❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
From “My Faith” to “Our Faith”
(Psalm 122)
Andy Nagahara
Today’s text is Psalm 122. This psalm has a different feel than the ones we have read so far, in that the psalmist refers to his companions, his friends, and his siblings with joy.
Lately, when it comes to others, only those who persecute or oppose him have appeared, and it has been a heavy feeling, but I am relieved here to see that the psalmist also have friends who can be called “us”. Now, let’s think about the importance of thinking from the perspective of “we” rather than “me” and “our God” rather than “my God” First, I will read up to verse 5.
1. Let us go to the house of the LORD (1-5)
0 A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
A. We are called to worship as one body
There were many people who persecuted the psalmist, but in this part we can see that there were people who had the same faith as him. There were people who enjoyed visiting the Lord’s house, that is, worshiping God. What pleased the psalmist most was that he heard those people not walking silently and separately toward the house of the Lord, but calling out to each other, “Come, let us go together to the house of the Lord.
From time to time, I have talked about the importance of worship. Especially, I have emphasized the importance of worship other than on Sunday mornings, either alone or with a family or small group. This is because it had become common knowledge in the Christian church that Sunday services were the only worship services. But Sunday services have a special meaning. It is the central worship that the visible church, assembled according to God’s plan, offers together at the beginning of the week.
In this Sunday morning service, we are not just in the same place at the same time offering each service individually.
In the Gospel of Matthew 18:19 and 20, Jesus said,
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
As Paul explains in Romans 12:4-5, we are not a collection of separate “Is,” but one “we” as the body of Christ. It is said,
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:4-5)
B. Jerusalem and Israel
Jerusalem is still a city in Israel, and Israel is a nation, but we must not equate the visible nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem with the Israel and Jerusalem recorded in the Bible. By doing so, there is an idea not only in Judaism but also in Christianity that considers the modern state of Israel sacred, but this would mean accepting the actions of Israel, a secular state, without criticism.
I think it’s shameful, but there are fundamentalist people in Christianity who believe that Israel’s oppression of Palestinians is God’s justice. Such people sympathize with the militant nationalists of modern Israel, but are not concerned with the human rights of Palestinian Christians.
I believe that those who believe in Jesus as Lord should understand the symbolic meaning of Israel and Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible without equating them with the modern nation and its city. It is a symbol of the church. Israel symbolizes the one universal church in the world, and Jerusalem symbolizes the denominations and individual churches that belong to the universal church.
2. Peace begins at the house of the Lord (6-9)
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
In this passage, the psalmist first calls out, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” and then tells us what he specifically means by this.
“ May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”
I suggested earlier that we should read Jerusalem as a symbol of the church, but for us, the church does not refer to this building, but to the community we call “us.” The question to be asked, then, is whether this community is safe and secure for everyone.
What we must not be mistaken about is that as long as we keep society and the church separate and consider peace within the church, this does not mean that we do not need to think about things outside the church. Jesus’ ultimate purpose was not to establish his own church. The “Kingdom of God” that Jesus will realize includes everyone, the world. Peace in the church is not the end, but the starting point for peace in the world.
We are the messengers of peace sent by God. This is not an abstract status. We are actually called to be messengers. We are not messengers to some distant conflict area. Rather , we are “messengers of peace” sent to those closest to us. We are “peace messengers” sent into our homes, among our friends, among our co-workers.
Every week, at the end of Sunday worship, we receive blessings and go out to the places we have been sent to, but if the community that is our starting point is not peaceful, we will never be able to find peace in our hearts. Without it, we cannot bring peace to the place to which we are sent. Instead, we end up becoming a troublemaker. To what kind of people do you say, “Peace be with you” or ”May you be blessed” ? When you say that, you don’t mean to just say it. I believe that these words are accompanied by actions that are appropriate.
This is possible because, as Yourchurch, there is peace among us as we are sent to each place.
However, that peace will not come true unless we wish for it. This is because each of us has a sinful nature, no different from someone who does not believe in Jesus. When problems occur in a community of people, anything can happen. That is why we must pray together with all our hearts.
Let us continue to ask for the Holy Spirit to work in us, give us wisdom, and help us become holy and worthy of God’s body.
(Prayer) God, thank you for inviting us to be part of your body called yourchurch.
Fill us with your love, power, and wisdom so that we can be peacemakers wherever you send us.
Fill us with your peace first so that yourchurch can be a church that brings peace to the world.
Please make this a community of peace, healing, comfort, and encouragement that your body deserves.
With hope and thanksgiving, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Summary
yourchurch is part of the Body of Christ, and each of us is a part of it. Even though each person is sent to a different place, they are all there as part of yourchurch, which is part of the body of Jesus. The reason we worship together on the first day of the week is because we each serve as part of the Body of Christ, yourchurch.
For Discussion
- Why should I say “our” faith and not just “my”?
- What does Israel, Jerusalem mean to your faith?