Month: August 2025

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Psalm 112: The blessing of the righteous

Title slide with photos of the two churches where this sermon will be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
August 31, 2025
Psalm 112

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, August 29, 2025

At the beginning of worship: 

Twenty years ago this month, I officiated Jodi’s funeral. An attractive and delightful woman, about my age, she moved back to Hastings where I was serving a church. She was in her late 40s. Her last year she lived with her elderly mother because of a terrible illness. I don’t remember the name, but the disease, which I think was hereditary, caused a stiffing of muscles. It eventually killed her because she could no longer breath, a terrible way to go. 

Jodi’s mother, Joan, was a saint. When Jodi moved back to town, it was all Joan could do help her move from the bed to a chair or go to the bathroom. Joan herself was frail, but she threw herself into the task at hand. Eventually, she had to have nursing help and Jodi remained mostly in bed. During this time, I visited her several times. Her mind was sharp, and she always expressed a joyful attitude despite being in pain. She was a lovely soul who never complained. I could only imagine how I would be if I was in her situation. 

I haven’t thought about Jodi for years, but as I started reading our morning’s Psalm in preparation for today’s sermon, she came to mind.

This morning I want you to ask yourself, “Why do we praise God?” Is it out of the hope to be rewarded? Or because of God’s nature? 

Before the reading of the Scripture: 

This week, as we explore the Psalms, we’re looking at Psalm 112. There are good reasons why I haven’t preached on this Psalm in my 36 years of preaching weekly. It sounds too simplistic. Obey God and you’ll be blessed. I expect most of us know godly people, like Jodi whom I introduced earlier, who in this life wasn’t blessed. At least not blessed in any recognizable fashion. 

There is a close connection between Psalm 111 and Psalm 112. Neither Psalm is attributed to a particular author, but most scholars think the same author wrote both. Nor do we have any hints as to the date or circumstance of either Psalm. Psalm 111 focuses on God’s praise and ends with a line from wisdom literature, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”[1]This is followed in Psalm 112 with the blessings offered to those who fear God. [2]

Furthermore, both Psalms 111 and 112 are acrostic poems. Each “measure” within the poem begins with the next letter within the Hebrew alphabet.[3] Of course, it’s impossible to faithfully translated such a poem. After all, the Hebrew language has only 22 letters verses our 26 letters. And it’s impossible to have a word starting with the same letter in both languages. 

Let’s listen to this Psalm. You might want to keep your Bibles open afterwards, as we work through this poem. 

Read Psalm 112

At our Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study on Tuesday, we read this passage. Before I say anything, I generally begin by asking for everyone’s first thoughts. One person pointed that this passage challenged the concept of the inerrancy of scripture. 

Certainly, there are things in scripture which go against these words. Job, the faithful servant, who lost everything. Jesus, the faithful Son, who dies a horrible death. And even in our own lives, we all know people who are basically good, but don’t reap the benefits spoken of here. My mind went to Jodi, whom I introduced earlier. So, let’s take a few minutes and explore this Psalm, asking ourselves what we might learn from it. 

Psalm 112, like Jesus’ opening lines in the Sermon of the Mount which we used as our call to worship this morning, is a beatitude.[4] The Psalm promises blessings to the righteous. And who are the righteous? The first verse identities them as those who fear God and delight in God’s commandments. The fourth and fifth verse tells us they’re a light in darkness. Graciousness, mercy, righteous and justice characterizes them. The seventh verse tells us of their lack of fear of evil and in the ninth verse show they care for the poor. 

In other words, the blessed righteous in this Psalm don’t just have faith or trust in God. They haven’t just prayed the sinner’s prayer and then gone about their lives. They live out their faith by helping others. Their conscious is clear, and they trust God enough to know everything will be okay.

We’re not provided with much insight about the makeup of the wicked in this Psalm, only that they become angry at the blessings experienced by the righteous. Just like the blessings of the righteous, this seems paradoxical. After all, it often seems as if the wicked prosper. People who cheat and win are often applauded, but such actions do not find approval in scripture.

The movie Wall Street, which was released in 1987, shows this. The movie also provides hope that things might turn out differently. In the movie, Bud, played by Charlies Sheen, struggles as a young stockbroker. Trying to get ahead, he develops a relationship with Gordon Gekko, a shady character played by Michael Douglas. Gekko has lots of money to invest and likes sure things, which he usually obtains from illegal insider trading. I remember reading a few years after the movie who Douglas was shocked by people’s reaction. He thought they should be repulsed by his character, but too many wanted to be Gekko. 

Bud becomes fabulously rich, but when he learns Gekko plans to destroy the airlines where his father (played by his real father, Martin Sheen) works as a mechanic, he has a change of heart. He begins to plot against Gekko. As this plays out, the Security and Exchange Commission, who has been investigating Bud’s activities, step in and arrest him. It’s obvious, he’s bound for jail. 

The next scene involves a meeting with Gekko in a park. Gekko beats up Bud for turning against him and causing him to lose money. Bud takes the beating, refusing to fight back. As he cleans himself up afterwards in a rest room, we learn he wore a wire, provided by investigators who hope they can also take down Gekko’s illegal dealings. Bud goes to court expecting to go to jail, but also knows he’ll get a lighter sentence. Furthermore, he’s promised an honest job once he pays his dues. 

While the movie’s final scene shows Bud walking up the steps to the courthouse, we have some sense Gekko himself will experience the long arm of the law. 

Sadly, things are often not as clear cut as we’d like. Sometimes justice takes time, as the movie shows. Neither justice nor blessings move as fast as we’d like or as this Psalm indicates. Rotten and corrupt people often end up on top, at least in the present. 

Because of the condition of this world, the Psalms of Lament, where we cry out because of the injustice we experience or see, seem much more appropriate than a Psalm of blessings. 

Which leads me to ask how are the righteous blessed? In the present, their blessing might just be one thing. They don’t lose sleep over their sins, their dishonesty, and their crimes. They can relax and sleep well, knowing they’ve strived to live honorable and noble lives. That’s why the Psalm says they’re not afraid. On the other hand, the wicked who live with skeletons in their closets must always stay on top of their lies. They know that at any time, their house of cards might topple down.[5] They are like Bud in the movie Wall Street, knowing a knock on the door could bring the Security and Exchange Commission with handcuffs. 

And, of course, if the wicked are not caught in this life, like all of us they will have to stand before the throne of judgment one day and give account of their lives.[6] So even if the wicked appear to win, they will lose where it matters most. 

The Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann classified Psalm 112 as a “Psalm of Orientation.”  This Psalm shows how we should adapt our lives to live within God’s favor. We’re to focus on God and do what God desires from us. The Psalm shows that our contentment comes from how we relate to others.[7] Do we give generously, practice justice, care for poor, and remain faithful to God? Goodness isn’t just a state of being. It comes from our actions as we work for the wellbeing of others. 

This Psalm teaches us that our happiness is created within social relationships.[8] When we let greed or our desire to be self-sufficient get in the way of our relationship with others, we have missed the boat. 

One thing this Psalm demonstrate is that riches are not proof of one’s relationship to God. The Psalm does not support the heretical Prosperity Gospel, which teaches blessings come to the faithful. That goes against much of Scripture. After all, God sends rain upon the just and unjust.[9] Money and possessions are not signs of a blessed life in this Psalm. The blessed in this life (and the next) are those who follow God’s teachings and strive to help others. 

Use this Psalm as a guide for your life. You might not become rich, but you’ll be living in a godly manner. Amen. 

[1] See Job 28:28, Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, 15:3.  In the Apocrypha book of Sirach, the opening chapter is a praise of wisdom (see Sirach 1:14, 16, 18, 20). See also Sirach 15:11, 19:20 and 12:11. 

[2] Artur Weiser, The Psalms: A Commentary, Herbert Hartwell translator (1959, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 703. 

[3] James L. Mays, Psalms: Interpretation, a Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 359. 

[4] See Matthew 5:3-12.

[5] Idea from a commentary on this passage by Scott Hoezee. See https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2019-08-26/psalm-112-2/

[6] While the concept of eternal judgment wasn’t fully developed as the Psalms were written, the Psalms are within a larger canon including the New Testament in which judgment exists. This doesn’t mean those who break such laws are unable to get into heaven, but for them to make it into heaven, they will have to be purified of their greed and injustice. 

[7] Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984), 47. 

[8] Brueggemann, 46. 

[9] Matthew 5:45.

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Bakery Stories: Bad Things Happen at Night

title slide with loaf of Holsum bread

The Horrific

During my five years at the bakery, it seems bad things often happened at night. Shortly after I started, a woman working the night shift on the roll line was raped in the women’s locker room. I never knew her, don’t even know if I ever saw her, but she never came back to work. The rapist slipped into the plant and hid in the women’s locker room. I don’t even know if they ever caught the man. 

This incident forced the company to develop more stringent security around the plant, including a card reader at the entrance. It was probably long overdue.

