Praise the Lord

December 30, 2007 (Psalm 148; Matthew 2:13-23)The starting point, the journey and the destination of Christian faith is the praiseand worship of God. This is the life that is set out for us. There is no higher calling. TheChristmas and also New Year season surrounds us with a renewal of that vision. Our texts witness to characters uncontrollable, bursting with praise. Last week we listened toIsaiah’s words of justice which began and ended with singing, praise and joy. Praise wasthe prerequisite and goal of a just life. Then we listened to Mary who found that a songof praise was her most fitting response to the work of God in her life. We witnessed the

magi

and shepherds come to worship. Simeon the priest gives thanks for holding the baby Jesus before he dies. The only appropriate response for recognizing the coming of Christ on earth is worship and praise.As our Christmas hymns testify we give praise because in Christ

the hopes and fears of all the years have met in him that night

. Praise most naturally comes as a climax.In it is a mixture of joy, respect, love, faith and trust. In these instances praise is ofteninvoluntary. It just comes out. It emerges when we our fears and uncertainties have beenwiped away. It emerges when we have been waiting for our hopes to be realized. We burst out in praise when a lost loved one comes home safe or when we receive a better job that helps put an ease on our circumstances.In as much as the birth of Christ was the culmination or climax of hopes and fearsit is also a beginning. We cannot be timid in reading the second half of our NewTestament reading this morning. No sooner had the news arrived that this newborn babywas the Messiah and Saviour of Israel that an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in adream and told them to flee to Egypt because Herod would kill Jesus. And Herod in his

2anger and paranoia set out and killed all male babies two years old or younger. This toois part of our Christmas story. The part of the story where the baby Messiah had to fleeand remaining families suffered the consequences. So if it is true that praise and worshipis the beginning, middle and end of our faith, even in these stories, then we must learn adeeper, more intimate and extensive expression.Psalm 148, rather than being a pleasant repetitive hymn is a rigorous andsearching commentary on worship and also implicitly on idolatry. This psalm reminds usthat praise is not so much about where we think we should be or what things in our lifeshould be like but rather how we are orientated in where we are. The psalm beginssimply with an invitation,

Praise the Lord

. We can hear and respond to this invitationwherever we are at in life. What follows is a prayerful and reflective Psalm that is not just telling us how all reality offers praise to God. It is rather inviting us to examine our life and be aware of things that we give praise to. This invitation allows us to pause andwalk through and take account of our life. And what better time that at the end and the beginning of a year. The Psalmist begins in the high places.

Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavensand you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for at his command they were created,and he established them for ever and ever—

he issued a law that will never pass away.

The first half of the Psalm begins with what we might call the spiritual reality of theworld. But perhaps more accurately this half of the Psalm deals with how we understandthe fundamental order of the world.

Praise God from the heavens, praise God from theheights above

. This imagery points to places of power and order. In the Old Testament itis from the heights that order is established. This statement invites us to recognize our fundamental vision of the world. Is the world a bad place that is just going to get worse?Or is there something about life that still testifies and gives praise to God?It is interesting to note that much modern sociology takes as its basis the notionthat the world is primarily violent. The thinking is that cultures, laws and customs arisein response to conflict as a way of trying to bring order and stability. Violence isunderstood to be the fundamental order of reality. It is all too easy to adopt this view of the world. But can this be our thinking if we also believe, as Paul wrote in Colossians,that through Christ everything has its being? Paul writes that “all things were created byChrist and are for Christ.” This is not simply a question of optimism or pessimism. Thisnot about deciding whether we are inherently good or bad. This call to the heights andthe heavens is a witness that there is no place in existence that is too far away from Godto offer praise. The basic order of reality is that it is built for praise.So let the heavens and heights above praise God. Know that they were notcreated by us nor are they created

for

us. We are not at the centre of reality. This isimportant for understanding the call for the angels and hosts and the sun, moon and starsto give praise. We are the ones who want God’s angels to serve us. If God entrustsmiracles to the service of angels we want them to benefit us. If we do not see the