Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! (New Revised Standard Version)
God is sovereign – which means that the Lord has complete power, dominion, and authority over everything that exists. God has supremacy because the Lord is the Creator God, the One who brought all things into existence.
Ideally, God and all creation exist harmoniously together. People coexist with God and recognize the Lord’s sovereignty through offering praise, adoration, and thanksgiving to the Lord.
That is what today’s psalm calls us to do, especially in this season of Christmastide. Christians are to offer their praise to God, despite whatever circumstances may be happening in their lives, and around them.
The psalmist was not telling people to simply forget their sorrows. He was exhorting everyone, including all creation, to praise the Lord in the middle of their distress.
When Christ was born, circumstances were not good for the Jews in Judea. Roman occupation had a firm authoritative hold upon them. Throughout their history, Jews have been often marginalized and oppressed. They know what suffering is.
Even though Christianity is a sizable world religion, Christians in many parts of the world today experience ostracization and discrimination. Christians everywhere are not immune to world events with situations like dictators, disasters, and diseases.
Yet, there is always an opportunity for praise to God. And the psalmist summons the faithful to do so. Praise and adoration of God shape us and form us spiritually, so that, even if we do not feel like doing it, the very act of offering the praise trains our spirits to bend in a good direction.
We could simply give-in to the status quo of things through constant complaining; or keep offering our woes. But that doesn’t negate the importance of praise.
Today we have the opportunity (and responsibility) to praise God for the incarnation of Christ. To remember that God loved us enough to become one of us. To adore the Christ child, and choose to give thanks, even though there might be oppression all around us.
We can celebrate, along with all creation, the nature of God and the Lord’s good purposes for humanity and all the earth. Adverse situations may stop us from many things we want to do, yet no circumstance can ever prevent us from praising God for divine attributes and divine sovereignty.
All of creation praises God by being exactly what God created it to be. A tree doesn’t try and be a star in the sky. It simply takes root and grows, branching out and becoming a haven for many creatures. Squirrels do what squirrels do, just like flowers, rocks, wind and weather do what they do.
It’s us people who tend to go rogue and try to be something or someone we’re not.
We can best praise God by living as God created us to live. We were designed to live in a divine/human cooperation of caring for all creation. We best exist alongside God by being good stewards of all that God has given to us – including the earth, our families and neighborhoods, and especially ourselves.
Praise is the job description of everything which exists. We will do that well as we honor our mandate to care, and not to harm; to serve others, and not be self-serving.
All things are connected on this planet. The ecosystems of the earth, and the economies of people, are all meant to live in harmony with each other, so that all of creation is blessed.
You and I have a sacred trust of relating well with each other, and everything around us.
The human condition is one of ongoing ups and downs. We experience a full range of tragedy, division, and hardship; along with joy, wonder, and happiness. In all things, no matter what, we are called to praise the Lord.
Each of us needs to find that place and that way of orienting and reorienting ourselves to what is important and why we are here.
For me, that happens whenever I hug my dear wife. Sometimes, I even go out in my backyard and hug my oak tree. The very act of hugging helps ground me to what is here and real, what is important and necessary.
If we can but touch one another, not just literally, but with well-placed words and helpful actions, then we can recall why harmony with all things is so important.
I’m in no way saying this is easy. It isn’t. There are many days when either the world seems as if it is a big collective ball of grumpy; or you yourself can hardly do the barest of responsibilities.
Yet, we can still find a way to praise, to be grateful, to offer what little care there may be to give.
Because it’s not so much about the amount of what we do, but rather how we are able to do it. A smidge of something done with love is infinitely better than lots of accomplishment without any care behind it.
The holidays are some of the hardest days for some folks. Christmas and the New Year are associated with grief for various reasons. It can bring isolation, not connection. The last thing such a person may want to do is praise the Lord, especially with a community of folks. And yet, that may just be the best activity.
There is no one-dimensional way of praising God; our offerings to the Lord can be multi-faceted. It can be achieved according to what we have to offer, and why we are offering it. It will not look the same for everyone.
Whatever you really need to do for an offering of praise this year, then do it. It’s okay if it’s a bit avant-garde, or off the beaten path. You are, after all, talking to a guy who hugs trees, for God’s sake.
Maybe this is the time to re-establish an old tradition that has fallen by the wayside. It could be the right opportunity to pick up that old musical instrument or to stretch your voice in singing again.
The exhortation we have from the psalmist is to praise. How you go about it, is up to you, my friend.
May almighty God, who sent his Son to take our nature upon him, encourage you in this holy season, scatter the darkness of sin, and brighten your heart with the light of his holiness. And may the blessing of God – Father, Son, and Spirit – be upon you and remain with you forever. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 