A Neighborhood Shooting

A year or so later, on a hot sticky night when I was working night shift during my summer break from classes, I drove up to a surreal scene. Police and ambulances with their lights flashing were parked in front of the plant. The chalk outline of two bodies could be seen on the sidewalk. Yellow police tape ran from the corner by the entry door and across the front of the plant along 13th Street. They were loading two body bags into the waiting ambulance as I arrived. 

I wondered if I should even go to work that evening. It was eerie entering the plant as I no idea what had just happened. Obliviously, people died. As soon as I got inside, co-workers told me about the few exciting seconds. Several versions of stories spread around the plant. The only thing anyone could be sure of was that no one from the bakery had been involved in the shooting. 

It turned out, as we learned the next day in the newspaper, the shooter was a jealous husband who lived in a housing project across the street from the bakery. He hid in shrubbery out in front the bakery waiting for his wayward wife and her lover to walk by. When they did, he stepped out and shot her. He then took aim at her lover but missed. As the man ran for his life, the husband turned the gun on himself.

Riding a bicycle to work

I often rode my bicycle to work, especially when I lived in an apartment on Greenfield Lake, about five miles from the bakery. During my first year out of college when I worked the night shift as a supervisor, I had a small office, just large enough to store my bike. I got into the habit of only driving a car when the weather was inclement or on Saturday night. With the housing projects across from the plant, I felt it too risky as a white guy to ride a bike through the neighborhood at midnight on Saturday night.

During the warmer months, I would often leave the bakery in the morning and ride out to Wrightsville Beach and sleep on the beach and do a little swimming before riding home. Then, I’d stay up for a while, going back to bed around 6 PM to catch a few more hours of sleep before returning to work.

Almost burning the bakery down

During the year I worked as a supervisor on the night shift, I was nervous going to work at night, but had only one small disaster. This happened on a rainy night. Harvey, my oven operator, was on vacation. John, who had taken over the second shift oven operator job from me when I was promoted to supervisor, worked Harvey’s shift. This night, I was short staffed in the mixing area and was pitching in when I got a desperate call over the loudspeaker from John telling me that he was having problems raising the temperature on the oven to the proper setting. I checked my watch. It was still 30 minutes before the bread would begin leaving the proof box for the oven. 

As soon as I could, I headed back to the oven with a mechanic. About the time we got to the oven, one of the truck drivers who hauled bread to the warehouses around eastern North and South Carolina, came running back yelling that the roof was on fire. Something clicked. I knew immediately the problem. The dampers on the oven had not been closed. As the mechanic headed to the roof with a fire extinguisher, I told the driver to call the fire department as I ran back to the oven. 

Fixing the problem

Sure enough, the dampers were the problem. Lighting the oven, which was about the size of a house, required that one first open the dampers and purge the oven with air. This made sure there was no gas present and reduced the risk of an explosion. Only after purging could you open the gas valves and begin to light the burners. There were around 70 burners, and each had to be lighted individually, but with an electrical ignition. As soon as all the burners blazed, you closed the dampers. John forgot that part. 

What happened is that thermostats kept calling for more heat. The flames grew larger and drawn into the dampers. Obviously, as we discovered the hard way, the dampers hadn’t been cleaned in some time. Grease built up in one of the dampers, catching fire. As soon as John and I shut the dampers, I grabbed another fire extinguisher and headed to the roof where the mechanic had already extinguished the fire. The rain kept the fire from spreading, but there was a small section of the roof which needed repair. The fire department arrived and checked things out, and the night returned to normal. Thankfully, the rain help prevent a disaster. 

Dealing with mechanics

As the night shift mechanics often found places to hid and sleep, I resorted to walking around with a pair of channel locks, an adjustable wrench, and a screwdriver in my back pocket. I quickly gained the skill necessary to do minor adjustments to keep things running. Inexperience became another problem with night mechanics. Most would spend a week or two on day shift, where they worked with an engineer before being moved to night shift. I often knew more about the equipment. 

Of course, there could be worse things than an inexperience mechanic sleeping on a job. We began to use a lot more granulated sugar than we should have as most of our sweetener came in liquid form. We received corn sweeter from tank trucks. Honey and molasses came in 55-gallon barrels. We even used more brown sugar than granulated, both of which came in 50-pound bags. Our inventory showed we were using almost twice the amount of granulated sugar than we should have been consuming. It turned out one of the night mechanics would park his truck by the loading dock. When no one was around, he would place a few bags in the back and cover it up with a tarp. We assumed he stole the sugar to supply a liquor still. Of course, he lost his source of free sugar when he was fired. 

Replacement workers

Working the night shift, especially as a supervisor, had its challenges. It was always difficult to find a replacement when someone called in sick. There weren’t too many qualified replacements and even fewer available at 2 A.M. All new hires had to go through the Personnel Department, which kept 9 to 5 business hours. I’d be given a name and number when a new hire was coming in. 

You’ve already met Frank, one of my problem employees. A month after I had tried to fire him and personnel overruled my decision; he was fired after an “expensive joke.” The next night, a new employee showed up.

The new hire was an attractive young woman just out of high school. That evening, while attempting to teach her how to do the job, I had to shoo away guys from other parts of the plant. Everyone wanted to flirt with her, and she enjoyed the attention. Being new, she hadn’t been issued a uniform. The next night, she came dressed like Daisy Duke, of the Dukes of Hazard, which was a popular show at this time. The girl wore short-shorts and a halter top. I sent her home to get more appropriate clothes, which made her mad. She never returned. The next night, I started to train a guy who I knew from high school, and he worked out.

Mostly monotonous

Despite the stories above, the night shift was mostly monotonous. I became good at anticipating sunrise and a few minutes before, when not cloudy, I’d grab a cup of coffee and head out to the loading dock. Standing on the side of the platform, caressing my cup in my hands, I could look back toward the east and watch for the sun to rise between the plant and the flour silo across the street. I knew my time was almost up and soon my worries would be over, and I’d be in my bed sleeping.

Other Bakery Stories:

Coming of Age in a Bakery: Linda and the Summer of ’76

A College Boy in the Bakery

Harvey and Ernest

Frank and Roosevelt

The Perils of Working on the Christian Sabbath

Remembering Charlie

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Psalm 103: Praising God

Title slide with photo of two rock churches along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches  
Psalm 103
August 24, 2025

Sermon recorded at Mayberry Church on Saturday, August 23, 2025

At the beginning of worship:

Johnny always wanted to take a ride in a balloon.  He’d heard about how quiet it was as you floated over the countryside. Finally, he had a chance. Johnny climbed into the basket with the balloon pilot. They dropped the weights as the pilot fired up the heater. In no time, the balloon rose above local buildings and barns. Then they were above trees. It kept going higher as the wind kicked up and whisked them away. Soon neither Johnny nor the pilot knew where they were at. The pilot dropped the balloon down in a safe area without trees and powerlines and Johnny called to a man walking along a sidewalk: ‘Excuse me, sir, can you tell me where I am?’

After looking Johnny up and down, the passer-by says: ‘You are in a red balloon, ten feet above ground.’ 

‘You must be a lawyer,’ Johnny mumbled.

‘How could you possible know that?’ asked the man. 

Because your answer is technically correct but useless. I am still lost’.

“You must be in management’, said the passer-by. 

‘That’s right” Johnny said.  “How did you know?’ 

‘You have such a good view from where you are,” the lawyer said, “and yet you don’t know where you are, and you don’t know where you are going. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now your problem is somehow my fault!”[1]

One of the problems in life is that we often take credit for things when they go well and then blame someone or something else when they are not. Such an attitude is neither honest nor helpful.  

Before reading the Scripture:

Last week, we explored Psalm 80, a Psalm of Lament.[2] The author of that Psalm wondered if God had given up on the people of Israel. Honesty is a hallmark of the Psalms. These ancient hymns bring all kinds of emotions to the Lord. From the bitter feelings of abandonment, the fear of defeat, to the joy of praise, the Psalms have it all. The Psalms show it’s okay to be honest with God. We’re just not to give up on God. Consider your prayers. Are you honest about your feelings with God? 

Today, we’ll explore Psalm 103. Attributed to King David, instead of a lament full of complaints, David rejoices in God, acknowledging all God has done for himself and for his people. The Psalm begins by calling on himself to praise and ends by calling on all creation to praise God. 

Read Psalm 103

One of the delights of eating with my late friend and a theological mentor, Jack Stewart, was listening to him say grace.[3] At the table, once everyone sat down, he’d reach out and grab his wife’s hand and the hand of whoever sat to the other side of him.  Then he’d begin with a strong deep voice, “Bless the Lord, all my soul and all that is within in. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, all my soul, and do not forget all his benefits.” As soon as he began, everyone became quiet and listened.

Jack almost always said the same grace at meals, opening with the first two verses of this Psalm. Sometimes he’d add his own prayers after the opening, but not always. These two verses are sufficient. When in a restaurant, it’ll be the same prayer, only not quite as loud as at home. At home, the dishes might rattle from the booming sound of his voice as if even they joined in the praise of God. 

