How does a sea monster praise God?
How do snow and fog praise God?
How do mountains and hills praise God?
Did such questions flutter through your mind as well as you sang the psalm this morning? Were you surprised that something as fanciful and magnificent as sea monsters have their place in the sacred text that is so often held up as holy and serious? But really - how does a sea monster praise God?
I think a sea monster praises God by doing sea monster-y things - by swimming, surely, and perhaps by delighting in the feeling of darting through the deepest parts of the sea, water coursing over its scales. Said another way, I think sea monsters - and snow and fog, and mountains and hills - praise the God who spoke us into existence by being who they were created to be and doing what they were created to do.
I think that’s true for us, too. We also praise the God who spoke us into existence by being who we were created to be and doing what we were created to do.
We were created to be in relationship with God and one another; created for life in community. A life that is beautifully, painfully, messily intertwined with the lives of others is a life that praises God.
We were created by love, for love. A life that loves - even when it’s risky and uncertain, even when it breaks our heart right open - is a life that praises God.
We were created in the image of God. A life that boldly, bravely, timidly shows its whole self - blemishes, growing edges, and strengths alike, even when it’s scary - is a life that praises God.
That said, praise is intentional – it doesn’t just happen. Praise is active. It calls us to pay attention, to notice, where and how God is at work - in us, and in the world. Praise draws us out of ourselves, uncurving our selfish, sinful, inward gaze. Praise re-orients our focus from our goodness or our failings to a wide-eyed wonder and unbridled celebration of God’s goodness and unfailing presence. Praise is what happens when our noticing becomes gratitude.
For as wonderful as it is to notice and give thanks and praise, it’s all too easy to push aside these opportunities. So often it seems that our first inclination is stay focused on ourselves - to complain, or feel ashamed, or be jealous, or worry rather than to praise. What if I’m not enough? What if I’m too much? My feelings are hurt. I’m overwhelmed. I’m suffering. I could be better, I could do more, I could be different. Yes, perhaps. And…
We hold these realities alongside the reality of who God is and what God is like. Praise doesn’t negate our feelings or our reality, but it reminds us that this truth isn’t the whole truth, that this glimpse is not the entire picture. Yes, things are not as God intended. Yes, we are sinful and the world suffers because of it. Yes, it can be risky and painful to be who we really are in the midst of all this brokenness. And yet, still we praise.
We praise the God who widens the circle and breaks down barriers.
We praise the God who loves us before we ever attempt to deserve it.
We praise the God who gives us his body - both the food of grace that sustains us and the people who surround us.
We praise the God who calls us, empowers us, and gifts us with the Holy Spirit.
We praise the God who does not make distinctions between them and us.
We praise the God who is always paying attention to who is cast aside and excluded.
We praise the God who never gives up on us.
We praise the God who draws us into a vision of love that is deeper, wider, and more expansive than we can fathom.
We praise the God who made us just as we are, quirks and all.
We praise the God who created sea monsters, fruit trees, and shining stars.
We praise the God who has given us the repentance that leads to life.
We praise the God who is making all things new.
We praise the God who promises to wipe every tear from our eyes.
We praise the God who dwells with us as our God and calls us God’s own people.
We praise the God who is the beginning and the end, and who is our beginning and end.
Praise is contagious. To praise is to be drawn in to something bigger than ourselves. To praise is to imagine together the new world that God is shaping and to live into it even here and now. Our praise is not solitary, but rather is joined with the praise of all creation - angels and the heavenly host, sun and moon and shining stars, young men and women alike, old and young together, and yes, even sea monsters.
Psalm 148 is an invitation. It is an invitation to look not at ourselves, but at God and God’s goodness. It is an invitation to notice God’s goodness and to offer thanks and praise. With singing and prayer, through writing and speaking, and with our very lives we praise God. Amen.
How do snow and fog praise God?
How do mountains and hills praise God?
Did such questions flutter through your mind as well as you sang the psalm this morning? Were you surprised that something as fanciful and magnificent as sea monsters have their place in the sacred text that is so often held up as holy and serious? But really - how does a sea monster praise God?
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| Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash |
I think that’s true for us, too. We also praise the God who spoke us into existence by being who we were created to be and doing what we were created to do.
We were created to be in relationship with God and one another; created for life in community. A life that is beautifully, painfully, messily intertwined with the lives of others is a life that praises God.
We were created by love, for love. A life that loves - even when it’s risky and uncertain, even when it breaks our heart right open - is a life that praises God.
We were created in the image of God. A life that boldly, bravely, timidly shows its whole self - blemishes, growing edges, and strengths alike, even when it’s scary - is a life that praises God.
That said, praise is intentional – it doesn’t just happen. Praise is active. It calls us to pay attention, to notice, where and how God is at work - in us, and in the world. Praise draws us out of ourselves, uncurving our selfish, sinful, inward gaze. Praise re-orients our focus from our goodness or our failings to a wide-eyed wonder and unbridled celebration of God’s goodness and unfailing presence. Praise is what happens when our noticing becomes gratitude.
For as wonderful as it is to notice and give thanks and praise, it’s all too easy to push aside these opportunities. So often it seems that our first inclination is stay focused on ourselves - to complain, or feel ashamed, or be jealous, or worry rather than to praise. What if I’m not enough? What if I’m too much? My feelings are hurt. I’m overwhelmed. I’m suffering. I could be better, I could do more, I could be different. Yes, perhaps. And…
We hold these realities alongside the reality of who God is and what God is like. Praise doesn’t negate our feelings or our reality, but it reminds us that this truth isn’t the whole truth, that this glimpse is not the entire picture. Yes, things are not as God intended. Yes, we are sinful and the world suffers because of it. Yes, it can be risky and painful to be who we really are in the midst of all this brokenness. And yet, still we praise.
We praise the God who widens the circle and breaks down barriers.
We praise the God who loves us before we ever attempt to deserve it.
We praise the God who gives us his body - both the food of grace that sustains us and the people who surround us.
We praise the God who calls us, empowers us, and gifts us with the Holy Spirit.
We praise the God who does not make distinctions between them and us.
We praise the God who is always paying attention to who is cast aside and excluded.
We praise the God who never gives up on us.
We praise the God who draws us into a vision of love that is deeper, wider, and more expansive than we can fathom.
We praise the God who made us just as we are, quirks and all.
We praise the God who created sea monsters, fruit trees, and shining stars.
We praise the God who has given us the repentance that leads to life.
We praise the God who is making all things new.
We praise the God who promises to wipe every tear from our eyes.
We praise the God who dwells with us as our God and calls us God’s own people.
We praise the God who is the beginning and the end, and who is our beginning and end.
Praise is contagious. To praise is to be drawn in to something bigger than ourselves. To praise is to imagine together the new world that God is shaping and to live into it even here and now. Our praise is not solitary, but rather is joined with the praise of all creation - angels and the heavenly host, sun and moon and shining stars, young men and women alike, old and young together, and yes, even sea monsters.
Psalm 148 is an invitation. It is an invitation to look not at ourselves, but at God and God’s goodness. It is an invitation to notice God’s goodness and to offer thanks and praise. With singing and prayer, through writing and speaking, and with our very lives we praise God. Amen.
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