I'm not sure I have ever preached this Psalm, although it is certainly well-known, or at least the psalms of ascent as a group are. The sermon came together late, but I ended up liking the way it was put together. We had a terrific anthem that tied in well with the sermon, which always makes the sermon better!
“Transitions: From Weeping to Joy”; SAPC, Denton; April 3, 2022; Lent 5; Psalm 126
Psalm126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[a]
we were like those who dream.
2
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Introduction: Transitions
transitions from weeping to joy.
Move 1: Weeping to joy.
a. what brings you to tears?
1. the Psalmist knows about tears.
2. The Psalmist appears to be picking points along the journey as God’s people where there were tears.
3. probably looking back on exile when the Israelites were taken as captives from their own land and placed in a foreign land.
They would weep at their loss:
loss of property
loss of status
loss of relationships
loss of their identity
4. And now, even though they have returned to Jerusalem, they are on the verge of tears again as they look and see other world powers threatening them.
b. Pick points in your own life when you have wept.
1. Not just a few brief tears, but weeping that comes from deep within.
2. Weeping over the death of a loved one.
3. Weeping over a loss of self-identity that comes with a job loss or other changing circumstances.
4. Weeping over a broken relationship.
5. Weeping over the pain and suffering as you look the world and see genocide in Africa; the devastation in the Ukraine; the deep divisions in our own country; social injustices played out before our very eyes.
6. What makes you weep?
c. Frederick Buechner tells us” Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention.
They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next. (Frederick Buechner, https://www.frederickbuechner.com/quote-of-the-day/2017/9/4/tears?rq=tears)
b. What about joy
1. Words for laughter and joy appear five times giving the Psalm its dominant emotional theme.
2. James Mays, a biblical scholar who focused on the Psalms notes, that Psalm 126 “the psalm is about joy remembered and joy anticipated.” (James L Mays, Psalms in the commentary series Interpretation, 399)
3. Negeb illustration
4. Negeb is an Arid part of southern Israel and a portion of Palestine. (see https://www.britannica.com/place/Negev for more of a description of the Negev).
2. not totally desert, but very dry.
3. Seasonal rain comes and fills some watering places.
4. Ebb and flow of dryness that challenges life and the water that gives life.
d. Ebb and flow of our own lives and we transition from weeping to sorrow in our own lives.
1. What has led you from weeping to sorrow?
Move 2: Clues from Psalm 126
a. We remember that Psalm 126 is a song of ascent.
1. Sung as people climb up to the Temple, to the house of God.
2. Feet moving step by step; Eyes on the place where they find the presence of God.
3. Like the people singing Psalm 126, we way our Breath prayer this week:
“God who weeps with us, unleash your joy.”
4. Puts God with us in our weeping and connects us to the one who moves us to joy.
b. Reminder that God acts
1. “Restore your fortunes” prophetic phrase used to describe a radical change brought about by God. It often means restoration of an earlier situation between God and people.” (James L Mays, Psalms in the commentary series Interpretation, 399)
2. Powerful image of God joining us in our weeping.
3. Standing in solidarity with us in our grief.
4. But God is more than the one who weeps with us;
God is the one who desires to make us whole.
5. God works to transform our lives so that what has lead to our weeping is transformed into a situation where joy arises.
c. The Psalmist reminds us that transformation takes time.
1. We are given the image of the harvest.
2. We go out with tears to sow and return with joy at the harvest.
3. Between sowing and harvesting is time and work - time for planting; time for growth; time for harvest.
4. We might imagine God at work in that time, using our tears to water the crops so that we are transformed by the time of harvest into joy.
5. It takes time to move from weeping to joy.
d. I saw a story on the news recently of a person whose home had been partially destroyed by a tornado. It had done damage to the house and had ripped the roof off exposing the home.
Literally, within a couple of hours the news reporter is interviewing the woman who lived there. There was even a tour through the house. the woman was blissfully at peace with what had happened.
then, he husband arrived and he seemed totally in shock. not quite smiling like his wife already was.
as I watched the report, I thought to myself - too early. We are seeing the immediate shock; soon the emotions will arrive.
It reminded me of another interview I read about a family who had lost their home in a tornado.
Everything blown away. No lives lost, but total devastation of property.
the woman talked about how at first she could not stop weeping. the tears flowed and flowed. in those first hours and days as help arrived, she could hardly comprehend what had happened, much less what support arrived with volunteers and items she and her family needed to survive.
over time, she describes the flowing tears slowing down; moments when she could look at what was happening, the support, the care, the strangers who gave to help her, and she began to see things in a new way.
it took awhile, but she describes how she could then smile again.
She could find joy in what was happening and the people helping her restore her life.
it took awhile before she could look back and announce that God had been with her in the midst of her crisis and God has sent her those people to help her rebuild her life.
The God who acts to lead us from weeping to joy.
d. the Psalmist is also playing off of memory.
1. As he calls to mind for the Israelites the God who transformed their weeping in captivity to joy of their return, they can face the new possibility of weeping with the promise of the joy that will follow.
2. Psalm 126 offers memory and a vote of confidence in the God who not only weeps with us, but unleashes joy.
Conclusion: We come to our Lord’s Table today.
Gordon Mikoski, who teaches at Princeton Seminary, describes the Lord’s Table as a reminder of a a very sad story. {From Cloud of Witness audio journal, Volume 11 as quoted in “Century Marks” Christian Century, oct. 30, 2007 (6)}
A reminder of the weeping that took place as Jesus’ loved ones watch him die on the cross. A story of tears over the death of a beloved friend and the death of identity as a follower of Christ.
But the Lord’s Table also reveals the God who transforms death into life, brokenness into wholeness.
We come to our Lord’s Table remembering both the death of Christ on the cross and the God who acts to transform this Table into the joyful feast.
Weeping into joy.
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