The opening verses of Psalm 103 is a fitting prayer. Like many of our prayers, it may be more for us than for God. These words remind us of our duty to praise God and to remember what God has done for us. God cares for us. God forgives us. The God who gave us the breath of life, heals us and offers us a second and third and forty-ninth opportunity to get it right.   

Part of what makes this Psalm so rich is how the Psalmist draws from his personal experiences and from the experiences of his people with God. Even though, like all of us, he has succumb to sin, which cut him off from God, he is able to, as one commentator writes, “enjoy the full sunlight of the grace of his God.”[4] Martin Luther called this Psalm the proper master and doctor of Scripture.”[5] He’s right as these words encapsulates much of our theology, which focuses on the praise of God.

Notice how the Psalm builds. In the opening verse, the Psalmist speaks to himself as he calls for his need to bless or praise the Lord. But then in verse seven, he brings in Israel, who experienced God’s mercy and grace. Then, in verse 15, he adds to the Hebrew voices all mortals, who live like grass and are frail. In verse twenty, he calls on the angels in the court of heaven. And then, at the end, he calls on all creation. All of God’s works and dominion joins in the song. 

Think about listening to a piece of music that begins with a single instrument, then the conductor calls in more instruments from a different section of the symphony, then brings in instruments from another section. Each time new instruments are added, the sound rises and becomes fuller. Finally, when all have joined in, the music reaches a crescendo. That’s what’s happening in this Psalm.

The Psalmist tells us why we should praise the Lord. God gives us abundant matter for praising him,” John Calvin wrote about this Psalm. If we could only remember God’s benefits, “we would be sufficiently inclined to perform our duty.”[6]

In verses 3 through 6, using a series of verbs, the Psalmists points out what God has done: forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, renews, and works. There are two great themes of God’s work highlighted in this Psalm. First is forgiveness. The other combines the traits of the Almighty: love and compassion.[7]

From the vantage point of the present, looking back, the Psalmist sees where God intervened on his behalf. He knows the stories of how God has guided and protected Israel, going back to Moses and leading the people out of Egypt. He quotes from Exodus the line that God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.[8] As we saw in Psalm 33, which we explored a few weeks ago, David understands God’s enthronement in the heavens. God, with an overview of all the world, remains intimately connected in our lives.[9]

God is compassionate, like a father. And as Creator, God knows our beginning. Our lives, when measured against history, are short, but God’s love is everlasting.

Yes, we should praise God for all that God has done for us. The Psalmist, in bringing in all the voices that have experienced God’s providence, calls on you and me to join in this song of praise. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Be thankful and grateful so that all might know of God’s goodness.  

The message of this Psalm is one that we need to take to heart. Too often, these days, people look askew at the Christian faith. They see the church as judgmental, even hateful.[10] We must change that perspective! We need to reflect a faith grounded in this Psalm instead of one that just condemns all that we see wrong in the world. As one individual who gave up on church said: “The church should be a place where people are loved collectively rather than judged individually.”[11] Certainly, there are lots of things wrong with the world, but love (not condemnation) is the only thing that will redeem it.  

God loves the world. John 3:16 tells us he sent his only Son to save us. As followers of Jesus, we strive to live Christ-like lives. This Psalm shows us what God is about, reminding us of God’s loving care. We should be thankful. As we worship and praise God, we should humble ourselves while bringing God glory. Amen.  

[1] Adapted from http://fuertenews.com/fun-stuff/jokes-mainmenu-135/2929-may-day-traditions-and-jokes.

[2] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/08/17/a-desparate-plea-to-god/

[3] I wrote about Jack after his death here: https://fromarockyhillside.com/2023/10/12/remembering-jack/

[4]Artur Weiser, The Psalms, translated by Herbert Hartwell, (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962), 657.

[5][5] James L. Mays, Psalms: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press,1994), 405.

[6] John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms, viewed at https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/psalms-103.html

[7] Stan Mast, “Notes on Psalm 103:1-8 for Proper 16C (August 15, 2016) for the Center of Excellence in Preaching at Calvin College.  See http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/proper-16c/?type=the_lectionary_psalms

[8] Exodus 34:6

[9] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/08/10/psalm-33-trusting-in-a-merciful-god/

[10] There are a lot of books and articles that are making this case.  See Dan Kimball, They Like Jesus but Not the Church: insights from emerging generations (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007). 

[11] Josh Packard, Ph.D and Ashleigh Hope, Church Refugees: Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith. (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2015), 32.

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1957: The Year of My Birth

title slide with photos of the author and his family from 1957 and 58

I arrived at the Moore County Hospital, just outside of Pinehurst, on a Wednesday morning in the middle of January 1957. The highways through the Sandhills of North Carolina were paved by then, but many of the county roads were still dirt. Longleaf pines surrounded the golf courses around Pinehurst and small farms dotted the rest of the county. Bright-leaf tobacco, cured in barns heated by wood, was the cash crop. It was a simpler time. 

The national average family income had doubled since World War II, rising to just above six thousand dollars a year. Of course, per capita income was lower in the South. But on paper Moore County appeared prosperous thanks to its numbers being inflated by rich Yankee golfers. Six thousand went a long way as the average house cost $12,000. However, furnishing it with a pair of Rembrandt portraits remained out of reach for most. A pair of his portraits sold for an even half a million dollars later in the year. 

For non-golfers in the Sandhills, such as my relatives from the Highlands of Scotland, tobacco remained king. People considered the leaf safe and when the markets opened in late summer, it sold for 59 cents a pound. North Carolina raised nearly a half million acres of the crop, producing over 1700 pounds an acre. You can do the math.  

The year began with a meeting of African American pastors who formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We’d hear more about them in the next decade, but integration moved into the forefront. A year after the last veteran from the war which ended slavery died and three years after Brown verses Board of Education ruled segregated schools unconstitutional, it took the military to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Things appeared to move slowly in the right direction, but I’d be in the 9th Grade before schools were completely integrated. In Congress, the Senate under the leadership of Lyndon Johnson passed the first (mostly benign) civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction. We’d be hearing more about civil rights and Johnson in the years ahead.  

Two days after my arrival, three B-52s made the first non-stop around-the-world flights. General Curtis LeMay bragged we could drop a hydrogen bomb anywhere in the world. New Mexico became the one place we did drop one that year, accidentally. Thankfully, it didn’t detonate which is why no one knew about it.  The military exploded bombs in Nevada but said everything was safe. No one knew differently except for the sheepherders whose flocks lost their wool and began to die off. There were other nuclear accidents in ’57 in the US and UK, but no one talked about them. What you don’t know won’t hurt you, right? And we all knew our government would never do anything to harm us. That myth died before I graduated high school.

Although there were no major wars going on, the world remained tense. The Suez Crisis and the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack loomed. Our government, working with the Canadians, established the DEW line in the arctic to provide us a six-hour warning before the first Soviet bomb could be dropped on an American city. Canadian cities would have a little less time to prepare. By the time the Dew Line became operational, they reduced the margin to three hours as Soviet jets had doubled their speed. In a few months it all became extraneous as the Soviets launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile.

Later in the same year, the Soviets launch Sputnik, and we’d spend the next decade in a space race. Amidst the space race, some yo-yo created the first plastic pink flamingo. The end was near as prophesied by Nevil Shute in On the Beach, his post-nuclear war novel, published in 1957. I’d read it in high school.

To save us from calamity, we placed our faith in Ike, the President. Many thought I resembled as I, too, had a bald head. Ike wasn’t Herod and didn’t see himself as a king. Nor did he waste any time worrying about a newborn impostor as he perfected his golf swing while supposedly preparing himself for a second term as the leader of the free world. 

Jack Kerouac published On the Road in 1957. People headed out on the road sporting a new line of fancy cars with high fins and excessive chrome. The ’57 Chevy would become an icon of the era as Ike announced the building of interstates to connect the cities of our nation. Off the radar was a little-known Japanese company, Toyota. They loaded a ship with their first vehicles for the US market.

People began flying more and taking the train less. New York City abandoned its trolley cars in 1957. Shortly afterwards the Brooklyn Dodgers (originally the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers) announced their move to Los Angeles. They took the last of Las Angeles trolleys out of service six years later as I started the first grade. Now people think the Dodgers must either be named from their ability at dodging wild pitches or an obscure reference to an artful Charles Dickens character. 

In other sporting news, the University of North Carolina beat Kansas in the NCAA basketball finals.  These teams have remained at the top throughout my life. The Milwaukee Braves led by a young Hank Aaron beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. As a junior in high school, I watched TV as Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth’s home run record. The Milwaukee Braves faded over the next decade and high-tailed it to Atlanta. The Detroit Lions, a team whose demise parallels the city, won their last NFL championship.

