry out with Habakkuk in the first lesson, "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?"                                                          

What are we to do when the wicked prospers in his way? Maybe he sits in prison, in jail, but there he sits alive and his victim is dead! Maybe he doesn't even get much of a jail sentence for a horrible crime, or any punishment at all! That’s happening a lot recently--what then?

What to do when there is violence and destruction all around, and the Lord does not seem to answer, and everything seems to get worse and worse? What to do when, as Habakkuk laments,  justice is perverted, the law is slack, strife and contention are everywhere? This is the whole question of the first lesson and this Psalm. Indeed the whole question of our life, it seems.                                                  

Could the answer really be so simple as "commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him"?                                                                                             

Yeah, it is that simple. We are to put it all in God's hands, and then we are to be comforted that time is short and judgment is coming. The wicked may seem to win the day, the evil and brokenness in your life may seem to overwhelm you,  but God says to you "fret not--evildoers will be cut off. It may not happen how you think. It may not even happen in this life. That's not your concern--it's God's. All you need to know is that God in Jesus is working for good, and is with you.                              

We always want to know the whys of any of this evil stuff, but that's the wrong question to ask, actually--WHY does this bad stuff happen? Instead, the first lesson and the Psalm direct us to wait patiently on the Lord. WHO is vastly more important than WHY. In the midst of evil and suffering, who is with us? The Lord Jesus. Who has defeated evil and conquered death? The Lord Jesus. Who is the one who makes us righteous? The Lord Jesus. Who is the only one who will not let us down? The Lord Jesus.          

God says to Habakkuk in the first lesson: I hear your cries. Write this down so big that people running by on the road can't miss it. "There is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay." Translated: There is a future for you, and I am with you in it. If it seems like it never comes, if it seems like only evil is around you, be patient and trust me. I am working in all things for good, even though you may not see it or understand it. The righteous live by faith.                          

Psalm 37 points out that the wicked and the righteous are all in the Lord's hand. Trust the Lord, live your life according to God’s laws and leave the rest of it to God.  In the midst of evil, you aren't expected to save yourself from the wicked, and you aren't being told to "Smile, Smile, Smile," --rather you are being told to live in hope and trust because of the cross of Christ. To work for the good of your neighbors, your family, your coworkers and friends. If you can oppose evil, then do that. If you can work for good, then do that. If you can use your voice to make a difference, then yes—do that. But it all starts from your unshakeable trust in God.                 

Today the wicked can do their worst, they can amass a fortune at the expense of the poor, they can make the rivers run with blood. It has always been that way,  but it will not last. It is Christ who lasts, it is the Lord who is "the same yesterday and today and forever." Jesus won the victory over sin, death and the devil on the cross. Sin, death and the devil just don't know they've been defeated, so they continue to fight hard against God and against us. But it will not last forever.                                                                                                                          

King David, who wrote Psalm 37,  patiently hoped for the coming Messiah. The prophet Habakkuk looks forward to the time when God will answer all violence and injustice forever. And on a cross around the year 30 AD, he did just that: answer evil forever in the body of his Son. We live in the hope of the second coming of that same Christ so that with our own eyes we will see the day of justice unfold, the fruit of forgiveness and love harvested.                                                                

When the final judgment comes it will be Jesus who greets you with a smile, because He has packed away your troubles and proven the worthlessness of worrying, He has freed you from the hand of the wicked and gives you the future - eternal life in Him. He is the God who will never leave you in your sickness, never forsake you in your brokenness, for you have been washed into his body, blooded into his veins, grafted into the limbs of his flesh. Here is hope for the hurting. Here is adoption for the rejected. Here is the God you can see and taste and touch and smell—the God whose name is Jesus Christ.                              

To those of you who are hurting, who cry out in the middle of destruction and evil in your lives and in the world, know that there is a God who loves you, who has always loved you and always will. Jesus Christ will not answer all your questions, you will not know all the whys, but he will give you all of himself.  And in the end, that’s all any of us need.