Psalm 134
We set out on pilgrimage on September 1 when we began preaching from the Psalms of Ascent. More than three months later we arrive at our destination, Psalm 134, the fifteenth and last of these psalms.
The Jewish pilgrims who made their way to Jerusalem for the three annual festivals, sang these psalms as they made their way up the hill to Mt. Zion and when they arrived at the steps of the Temple, Psalm 134 was likely used as a call and response with the pilgrims calling out verses 1 and 2 and then the priests and Levites responding with the blessing of verse 3.
So imagine the pilgrims standing on the steps, calling out in unison:
1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
And then the priests and Levites responding:
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.
The pilgrims set out from all over Israel and some traveled from foreign lands. They traveled for weeks and months and then they saw their first glimpse of Jerusalem from afar. They began climbing Mt. Zion, singing the Psalms of Ascent, and now after all they have experienced they have reached their destination. They stand on the steps of the Temple and call out to the priests and Levites who bless them.
Our own spiritual pilgrimage began with the theme of Psalm 120, the first of the Psalms of Ascent.
1 I call on the Lord in my distress,
and he answers me.
2 Save me, O Lord, from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.
6 Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.
We looked around at the futility of life, the emptiness and meaninglessness of life. Perhaps we were crushed and called out in despair for help. Maybe it was an intellectual search for truth that brought us to Jesus. It could be we felt loved and cared for by a community of followers of Jesus and that brought us to Jesus. But however it happened, we discovered the world did not hold the meaning and purpose in life we were looking for. We decided to begin following Jesus. Repentance means turning and when we repented, we turned from our pursuit of the world and began pursuing Jesus.
As we moved through the psalms over the past three months, we focused on a wide range of emotions and experiences. We were encouraged by psalms that told us we were not alone. God is present with us and we have a community that encourages us to keep pursuing Jesus. There were psalms of rejoicing followed by psalms of anger and bitterness. We read psalms of people who faced desperate circumstances and learned to trust in God. We read of the blessing of God as we make our way to his kingdom. Now, at the end of these psalms, let me address three themes in pilgrimage. Determination, blessing, and hope.
I went to university in Boston and the Boston Marathon route passed along the buildings of the university. So each year I stood in the crowd, cheering on the runners and thinking about running it myself someday. Finally, at the age of 32 I trained with a friend to run the Boston Marathon. All was going well until about a couple months before the marathon when I developed pains in my shins. So I stopped running and began biking instead. When the day of the marathon came, I was unprepared and I dropped out at the halfway point. Eleven years later another friend was training to run the Boston Marathon and I told him I would run the second half with him, which I did. So I told people my personal best time for completing the Boston Marathon was eleven years and four hours.
1997 was the 100th running of the Boston Marathon and at the age of 46 I decided I would run and I was determined that this time I would begin at the starting line and not stop until I crossed the finish line. I trained for a year. I set up a training schedule and recorded what I actually ran against what I was supposed to run. I ran when I had bad colds, blowing my nose constantly as I ran. I ran when I had a fever. I ran in the rain. I ran during the snow blizzards of that winter. I remember being out one day in a blizzard when the snowplow came by and asked if I was alright. I told him I was fine but he knew I was crazy. I came back to the house after my winter runs with icicles hanging off my beard.
I had business trips and ran wherever I happened to be. In one two week period, toward the end of my training, I had an 18 mile Saturday run (29 kilometers) in San Diego, south of Los Angeles in California, and the next weekend I was in Tokyo and had another 18 mile run, running laps around the Emperor’s palace. I ran through pain. I had a severe pain in my Achilles tendon and for several months it would hurt for the first three or four miles until the tendon loosened up and the pain went away. After the run in Tokyo my heel hurt so bad it was difficult to walk, but then, amazingly, the pain went away and never returned. I was determined that nothing was going to stop me from completing the Boston Marathon that year. I told myself that no matter what happened the day of the race, I would finish. I would finish if I had to crawl along the ground to get across the finish line. I was determined.
I ran and finished the Boston Marathon that year, beating my personal best time by eleven years.