Ayn Rand published Atlas Shrugged in 1957.  Almost seven decades later, “Who is John Galt?” bumper stickers are occasionally spotted on American highways. In the theaters, The Ten Commandments became the top box office success. For a country which seems so religious, the last commandment about not coveting appears overlooked. Rand launched a frontal assault on this commandment with her godless “look out for me” philosophy. Other commandments were also being broken as the movie “Peyton Place, which debuted in theaters, reminded us.      

Radios in ‘57 played the music of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Debbie Reynolds, the Everly Brothers, Pat Boone and Sam Cooke. In Philadelphia, love-stuck teenagers danced for the first time on American Bandstand as more homes acquired televisions. And in England, two chaps named Lennon and McCarthy met and would go on change music as we know it. Humphrey Bogart died just two days before my arrival, but it was still a good year for Hollywood. Not only was Moses selling, but so were dogs. Children everywhere cried watching Old Yeller. Hollywood also released The Bridge over the River Kwai. It inspired whistlers with its catchy theme music (an old British army tune). That tune would later be used in a commercial for a household cleanser which inspired one of the great ditties of my childhood: 

Comet – it makes your teeth turn green.
Comet – it tastes like gasoline.
Comet – it makes you vomit.
So, buy some Comet, and vomit, today!


Even today, I have a can of Comet stashed under my kitchen sink. Some things change, and some don’t. 

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A Desparate Plea to God

Title slide with photos of two rock churches where the sermon is to be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Psalm 80
August 17, 2025

Sermon recorded in the sanctuary of Bluemont Church on Friday, August 15, 2025

At the beginning of worship: 

Ernest Hemingway, when recovering from wounds received during World War I, noticed those who could patiently wait were strengthened during their recovery. Others, those who were impatient, struggled. From his experiences, Hemingway developed his basic story line. He placed good people into difficult situations and forced them to wait and then through the story enabled his readers to see his character’s true strength or weakness unfold. 

Hemingway’s characters often find themselves waiting. The Spanish republican lying in wait for his end in For Whom the Bells Toll. The matador anticipating the deadly bull in Death in the Afternoon. The old man spending all night fighting a giant fish, which in the end will only be eaten by a shark, in The Old Man and the Sea. And the threat of charging beast as big game hunters work the brush in his African short stories.[1]

When we are patient and willing to wait on God, we show character and resolve. But too often, we want to jump the gun. We want to get things started and prematurely set out to accomplish something, only to fail because we haven’t waited for the Lord to lead us. 

We have such great potential. The advances of science and technology continue to amaze us. And it makes us as members of humanity feel powerful. But in the end, we don’t have that much power. We’re weak and frail. We should bow before the power of a God who comes and willing dies for us. We should spend time in prayer and meditate upon the Scriptures in preparation for what is next. 

As in the Psalm we’ll explore today, we need to call upon and trust God to answer. We demonstrate our character by our willingness to trust in the Lord. Can we take our burdens to God? Can we rely on God to do something—accepting that God knows best—or do we try to go it alone and experience more disappointment and failures? 

Before the reading of Scripture:

We’ll explore Psalm 80 this morning. This is somewhat of a unique Psalm as it appears to have come from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. These are the ten “lost tribes” of Israel, who disappeared after Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom in seven centuries before Christ. The writing of most of the Old Testament came through the eyes of the Southern Kingdom, who maintained a semblance of independence until the Babylonian exile. 

The Psalmist here expresses the desperation of his people. They are in danger and only God can help. Yet, it appears as if God has disappeared.[2] Let’s listen: 

Read Psalm 80

The Psalmist calls on God to save. Desperate, he cries out three times repeating the same phrase. “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” He’s so desperate he’ll risk looking at the face of the Almighty. We’re not supposed to do that. It’s dangerous; it can be fatal for God is so holy and we’re not. But the conditions are such the Psalmist sees no other way out of his situation. He hit bottom. He’ll will risk it! There’s no other hope. 

His willingness to call upon God to show his face demonstrates the intimate relationship possible between God and his children. To call upon God to show his face requires a relationship with the Almighty—one where the human party trusts God enough to risk it all.  

It’s also a plea for God to see our desperate condition. If you remember from last week, when we looked at Psalm 33, while God exists outside of creation, God remains concerned about what happens on earth.[3] Here, things are so desperate, the Psalmist fears God has turned away and calls God to again look at what’s happening. 

In his plea, the Psalmist uses two motifs to describe God.[4] “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel.” God is seen as a shepherd who leads his sheep through the wilderness. This image arises from Exodus, when God took care of his people as a shepherd might care for his sheep. This is the image from David’s famous Psalm, “the Lord is my shepherd,” a God who leads his people by the still waters and to fields of green grass, the God who protects us in the shadow of death.[5] In times of peril, it’s comforting to know God as our shepherd.  

The second motif used to describe God is that of one who tends grapes, in other words a farmer. This description implies a more settled state. No longer are the Hebrew people wandering in the wilderness. They’re settled in the Promised Land. God has planted them as a vine. And as the vine grows, God nurtures the struggling plant with water and fertilizer, by pruning and building walls to protect his vineyard from wild animals and thieves. The Psalmist and the Hebrew people know God’s activity from how God cared for them, both in the wilderness and at their new home in the Promised Land.

But all that was in the past. For the Psalmist and those reciting this psalm in worship, God is absent. They know and recall all of God’s deeds of the past, of how God led their ancestors out of Egypt and settled them into Palestine. However, continuing with the view of the vine, they complain to God that the walls have been broken down and their fruit poached by those wandering by and ravaged by the animals of the forest. 

There struggles are kind of like my ongoing battle to keep the deer and beetles from eating my grapevines or the groundhog eating my cucumber vines. Only their struggle is worse. They call on God to once again look down from heaven and see their plight and save them from their enemies.

The Psalmist concludes with a vow: if God gives life, they promise to never turn their backs on God. We wonder if this is a type of a deathbed conversion promise, you know, the type we keep only during the dangerous hours. These types of prayers are more like bargaining with God— “God if you get me out of this mess, I’ll be good”. It’s the type of prayer I might have prayed while battling waves and wind in a kayak far offshore. I’ve called out for help this past June when a gale overtook me during my paddle around Drummond Island in Lake Huron.[6]

We’ve all been where the Psalmist is at. There are times God is distant. Mystics call it “the dark night of the soul.” In these situations, what do we do? We continue to pray.; we continue to bring our concerns to God. We continue to trust, for as Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, where can we go? Only you have the words that lead to life.”[7]

The request for God to fulfill these two motifs—the shepherd and farmer—is achieved in Jesus Christ. In the gospel of John, Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd.” The author of Hebrews calls Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep.[8] Jesus fulfills the call for God to be the shepherd of his people.

Likewise, Jesus is also likened to a farmer and is referred to in Luke’s gospel as the “Lord of the Harvest.” But this analogy is even more intimate than the Psalmist imaged, for Jesus tells us that he is the vine and we’re the branches.[9]  Baptism grafts us onto the vine of Jesus Christ, he is with us, and we are with him.

The Hebrew people probably gathered at the temple in times of peril and recited Psalm 80. Maybe they felt threatened by an enemy on their borders. Or it could be pestilence and disease spreading through the countryside, or drought and the fear of its corresponding hunger. Whatever the situation, they gather, hopeless, and seek God’s help. Asking God to show his face means they trust God to see their concerns and to provide relief. 

In time, God answers their prayers by coming in person, in the life of Jesus Christ.  They called upon God and God answers in a surprising way, coming to earth as an infant, growing up and living among his people, and then dying for their sins—and for our sins.

Of course, God didn’t answer their prayers right away. They had to wait. They waited for generations. Decades and centuries floated by. Unlike those of us who live in the 21st Century and expect immediate results, they had no concept of instant gratification. They prayed, they waited, they hoped, and they remained faithful to their God. Sometimes, we must do the same. Amen.

[1] Idea from M. Craig Barnes, Sacred Thirst: Meeting God in the Desert of our Longings (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 112.  Examples from Hemingway’s writing are from my readings. 

[2] For background on the Psalm, see Artur Weiser, The Psalms: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962) 545-551; James L. Mays, Psalms: Interpretation, A Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 262-265; and Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary (New York: W. W. Norton, 2007), 284-287. 

[3] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/08/10/psalm-33-trusting-in-a-merciful-god/

[4] The idea of two motifs from Claus Westermann, The Living Psalms (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 34.

[5] Psalm 23.

[6] I did pray for help, but I didn’t get to the point of bargaining with God by promising such things. After all, I’m in God’s hands and if God so desires, I’ll be saved.  See: https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/07/24/completing-my-trip-around-drummond-island/

[7] John 6:68.

[8] John 10:11, Hebrews 13:20.

[9] Luke 10:2 (also Matthew 9:38), John 15:5.

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Michigan Ramblings (June 16-July 3)

Title slide with photos from northern Michigan

I spent the last half of June mostly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. While I have already written about my solo kayak trip around Drummond Island, I thought I’d share some of my other adventures. 

