Psalm 16: 1-11

If you want to see the clear Christian “spin” put on part of Psalm 16, you can go to Google Images and check out “Psalm 16 headstones” to see quite the sampling. I did not want to put any of those pictures on this post because most contain the names of real people and I did not want to risk seeming to exploit a loved one’s grave as illustrative material. But clearly the presence of this psalm on grave markers is a witness to the resurrection of the body promised in Christ. As noted above on this sermon starter, that is a fine thing to do, even if it is quite at variance with anything the actual psalmist had in mind!

An estranged wife and her diabetic pre-teen daughter have just purchased a renovated brownstone in New York. To their delight they discover that the previous owner had installed a safe room. Very soon they discover to their horror that they will need that room, because three burglars break into their new home. Mother and daughter race to the safe room, followed by the sinister thieves. Unfortunately, the previous owner hadn’t gotten around to installing a telephone in that room, so they can’t call out for help. The daughter has no insulin with her and is slipping into diabetic shock. And, worst of all, the intruders know they are in the room. In fact, they have broken into the house precisely to get something that the previous owner had left in that room, namely, three million dollars. In a movie filled with terror, the safe room becomes the title of the movie, “Panic Room.”

After 9/11, America has poured untold trillions of dollars and man hours and technological expertise into creating what we call “Homeland Security.” We all support the general idea of trying to make our nation secure from terrorist threats. But we also know very well that no amount of human effort can produce genuine security. Talking about all that human effort will provide us with a ready-made opening for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ….”

A couple of quotes from C. S. Lewis’ Miracles, The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the ‘first fruits,’ the pioneer of life,’ He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. To preach Christianity meant (to the Apostles) primarily to preach the Resurrection. … The Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Acts. The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the ‘gospel’ or good news which the Christians brought. (Miracles, ch. 16)

("Before she married, my mother was an accomplished dancer. During the late forties, when I was about three years old, she began to teach dancing and baton twirling. She traveled throughout rural north Georgia, holding classes in the public schools as an itinerant dancing teacher...")

(see Second Sunday of Easter)

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