During that year I thought about my training and determination as a metaphor for the Christian life. There are many people who begin following Jesus but then walk away for one reason or another. It might be that they become consumed with the desire to make money and life a comfortable lifestyle. Some people are disillusioned because God did not answer their prayers. Some people look up to church leaders who fall into sin and in their disappointment, they walk away from Jesus. There are people who are hurt by betrayal and cannot bring themselves to forgive the person who hurt them. They start, but drop out and do not finish.
Jesus talked about a man who sowed seed. Some fell on rocky ground but the roots could not go deep. So when trouble or persecution came, faith disappeared. Some seeds fell among thorns. Faith began but then got choked out by the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. It was the seeds that fell on good soil that produced a great crop.
Our university group had a lot of talented people who were passionate about Jesus. But over the years, some of those people fell to the side and stopped their pilgrimage. This is a great sadness. Some of these people were strong leaders in the group but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, sexual desires, and the pain of broken relationships pulled them off the path and they discontinued their pilgrimage.
What makes good soil? That is another sermon, but certainly, perseverance and determination is part of what makes us good soil for the seeds of the gospel to grow.
What brought Paul to the finish line? He endured opposition, disappointment, beatings and floggings. At one point he was stoned and left for dead. And yet he never stopped pursuing Jesus and working with him for the kingdom of heaven. He wrote in Philippians 3:12–14
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Are you determined to persevere until you reach the finish line and are welcomed by Jesus into his kingdom? Your determination will be tested when the riches of the world call to you, promising you a luxurious, carefree life. The call of corruption to get ahead will tempt you. The lure of sexual desires will call you to step off the path. You will face pain and disappointment and periods of doubt. There are so many ways your pursuit of Jesus will be attacked. You need to be determined that no matter what, you will hang on to Jesus and finish the race.
Determination is needed if we are to persevere but there is encouragement along the way as we receive the blessing of God. Psalm 128 is a wonderful psalm of God’s blessing on those who set their hearts on pilgrimage.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in his ways.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Thus is the man blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
Pilgrimage is not all difficult. We receive the blessing of God when we follow him, living lives of obedience. Being faithful to Jesus is rewarded in this life. You will have encouraging and supportive friendships. You will experience God’s provision for your needs. You will be surrounded by people who love you and care for you.
Psalm 121 speaks of the blessing of God’s presence with us.
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 125 tells us we are blessed because we have trust in one who cannot be shaken.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.
Life is not an easy journey for anyone: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, or atheists. Whether or not people set out on pilgrimage to the Kingdom of God, there will be good times and bad times. There will be celebrations and tragedies. There will be elation and depression, friendship and betrayal, pleasure and pain. This is what life is for everyone. But those who set out on pilgrimage toward Jesus are blessed in three ways.
First, we have the presence of God with us. God is present with us in all the moments of life, good and bad. We may not be aware of his presence and there may be times we feel all alone, but he is always as close to us as the air we breathe.
A small boy being walked to school by an older brother feels safe and secure because he is protected. When you have at your side the pre-existing, all-powerful creator of the universe who tells you he loves you and will never leave you or forsake you, you will be safe. You do not have to be worried or anxious. You may suffer and your heart may break, but you will be safe with Jesus because he has promised to be with you.
Secondly, God is at work in our lives, helping us to be transformed. As we continue in pilgrimage toward Jesus, we begin to become more like him. As we cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit we become kinder, more gentle, more patient. As our character is changed, we move through the events of life more easily. As our faith deepens and grows, we begin to see the events of life differently. We discover how to be at peace in the storms of life. We live with hope.
Thirdly, as much as we are determined to cross the finish line, God is more determined that we cross the finish line. God will not force us across; we have free will. But God will put people in our lives and use the circumstances of our lives to encourage us to persevere. God wants us to win. God wants us to cross the finish line. God is our coach, he is the cheering crowd, he is our running partner. We are blessed because God is on our side. God wants us to cross the finish line and live with him for eternity.
We need determination. We receive blessing. And we have hope.
Most of you are familiar with J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. At the end of the three books and at the end of the three movies, there is a grand celebration when Aragorn is crowned as king, marries his Elvish wife, the hobbit heros are honored, and the world enters into an era of peace.