Jim at Richies Koffee Shop

I arrived in Michigan on June the 18th, staying with my friends Bruce and Katie on Jordan Lake. We enjoyed dinner and sitting out by the lake, along with a late evening boat ride around the lake. The next morning, I headed early into Hastings to have breakfast with my friend Jim, at Richies Koffee Shop, a place I often ate breakfast when I lived in Hastings. As I drove up, Dave and John were at the table by the front window. They wondered who pulled up with a sea kayak on top of their car. When I got out, John said to Dave, “Oh, it figures, it’s Jeff.” I talked with them along with Sandy, my favorite waitress, until Jim arrived. Then I moved over to a booth and caught up with my old canoeing partner. 

I left Hastings a little before 9 so I could make it to the Upper Peninsula (UP) by 2 PM. It rained most of the way, but I made good time.

Me, Gary, Ron at Snows Bar and Grill

At 2, I had lunch with Gary and Ron. Gary and I were in the fire department on Skidaway Island and paddled together several times in the Okefenokee Swamp. I hadn’t met Ron before, but he also lives on Skidaway during the winter and on an island outside of Cedarville, Michigan in the summer. Gary and his wife were traveling through, visiting friends in Michigan before going on into Canada. We met at Snow’s Bar and Grill in Cedarville, a great place for white fish and walleye. It enjoyed catching up with Gary, who grew up in Michigan.  We said goodbyes at 4:00 PM. I stopped by Cedarville’s grocery store and arrived in Detour Village a little after 5 PM. 

On Thursday, I rested and checked out my gear for my trip around Drummond. I realized I had forgotten to bring a battery pack to recharge my cell phone. On Friday, I paddled around Detour Point early in the morning. Then I headed to Sault St. Marie for Walmart, where I picked up a battery pack and the rest of what I needed for my trip.  Afterwards, I decided to travel over to Point Iroquois Lighthouse. 

Point Iroquois Lighthouse

I’d been here once before but forgotten the reason why it was named after a native American tribe found much further east. In the 17th Century, facing pressure from European settlers, the Iroquois tried to extend their territories further west.  Here, on the east end of Lake Superior, the Chippewa, the native tribe of the Great Lakes Region, stopped the Iroquois advancement after a bloody battle. Then, in honor of their dead foe, the Chippewa named this point along the lake, Iroquois. With all the talk about changing or not changing names to make it more “American,” I had to salute the Chippewa graciousness. The next week, I would learn that Drummond Island was named for the British General in charge of northern Michigan. At the end of the War of 1812, he was ordered to move his garrison back into Canada.  

On my way back that Friday, I stopped for dinner at Cozy Corners in Barbeau. I’d eaten at this place before, but never on a Friday night. The place was packed. I sat at the bar, talking to my neighbors, watching the Detroit Tigers play on TV, while also catching glimpses of two southbound freighters.  I ate fish tacos made with walleye. 

The Manse

On Sunday, in exchange for staying at the church’s manse, I preached at the Union Presbyterian Church, using a sermon I had preached a few weeks early at home.  On Monday morning, I headed over on an early ferry run for my paddle around Drummond. 

If you didn’t read about my Drummond Island circumnavigation, you can catch up here: Days 1 & 2,  and Days 3 & 4

I came back to Detour from Drummond Island around 2 PM on Thursday. I laid out my gear in the garage and the sunporch to dry, showered, and took a nap. Around 5:30 PM, I got up and drove over to St. Ignace to pick up Bob, a friend of mine from Hastings. He took a bus up to the UP from Grand Rapids. He was scheduled to arrive at 10:10 PM, so I decided to go over early and eat dinner.  

Of all the times I have been across the Mackinaw Bridge, which crosses at St. Ignace, I have never been into the town. I exited I-75 at Castle Rock and drove through the town and realized soon it was a mistake. The place was packed. I found myself at the end of a parade of old cars, not knowing that this was the first night of a four-day car rally. All the restaurants were packed.

I stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few supplies, then decided to try the St. Ignace Truck Stop. It, too, was busy, but by 9 PM had slowed down as patrons left. I sat at the bar and ordered walleye. I was finishing my meal at 9:45 PM, when Bob called. The bus arrived early. Thankfully, he was only a couple of blocks away. I picked him up and we headed back to Detour Village. 

Friday was wet and foggy. I spent the morning reading while Bob, who’s an editor, worked on a project. Occasionally, Bob shared his frustration at the book he was editing. He felt he had to rework too much of the author’s words. But he had been hired by the publisher to get the book ready for print, so he kept at it. Around 2 PM, we took a break and headed over to the Detour Village Inn for one of their great hamburgers. 

The Village Inn is a baseball themed park. Tim Grisdale (Grizz) started the inn after he hung up his glove having played minor league baseball in the Detroit Tigers organization. In addition to running a bar and grill, he was a big supporter of baseball and softball in the town. He died in 2018, before I started coming up to Detour Village, but his memory lives on. There’s the Grizz burgers and lots of photos and newspaper clippings posted on the walls. 

Whitefish Sandwich at Snows

After lunch, we headed to a preserve off Prettiss Bay, where we stayed exploring till almost sunset. Plants seen included wood lilies, thimbleberry, yellow coreopsis, yellow lady slippers, shrubby cinquefoil, red osier dogwood, along with irises, columbines, and shinleaf. Then we drove over to Cedarville and I had a whitefish sandwich for dinner at Snows Bar and Grill.

You might think that Snows gets its name from the extreme winters of the UP, but that’s not the case. There is a “Snows Cut,” which runs between the islands, just south of the joint. I have always found this interesting since I grew up just north of “Snows Cut,” where the Intracoastal Waterway cuts from Myrtle Grove Sound to the Cape Fear River, just north of Carolina Beach. That cut was named after the engineer who directed digging this part of the waterway in the 1930s. 

Bob playing the Sax on Drummond

On Saturday, after a morning of reading and editing, we took the ferry over to Drummond Island and met Dave and Sandy, who took us to a potluck dinner hosted by Lighthouse Church. The dinner was outside. Bob, who is an excellent saxophonist, did a short concert. 

On Sunday, I again preached at the Union Presbyterian Church and Bob supplied special music. He had come up with me in April 2024, so folks on the island knew him and enjoyed his music. Afterwards, we were invited to join a group at the Mainsail Restaurant for Brunch.  

Botanist Bob

In the afternoon, after a nap, we explored the fins along Lake Huron, just east of Albany Creek. A fin is a wet boggy area. In this case, it’s separated from the lake by a series of dunes. This place is rich of wildflowers, especially carnivorous plants. While Bob has worked much of his life in the publishing business, he is the best botanists I know. Not only does he know the names of all the plants, but he also knows most of their Latin names.

Al

Albany Fin

Plants seen: Northern Pitcher Plant, Butterwort (rare), round leaf sundew, linear leaf sundew (rare), horned bladderwort, rose pogonia (orchid), and pitcher thistle (rare). 

After exploring the Albany fin, we came home and fixed steak for dinner. Monday, we lounged around reading and editing. On Tuesday, we packed up and headed over to the Detour Village Inn for lunch before driving south. On our way south, we stopped at Wilderness State Park to look for some rare plants which Bob had seen there years earlier. He found the plants, but it was after they’d bloomed. I stayed at Bob’s Tuesday night. 

Wednesday morning, before leaving Hastings, I had breakfast with “Doc,” my former associate at First Presbyterian Church. Now confined to a walker, “Doc” or Jim, cares for his wife who struggles with dementia. But Doc still gets around some and remains in good spirits. Then I started the long drive home.  

Selfie at Hocking Hills

I decided to spend one more night out in the woods, so I headed to Ohio’s Hocking Hills. I’ve heard about this place before and wish I could have spent more time there. The hills are beautiful with some interesting rock formations around the creeks. I slept in my hammock and enjoyed dinner at the lodge as I watched the sun set. I arrived home on Thursday afternoon, after racking up almost 3,000 miles over 16 days. 

On the way back, I discovered Southern Ohio is filled with Covered Bridges. I’ll have to explore these some other time.
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Psalm 33: Trusting in a Merciful God

Title slide for sermon showing the two churches where the sermon is to be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Psalm 33
August 10, 2025

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, August 8, 2025

At the beginning of worship:

A burglar broken into a house when the occupants were away. As he started casing out the place, looking for silver and jewelry and other things of value which he could easily hock, he heard a voice. “Jesus is watching you.” The burglar decided his conscience was bothering him. He quickly put his fear aside. 

Then, he heard the distinctive voice again. “Jesus is watching you.” He looked around. He saw a parrot in a bird cage. Then the bird spoke again. “Jesus is watching you.” The burglar relaxed. “Just a stupid bird,” he thought. He went about his work, tossing valuables into his bag. 

Then he heard the bird change his tune, “Sic ‘em, Jesus.” He turns around just in time to see the exposed fangs of a charging rottweiler. 

Of course, Jesus watches. And I’m not talking about a dog named Jesus. We believe this truth: our God is all-knowing and all-seeing. God sees our actions. But more important and perhaps more damning, God knows what we think and what’s in our hearts. Thankfully, we also worship a God of grace. Otherwise, there would be no hope for any of us. 

