Pastor's Corner: Praise the Lord, All of Creation!

In early July my wife, two kids and I took a short family camping trip to a campground not far from Colville. The setting was wonderful. Our campsite was close to the lake so we could bring our canoe right down to the shore. It was well shaded by majestic pines, and the campground was quiet. We enjoyed evening and morning paddles around the lake

The mountains rose around us, and the trout seemed to be leaping just for the fun of it.

Whenever I find myself in such a setting, I am reminded of the many Psalms that ring out in praise of God and God’s creation. Psalms like 148 where just about everything is summoned to sing praise to God. The psalmist writes, “Praise the Lord, sun and moon; sing praise all you shining stars - Praise the Lord - all peoples, young men and women alike, old and young together” (Psalm 148:3-4, 7, 11-12). Read the whole Psalm; it is wonderful).

At that campground in Northeastern Washington, surrounded by the beauty of creation and the people I love most, I swear I could hear the mountains and trees, the lake and streams, sun and moon and stars singing their praise to God. Psalm 148 seems as natural to such a setting as the rocks and earth that form those mountains. Can’t you hear the singing?

Unfortunately, most of our lives are not spent in such idyllic places. Instead, most of our time is spent checking one thing after another off our list - just trying to get by the best we can. And more than we would like, we are reminded that we live in a world where the terrible can, and does, happen. Things can happen like they did in Norway just under two weeks ago. And things can happen on a more personal level like when we find out that we, or someone dear to us, is fighting a battle against cancer, or heart disease, or diabetes, or depression, or poverty, or homelessness, or unemployment, or whatever the case may be.

How can we reconcile Psalm 148 and its universal call of praise with the heartache found within creation and within our own lives? What about the times when it seems like creation is not singing, or seemingly cannot sing, God’s praises? What about all those other psalms of lament like the ones in which we encounter “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4).

Are we just supposed to drop everything that burdens us and praise God anyway? Is that what Psalm 148 is about? I think not. This Psalm is not an invitation to leave all laments and suffering behind. This is an invitation for all of creation - all of it, from the highest heavens to the depths of the sea to praise God in the midst of lifeís struggles.

Psalm 148 is an invitation for all of creation to praise God so that even when we are unable to sing praise, unable to even acknowledge God’s existence, maybe others can sing for us. And sing, not just the songs of praise, but also the dirges of lament. Those too praise God, granted in a different way.

Even though the Book of Psalms is filled with laments and prayers for deliverance from suffering, this, Psalm 148, is where itís all headed - praise of God, the creator of all things above the earth, on it and below it. This praise does not deny or ignore life’s hardships, but it does bring God’s gracious and merciful presence into them, transforming them, transforming us.

Pastor Phil Misner,

Peace Lutheran Church, Colfax

Trinity Lutheran Church,

Endicott