It is a great climax to a wonderful trilogy of movies (the books are even better). We love this ending because deep in ourselves, we know we will one day be part of an even better, richer, and deeper celebration when (Philippians 2:10–11)
at the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
We will cross the finish line but we will not be alone. There will be those who greet us who shared the gospel with us, loved us, cared for us, prayed for us. They will welcome us and celebrate with us. And there will also be those who cross the finish line with us because we shared the gospel with them, loved them, cared for them, prayed for them. We set out on our pilgrimage in community and we will finish it in community.
And then we will celebrate with a grand wedding banquet, eating and drinking, rejoicing and laughing, all in the presence of the one who loves us and paid the price of our admission into heaven.
That is the end of our pilgrimage – or is it the beginning?
Jews traveled on pilgrimage to arrive at the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem. We set out on pilgrimage toward our heavenly home and when we arrive it will not be the end of our pilgrimage. It will not be the end of our life. Our arrival will be the beginning of our life.
At the end of his seven-book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis writes:
And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures… had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
This is the hope we hold on to. We press on to receive the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Pete Maravich was one of the top basketball players of all time. Thirty years after he finished his university career, his record for total points scored still stands. He played ten years as a professional until his knees forced him into retirement and has been called the best ball-handler of all time.
His life off the basketball court was not as productive. His fame and financial success did not bring him happiness and for many years he tried to find satisfaction in wild living and heavy drinking. It was not until after his retirement from basketball that Pete Maravich found true happiness. He gave his heart to Jesus Christ, and for the next five years, he was on fire for the Lord. He put all the energy and passion of his basketball career into his new life with Jesus.
In 1988 he was asked by James Dobson, host of a popular Christian radio broadcast, to appear on his show. After the interview, they played a game of pick-up basketball with several others. When the game ended, Dobson turned to Maravich and said, “Pete, you can’t give up basketball. This game means too much to you.”
Maravich explained he had experienced pain in his right shoulder for more than a year, but now it had disappeared. “I feel just great,” he said.
Those were his last words.
Maravich collapsed on the basketball court, and minutes later, died in Dobson’s arms.
I listened to the radio broadcast when Dobson talked about coming home that day and sitting down with his 17 year old son. He told him that what happened that day on the basketball court was not an isolated event. This is what will happen to us all. Dobson told his son that this would happen to him some day.
Dobson told his son, “Pete Maravich didn’t have an opportunity to speak with his family one last time. But I want to tell you, be there. On resurrection morning, be there. I will be looking for you then. Nothing else matters. Be there.”
When I came home that night, after listening to the radio broadcast, I sat down with my two daughters and told them the same thing. “Nothing else matters. I will die and then one day you will die and when you die, I want you to be with me. I will be waiting for you. Be there.”
And this morning I tell you the same thing. I want you to be with me in eternity. You may struggle over the years. You may have doubts. You may be hurt by the church. You may be deceived by your church pastor. You may suffer great personal tragedy and wonder if anything makes any sense.
It does not matter what will happen to you. Persevere. Stay on pilgrimage. Hold on to Jesus. Do not give up. At the end, when we are gathered together into heaven, I want you to be there. I want to celebrate with you. I want to explore the delights of heaven with you.
God is determined and will do everything he can to encourage you to persevere and cross the finish line. But he will not force you. You have to be determined and that is what I am calling you to this morning. I want to offer you the opportunity to recommit yourself to pilgrimage.
If you have not yet begun your pilgrimage toward Jesus, I encourage you this morning to begin. Repent. Turn from your self-interested pursuit of what the world can offer and begin your pursuit of Jesus and his kingdom. Tell Jesus this morning you offer your life to him and want to follow him.
If you have been casual in your walk with Jesus, put passion back into your pursuit of him. Renew your commitment to follow him despite the costs.
The music team will come up and play for us. Take time to talk with God. Commit your life to him. You can come to the front and pray. You can kneel, stand, or sit in your chair. But take time to talk with God and declare your decision to walk with him all the way to his heavenly kingdom. Set your mind, will, and spirit on your pilgrimage and resolve that nothing will prevent you from crossing the finish line.
You may cross the finish line in a sprint with your arms raised in the air. You may limp across the finish line. You may crawl across, wounded and bleeding. It does not matter how you cross the finish line, only that you cross it. Be there! Be determined in your pilgrimage. Finish the race. Be there.