Before the reading of Scripture:

For the next few weeks, I plan to spend time in the Psalms, ancient Israel’s hymnal. I’m going to draw on the lectionary for many of these, but not exclusively. I will mostly pick Psalms which I have not yet preached. This way I can dig deeper into this book. 

Think of the great hymns of our tradition and how they express our theology. Hymns are often constructed around the Trinity, such as “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Others express the truth of the incarnation, that God came to us in the flesh in the life of Jesus, as in “Joy to the World, the Lord is come.” Others remind us of how we can trust God, such as “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” “I Sing the Mighty Power of God,” expresses the power of the Almighty and “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” expresses how we should take refuge in God’s power. 

Likewise, the Psalms express the theology of ancient Israel. Today, we’re looking at Psalm 33. This piece conveys the Almighty nature of God as well as God’s goodness. Because of God’s nature, we should praise him. Think of the hymn, “God of Grace and God of Glory,” which we sang this morning.  

A festival hymn, this Psalm was sung in worship; it may have been used during New Year celebrations as it looks back and forth.[1] Let’s listen to the Psalm.

Read Psalm 33:

“When you gathered with people who are righteous and upright, sing with them Psalm 33,” suggested Athanasius. He was the Bishop of Alexander in the 4th Century.[2] This Psalm was important for the early church. It provided them and us with reasons for and benefits of trusting God.

Let’s work through the Psalm. You might want to keep your Bibles open. Verse 1 through 3 serves as a call to worship. This is the first Psalm to mention musical instruments: the lyre, the harp, strings.[3] If you want to support the use of a guitar or banjo in worship, look no further than the opening of this Psalm. However, the Psalm excludes many of us for in verse three we’re told to “play skillfully on the strings.” Some of us can’t do that! At least not the skillful part. Including yours truly. 

Along with instrumental music, we’re called to sing and to use our voices to make “loud shouts.” That’s the joyful noise which Psalm 100 calls us to make.  

These opening verses center us in worship. Our focus, in worship, isn’t to be internal, on ourselves and our needs. Instead, worship centers on God. 

We’re then given two reasons why we should worship God. First, God is faithful and upright. God created the heavens and earth by his word and holds back the waters. Remember, to desert people like Israel, large bodies of water were scary. Holding back the waters was seen as grace.

The second reason has to do with God’s control. We’re to fear God for what God says will be. Our Lord stands above all nations and peoples. Next to God, we’re powerless, for God can thwart any of our plans. God is eternal, we’re not!

In verse 12, there’s a shift to how God’s power relates to the earth. It begins with “Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord.” This quote has been used on billboards and bumper stickers to promote a nationalistic agenda.[4] But that’s a misuse. It only makes sense by leaving off the second half of the verse, “the people whom God has chosen.”[5] This reminds us of a key concept in our theology. It’s not about us choosing God, it’s about God choosing us. If God doesn’t make the first move, which he does in Jesus Christ, we’d be lost. 

Of course, the nation referred to here is ancient Israel, through whom God worked to bring salvation to the world. 

But as the Psalm continues, we’re reminded repeatedly that this really isn’t about a nationalistic religion of a powerful nation. God watches over all the earth. While God stands apart from the world, God remains interested in what happens to his creation.[6]

Furthermore, in verse 16, we realize this can’t be a nation who takes comfort in its military prowess. The king cannot be saved by his great army, nor the warrior by his great strength. Even the strength of a war horse is vain. Instead, salvation can only be found in the God who watches over us all. Pacifism isn’t the intent of this Psalm. Nationally, there remains a need to protect oneself. But we shouldn’t trust just in the military. We must trust, first and foremost, in God, not in our own abilities.

Remember, Jesus watches us.  Idolatry exists when we place our trust in anything other than God, and that includes military might. Hedging our bets is a dangerous strategy, according to this Psalm, for God wants our total allegiance.  

We’re called to fear God but should remember this fear isn’t about being afraid. Because of God’s power, we want to be on God’s side. When we try to ignore God and do our own things, we may quickly find ourselves in trouble. 

So, the Psalm closes with the promise to wait on God, for we find in him help and protection. Our hearts should be glad because of our trust in God. Then, the Psalmist addresses the Almighty, asking for the Lord to be with us. 

What can we take away from this Psalm?  As the 130th Psalm proclaims, we’re to hope in the Lord.[7]

Another thing this Psalm reminds us of is the inability to separate our lives into the religious and the secular. Or the “church and everything else.” For God sees all, not just what happens in church. This is God’s world and we’re to live for the Lord.[8]

Augustine, writing in the 4th Century on this Psalm suggested: “Let the unjust dance for joy in this world, by all means; but when this world comes to an end, there will be an end to their dancing. Let the just dance for joy in the Lord, for the Lord abides forever, and so will the exultation of the just.[9]

We’re to dance for joy in the Lord! That’s good advice. Keep focused on God and worry less about the things of this world. Amen. 

[1]  Artur Weiser, The Psalms: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 289.

[2] Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms, as quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament VII, Psalms 1-50, edited by Craig A. Blaising and Carmen S. Hardin (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2008), 244. 

[3] James L. Mays, Psalms: Interpretation, A Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 149. This is based on the current canonical ordering of the Psalms as found in the Christian Bible. 

[4] It’s been a while, but I have seen this as a bumper sticker. For billboards, see Stan Masts Commentary on the Psalm at https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2016-07-31/psalm-3312-22/

[5]Scott Hoezee, Sermon Commentary for Sunday, August 7, 2022, Psalm 33:12-22,” in https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2022-08-01/psalm-3312-22-3/

[6] Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984), 35. 

[7] Psalm 130:5

[8] May, 151.

[9] Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms, as quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament VII, Psalms 1-50, edited by Craig A. Blaising and Carmen S. Hardin (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2008), 246

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Reviews from my July readings

photo of books reviewed

While I have completed a lot of books this past month, part of the reason is that two of the books were mostly read during June. I just happened to finish them in July!  Also, as I am trying to find a way to reduce my library. For the past thirty-five years, I have had expense accounts to buy many of my books, which have resulted in way more books that one needs. I have once again begun to check out books from the library. Two of the books here (James and The Folly of Realism )were library books. 

Leo Damrosch, Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World 

(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 573 pages including notes and an index. Audio book narrated by David Stifel, 20 hours and 43 minutes. 

Impressed with Damrosch’s The Club: Johnson, Boswell and the Friends who Shaped an Age, I explored other books written by him.  Having never read a biography of Swift, even though I read Gulliver’s Travels twenty-some years ago, I dug into this book. Swift lived a generation before Boswell and Johnson. While I listened to the book, I also brought a hard copy to reread sections. 

In addition to having read Gulliver’s Travels (and Swift’s short parody, “A Modest Proposal”), which made me curious about Swift’s life, in 2011, I was in Dublin. I attended worship at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I knew Swift served as the dean of the cathedral. He was also buried there. I found it shocking to learn Stella burial is next to him. Stella, is a woman to whom he may or may not have been married. Learning this, I became even more intrigued with Swift. 

I enjoyed Damrosch’s extensive biography. While somewhat academic, this book is very easy to read and includes lots of snips from Swift’s clever writings. In the prologue, Damrosch teases the reader with one of Swift’s affairs, then provides a brief survey of other Swift biographies. Chapter 1 begins with Swift’s early life, in which there are a lot of gaps and questions. It’s assumed he was born at his uncle’s house in Dublin, Ireland, in 1667. Oddly, as a toddler, Swift’s wet nurse Tok him to England. He wasn’t reunited with his mother until he was older. It is assumed his father died before his birth although Damrosch hits at other possible explanations. .

Damrosch leads us through Swift’s life. Swift thought highly of himself and I am curious if he ever preached on humility. He held out hope for a better position in life. Only later did he eventually settle in the position of Dean at St. Patrick’s in Dublin.

Even though he was born in Ireland, Swift considered himself as English. But in time, he became a champion of the Irish cause. But it appears his concern was only for Irish Anglicans. He didn’t care for the Catholics, who made up most of the Irish subjects. He also had disdain for the Scots and Presbyterians

Of course, the Anglican communion was filled with political landmines. Swift didn’t make it easy to navigate, especially after it was discovered he was the “anonymous” author of a satire of the church titled, A Tale of a Tub.  In that book, Jack represents John Calvin, Peter the Catholic Church, both with whom he had issues. Marty was for Martin Luther, whom he seemed to admire more. However, Swift was more about enjoying life and making jokes and less concerned about theology. .

In addition to church pollity, Swift was also interested in the politics of the United Kingdom. Considering he lived during the first Scottish Jacobite Rebellions, English politics were never boring. 

Swift also enjoyed women. In addition to Stella, there was Venessa.  A woman twenty years younger, Swift and she carried on quite an affair. In their correspondence, instead writing about their sexual attractions, they substituted “coffee.” Each would write things like “I can’t wait to drink your coffee.” This silly way of flirting kept a rising member of the clergy from suspect. 

In the end, after Stella’s death, Swift memory faded. He worried about such a fate. In Gulliver’s Travels, when Gulliver is in Luggnugg, he learns of people who do not die, but instead face eternal senility. Certainly, death was more desirable than living like that. By the end of his life, Swift lost his memory. 

This is a massive book with great details into Swift’s life. If you’re interested in Swift, I recommend it. 

Ron Shelton, The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham, Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings, and a Hit

Book cover for "The Church of Baseball"

 narrated by Ron Shelton, (2022), 8 hours and 12 minutes. 

Shelton wrote and directed the 1988 movie “Bull Durham.” In this book, he recalls his minor league career in the late 60s and early 70s. He began playing Single A ball in Bluefield, West Virginia (which was eye opening for a boy from California). He eventually worked his way up to a Triple A team in Rochester, NY. During the first baseball strike, he decided to hang it up. The first half of the book talks about how his ideas for the movie came about. Almost everything in the movie, he experienced or heard about as a ball player. 

In the second half of the movie, Shelton talks about the making of the movie. Kevin Costner, who played Crash Davis, immediately fell for the script and helped him promote it to studios. Susan Sarandon read the script and even though she wasn’t being considered considering for the Annie character, she earned the spot for the leading lady. The third star, Nuke, played by Tim Robbins, took longer to arrange. Durham became the setting for the movie. During the filming, Shelton continually battled the “suits” in Hollywood.  

In addition to learning about how Shelton came up with this idea (based on a Greek play with his baseball experiences), the reader gets an insight into the hassle of making a movie.

I still remember watching the film in Ketchum, Idaho, the summer I was running a camp in the Sawtooth Mountains. I still think it’s a great movie and this book makes me want to watch it again.  

Alexander Vindman, The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine 

Book cover for "The Folly of Realism"

(New York: Public Affairs, 2025), 290 pages including notes, bibliography and index.

Born in Ukraine, when it was a part of the Soviet Union, Vindman’s family became one of the last group of Jews to leave the country in 1979. Finding himself in America, he served and retired from the US Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. The last half of his career he worked as a military attaché for the United States embassy in Kyiv and Moscow and later for the President as an advisor on Eastern Europe.  His positions allowed him a front row seat for much of what happened between the United States and Russia following the breakup of the Soviet Union.  Of course, there may be some bias,. This is understandable with his background. However, the book is written in a way that strives to understand the positions of Russia, Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. 

This book begins under the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The Soviet Union broke up and many of the former “republics” became independent states. During the first Bush’s term and the first half of Clinton’s term, American interest centered on freeing Ukraine from nuclear weapons. When the Soviet Union split up, Ukraine overnight became the third largest nuclear power in the world. But with Ukraine’s dark history of Chernobyl, it was willing to give up its weapons. Furthermore, it knew it couldn’t maintain the nuclear stockpile, especially as many of the weapons approached the end of their lifespan.  In a way, Russia and the United States agreed (for different reasons) that the weapons needed to be dismantled and turned over to Russia. 

Starting with the Soviet breakup and for the next 30 years, the United States respected Russia as the legitimate heir to the Soviet Union. For their part, Ukraine just wanted protection from Russia as it attempted to build a new country. 

As the 21st Century began, both the United States and Russia found themselves on the same side of the war against Islamic extremism. After the nuclear weapons in Ukraine were eliminated, the United States looked the other way as Russia attempted to control the Soviet’s former states. After all, the United States needed bases in former Soviet states for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Under Putin, Russia strove harder to influence the politics of many former Soviet States, especially Ukraine and Georgia. They even hired an American political operative, Paul Manafort, to help them break Ukraine up so they would have more influence. Manafort later managed Donald Trump’s first Presidential campaign. Convicted for fraud and witness tampering, Trumped pardoned him.. Manafort helped soften the image of Yanukovych, whom the Kremlin wanted as Ukraine’s president. Yanukovych won in a Russian influenced election. . Afterwards the people of Ukraine, desiring to aligned with Europe, revolted. He fled the country. Russia then invaded Crimea and the Donbas. Vindman, working out of the Moscow embassy, was able to report on Russian soldiers moving into the Donbas, which Russia had said was a separatist movement.  

Most of this book deals with the period from 1989 to 2014, when Russia began military operations in Ukraine. Vindman makes it clear that Putin’s desire is an empire, like that of the Soviet Union. And the belief in Russia is that without Ukraine, they will not be able to have an empire.  

Vindman is critical of all Presidential Administrations. Much of our policy focused on maintaining a positive relationship with Russia, while forgoing ideals of freedom. Vindman shows the failure of America not living up to our own ideals about freedom as opposed to looking out for our short term interests when it comes to foreign policy. He argues that our foreign policy needs not only a realistic approach, but one which honors our ideals. This book provides the readers with an insight into what led up to the Russia attacks on Ukraine.  I would recommend this book, along with Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine to better understand the Ukrainian situation.

Percival Evett, James 

Book cover for "James"
Version 1.0.0

(New York: Doubleday, 2024), 302 pages. 

Surprise, I do occasionally read fiction. James is a fictional story in which Jim, Huck Finn’s sidekick in Mark Twain’s novel, tells his side of the story. I found this to be a good and fast read with some surprising twists which I won’t reveal in case you want to read the book. I hope you do and highly recommend it. 

James shows us how those in oppressed situations must live to maintain peace and enjoy some safety. He and his fellow slaves must show deference to all white people. This includes the way they speak. James educated himself by teaching himself to read and “borrowing books” from Judge Thatcher’s library. But he can’t let on that he has read many of the classics and musts talk with the dialect of a slave.  He also is unable to speak up when other slaves are punished. His most valuable possession is the stub of a pencil which he uses to write his thoughts down on paper. 

Many of the stories are like those in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. James and Huck spend their time on a raft and try to figure out life. They catch and cook catfish from the river. They run into the two con-artists, Dauphine and the King, who have a notion to sell James or to turn him in as a runaway and collect the reward. And they also meet up with a minstrel group without a tenor. Hearing James sings, the leader buys James as his tenor. However, to perform, they still must paint up Jame’s to make him “blackfaced,” cause no white crowd would come to see an actual black man sing.  Through these stories, we see the absurdity of a society in which half the population are in bondage. 

James’ mind is always on his wife and daughter, whom he hopes to buy out of slavery. The book ends as the Civil War begins. James frees his family and takes revenge on some who had been especially cruel. Instead of “lighting out to the territories,” as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ends, they move north. That’s enough hints to the story. There’s one larger twist you’ll have to read the book to learn.

My one complaint is that James is “too well read” in the classics. He has read (and carries on make-believe conversations with John Locke. Others he read include Voltaire. I found this hard to believe that one without a tutor could read and grasp the  full meaning of such books. However, it’s still a good story. 

Rebecca Solnit, Orwell’s Roses 

Book cover for Orwell's Roses"

(2021) narrated by Rebecca Solnit,  7 hours and 51 minutes.

“In the spring of 1936, a writer planted roses.” This begins the book, a sentence which, which in various forms, Solnit returns to throughout this collection of essays centered around the plant and the writer.  Each section provides new insight into roses and to Orwell. 

This is not a biography, even though the reader will gain insight into Orwell’s life. It’s more a mediation, as Solnit weaves together insights of the flower and Orwell. We learn about how and why the plant is grown. One tangent takes us into the greenhouses outside of Bogota, Columbia, where they grown most of the roses sold in the North America. We learn of the brutal conditions of those who work inside these compounds. 

We also learn about Stalin, who Solnit suggests could have been Orwell’s muse. After all, much of his writing in the last decade of his life was in response to the world Stalin (and Hitler) attempted to create. While Stalin didn’t grow roses, he did grow lemons (or had them grown for him for unlike Orwell, Stalin didn’t get his hands dirty). Orwell, who politically was a socialist, feared what would happen in a totalitarian world. 

The book delves into politics, economics, and aesthetics. The latter is important.  During and since high school, I have read much of Orwell’s writings (Homage to Catalonia, Burmese Days, Animal Farm, 1984, and his much of his massive, Collective Essays). I don’t think I would have considered Orwell’s appreciation of beauty, but as I listened to this book, I pulled out my copy of his essays and reread several. Solnit is right. While Orwell was often sick and his view of the world wasn’t positive, he does appreciate beauty. 

I highly recommend this book especially in our world today in which authoritarianism seems to have much appeal to many people. I believe you’ll appreciate Solnit’s masterful use of language as she conveys a sense that Orwell has something to say to our generation.

Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life 

Book cover for "Falling Upward"

(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011), 198 pages including notes and an index.

I’ve had this book for a couple of years. Robert, a friend from Utah, suggested it to me in 2023. I brought it and my first attempt to read it just didn’t take. But the second time, something caught, and I read it. Possibility, this has to do with me pondering retirement. Two years ago, I was avoiding such thoughts. Now, I’m long past the age I could retire. The topic of retirement frequently on my mind.

Rohr divides our lives into two halves. The first half, we build a life. We also prepare for the second part. In the second half, we’re to be an elder, a mentor, and help others build. I like his distinction here of the two halves. He roots his thoughts in Biblical passages in addition to insights from his life, literature, philosophy, mythology, and other religions. 

Early in the story, he shares a story of a Japanese ritual for those who served in the military during World War II. Many came home broken. They’d been loyal soldiers. Not knowing anything else, they needed to be helped to move into a new phase of life. They were thanked for their serve and then instructed by the elders in villages and cities to leave their “loyal soldier” life behind. They were now needed to help rebuild their society. This created a transition for those who had served in the military. Rohr then goes on to compare a successful transition to the older brother in the Prodigal Son parable, who was unable to let go of the past.  Failure to let go of the past will lead to failure in the second half of life.

If we’re living, we’re changing. We need to learn to manage change within ourselves and our community. One of the keys to Rohr’s idea is to focus on the good of the community, something which I believe our society lacks these days. You’ll find lot more wisdom in this book.  I recommend it. 

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The Slain Yet Victorious Lamb

title slide with photos of the two churches were the sermon will be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Revelation 5
August 3, 2025

Sermon recorded on Friday, August 1, at Bluemont Presbyterian Church

Yale Divinity School’s famous Beecher lectures, given by Frederick Buechner, were published in a little book titled, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, & Fairy Tale. Some might take offense at the title, but it makes sense. As tragedy, the gospel begins with the crucifixion. As comedy, the reversal from death to life fits the classic understanding of the word. And as fairytale, we have the extraordinary things that happen to Jesus and his followers down to this day.[1]

In the text we’re looking at today, we see a bit of all three: tragedy, comedy and fairytale. We’ll see it in the resurrection lamb. As tragedy, the lamb was slain. As comedy and fairytale, the lamb lives and is all powerful. 

Lambs and Sheep play a key role in scripture. The Patriarchs herded sheep. The blood of lambs marked Israel safe during the night of Passover. David ruled as the shepherd king. The shepherds greeted the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. And Jesus, the good shepherd, becomes the sacrificial lamb. He died that we might live yet lives and offers us life eternal. Lambs and sheep are often seen as docile and meek. Perhaps this is why they were used in sacrifices. But the sacrificed lamb is victorious and in him we have hope. 

Before reading the Scriptures:  

We’ll finish our tour through the first five chapters of Revelation today. If enough people show interested, I’d be more than glad to run a Bible study on the rest of the book in the fall. So let me know. Next week, I’ll move on to other texts for my sermons. 

As I pointed out last week, the fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation envision heavenly worship. In the fourth chapter, the focused on the throne. John hears hymns around the throne praising the Almighty. In the fifth chapter, a scroll is introduced as well as the slain lamb who lives. Last week we learned the word “Throne” occurs 40 times in Revelation.[2] The “Lamb of God,” is another of the book’s favorite phrases. Introduced in the fifth chapter, the phrase occurs 28 times in the remaining 17 chapters of the Book of Revelation![3] Let’s look at what John witnessed. 

Read Revelation 5:

The scroll and the lamb are the focus of the fifth chapter. Frst century Christians would understand a scroll as scripture.[4]Sealed with seven seals, it contains God’s plan. But there’s no one worthy to open the seals. 

This brings tears to John’s eyes. For you see, without opening the scroll (without moving into God’s future) the powers of evil who have thrown themselves against the godly and have persecuted the church will prevail.

John’s vision comes at a perilous time for the continued existence of the church. Persecution threatens. John, himself, exiled to a deserted rocky island because of his faith in Jesus Christ, could have been killed.[5] But there, on those rocky shores with the sound of lapping waves, John’s vison fills the sky. He’s reminded of the truth. God will be victorious. 

It might not have looked that way when the Romans sent John into exile on this rocky island. Nor did it look that way at daybreak on the first Easter when the women make their way to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for the grave. It may not look that way for some of us today, who are troubled by what’s happening in our world. But God has a way of surprising us!

One of the elders standing near God’s throne points out there is, after all, one who can open the scroll. I should point out here that time in Revelation isn’t neat and chronological as we like. At the point there was no one worthy probably refers to the time before Jesus’ death. Seeing the condition of humanity, God rescues the world by entering the human sphere in the life of Jesus Christ. Now, moving back to after the resurrection, someone is worthy.  

Now notice the difference between the fifth and sixth verses. Do you catch the humor? In the fifth verse, John’s encouraged to look at the lion. But in the sixth, he sees a lamb. He expects to see a raging lion who has conquered evil by brute force. Instead, we see a sacrificed lamb.[6] God didn’t choose to conquered evil by physical strength; rather, God chose to submit to evil through Jesus’ death on the cross. This sacrificial act shows the limitation of evil’s power. Jesus’ resurrection conquers death and demonstrates evil impotence. “Victory through sacrifice” is the central theme of the New Testament revelation.[7]

It’s important for us to remember when John witnesses this vision, the church faced mortal danger. John’s vision isn’t to go and tell his fellow Christians that everything will be alright. They know good and well that things are grim. If something doesn’t happen, they may all be exterminated. What John’s vision does for his readers is to assure them of God’s control. In the end God, through Jesus Christ, will reign triumphantly over evil and death and destruction. There may be suffering and persecution here on earth, but in heaven, they’re already celebrating victory won over evil when Jesus rose from the grave.

The lamb envisioned in Revelation 5 is a little weird. Seven horns, seven eyes (just like the seven seals). This isn’t to be taken a literally as to how Jesus Christ looks. As we’ve seen in the first five chapters of Revelation, seven represents perfection and holiness. These are the attributes assigned to the lamb representing Jesus Christ. With seven eyes, the lamb sees all. With seven horns, lamb isn’t just a helpless lamb, but a powerful ram able to protect those within his flock.

So, Jesus Christ, the sacrificed lamb, takes the scroll. God’s plan moves forward. Having defeated death on the cross, Jesus Christ sets out to free the universe of all evil. This causes song upon songs to rise throughout heaven. Christ, the Lamb of God, is praised. He inaugurates a new era.

Think about this for a minute… Christ has in his possession the scroll containing the future. But we are only in the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation. There are 17 more chapters. There are stories of galactic battles and martyrs to come; at this point Christ who has mortally defeated evil has not yet fully conquered it.  

Evil is still present in the world. We know that. We’ve seen it this week when Russia attacked a maternity hospital and apartment complexes in Ukraine. And we see it in the Congo when Islamic Nation terrorists attack and kill students at a Christian school. We saw it last year in Israel, when Palestinians attacked a concert in Israel. And we continue to witness it in Gaza as Israel destroys hospitals, attacks relief distribution centers, and starves the residents. We see it in the face of dead children. Whichever of these situations you pick, there are dead children. It should break our hearts and cause us to cry out to God, “how long, O Lord, how long.” 

We don’t understand why God allows such evil to happen. The question of why, if God is all-powerful, God allows such evil, has been around for thousands of years. The rabbis debated this question in Jesus’ day. The book of Job, written to help us wrestle with this problem, leaves us with what many consider an unsatisfactory answer. 

In Job’s search, he encounters God and comes away only with a sense of God’s awe and power.[8] He learns it’s impossible for us to fully understand the Creator. Yet, we’re called to sing. We know the future. We know what happens, but also what will happen. So, we join the multitude singing praises and trusting in the goodness of a God who raised Jesus from the dead.

Think about the choir in Revelation 5. The singing begins with the four living creatures who guard the throne and the twenty-four harp strumming elders who represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the New Testament. Their music inspires a multitude of angels to join the chorus. And the angels inspire all creation to join in the song of praise. Doxology! “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”

Now, was all of creation singing praises to God during John’s lifetime? Of course not. As I said earlier, time in this chapter is somewhat transitory. It moves quickly from before Christ’s victory over death to the complete fulfillment of God’s plan for creation at the end of history. We desire such a fulfillment, but its realization remains in the distance. But let’s not forget. We know the ending. We know who’s in charge and how history will end.

Friends, like those in this vision, our lives should be filled with the song of resurrection. May the song fill us with hope. Know that death is not the last word. Know that evil is not the last word. The risen Christ rules. A new world will come. Don’t despair. Rejoice! Amen. 

[1] Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale (San Francisco: HarpersCollins, 1977), 7.  

[2] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/07/27/worship-its-not-about-us/

[3] Robert L. Reymond, The Lamb of God: The Bible’s Unfolding Revelation of Sacrifice (Mentor, 2006), 103.

[4] Eugene H. Peterson, Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination (HarpersSanFrancisco: 1988), 64.

[5] John 1:9.

[6] M. Eugene Boring, Revelation: Interpretation, A Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1989), 108. 

[7] Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, revised, (Grand Rapids: MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 132.

[8] Job 38-41.