"Focus and Resiliency" - Colossians 3:14-15; Psalm 25:1-10

A Sermon by Alex Evans, Pastor

Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Texts: Colossians 3:14-15; Psalm 25:1-10

“Focus and Resiliency”

            I am guessing that if I invited you to repeat a line from a favorite psalm, more than a few of you would mention something from Psalm 23: “the Lord is my shepherd . . . . he leads me beside still waters.” The poetry and promises of Psalm 23 are foundational to our faith.

            I bet too that if I pushed a bit further, and asked you about Psalm 22, a good number of you might know that one too. Psalm 22 starts like this: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus recited those words, crying from the cross on Good Friday - the day he died. 

            I even have some confidence that a few of you might be able to recall something of Psalm 24. Psalm 24 begins with words we often say in worship - “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it.” Psalm 24 also includes a familiar refrain used in hymns: “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up - that the King of glory may come in!”

            Psalm 23. Psalm 22. Psalm 24. . . . . But who knows about Psalm 25? 

            In more than 34 years of preaching and teaching, prior to this week, I could not think of anything I knew from Psalm 25. But - thanks be to God - what at great psalm and what appropriate words for this season of life. Listen to Psalm 25:

1To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2O my God, in you I trust; 

do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.

3Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

5Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

6Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

8Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

10All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

            This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

            Perhaps like many of you, Ginger and I have spent a few hours in the recent months watching movies - new movies and old movies. Let’s face it: you can only watch the news for so long before it feels discouraging and oppressive. So, we try to find good movies to entertain and inspire us. 

            There is a certain movie production company - FOCUS Features - that has produced many thought-provoking movies. FOCUS Features has that distinctive logo that appears at the start of all their movies. It is the word “FOCUS” - with the “o” in the word - OUT of focus. 

            When a logo gets your attention, you know it is a good logo.

             The subject of Psalm 25 is FOCUS.

            The psalm begins with two simple sentences; but a powerful image comes to mind: 1To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2O my God, in you I trust.       

         You can readily imagine the one praying these words - reaching up to God, giving a salutation to God - affirming God’s presence, longing for God’s power, celebrating God’s goodness and care: “I lift up my soul, . . in you I trust.” It is a posture of worship and adulation. It is a commitment to God’s ways. FOCUS.

            It feels like this psalm - hardly known to me - comes at a very opportune time. The pandemic has made it hard to maintain FOCUS. The second impeachment trial, the continuing challenges with vaccines, the ongoing isolation, the general fatigue of February, various heartaches and uncertainties that we all carry around - all add up to steal our FOCUS, to distract us from the opening our souls to God, from the critical trusting of our lives to God’s abiding care.

            The psalm then continues with some important words - asking God to shape us, to teach us, to help us know what is important: “make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;”

            Those words - those sincere requests - “make me know your ways, . .  teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth” - all make this psalm perfect for the first Sunday in Lent. Lent is a season when we strive to re-dedicate our lives to God’s ways. Lent is a time when we seek to prune our lives of all that distracts us, and re-center our lives on the journey with God.

            The season of Lent is about FOCUS. What gets our energy . . . and what should get our energy? We seek to give attention to our lives as disciples. 

            And then this: “be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. . . . all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.”

            With everything that can happen in life - with everything that we have dealt with in the past year - this psalm wants to keep us focused - on God - God’s steadfast love and mercy, God’s abiding faithfulness - “all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.”    

            There is another word that has become supremely important in these challenging days - “Resiliency.” I have been doing more and more thinking about resiliency in recent months. In the face of a global pandemic - resiliency is being called forth from all of us. We have to be resilient. How can we find our way toward resiliency? In the face of racial injustice and societal challenges, we must find a way to adapt - with faithfulness and resiliency. 

            What does resiliency look like in the midst of a pandemic? What does a resilient church look like following a pandemic where everything changed? What does resiliency look like when setbacks come our way? What brings real resiliency, for our lives and for our common life together? 

            Resiliency is about FOCUS too. 

            I have learned lots about resiliency from a New Zealand scholar and professor named Lucy Hone. Lucy Hone studied resiliency in a graduate program at the University of PA. Then, she was confronted in her own life with the challenges of resiliency. Her 12 year-old daughter was killed in a horrific car crash. So, this scholar could not just study the subject of resiliency - she was forced to live it. And in living it, she discovered some more helpful strategies. 

            First, resilient people understand full and well that bad things happen, sometimes really bad things. It is not just that bad things can happen. Generally, bad things do happen to all of us. Bad things are, in fact, a part of life. There is no perfect, charmed existence. When we live, good things happen; but bad things also come our way. Suffering is part of human life. The more we can recognize that, the more resilient we will be. When we get stuck asking “why me?” or feeling sorry for what has happened to us, we jeopardize our chances for resiliency. The question is not “why me.” The question is always, “what now?” 

            Life always includes unfortunate happenings. Our challenge - as resilient people - is to learn to accept them, live with them, . . . and get beyond them.

            Second, resilient people are good at selecting what gets the attention. Our brains are always processing information. But we have to practice what we focus on. When we focus on the dark stuff - our lives become darker. When we focus on things that we cannot control, we become more paralyzed and life gets more problematic. But, when we focus on that which we can control, focus on the good stuff, gratitude emerges, depression is abated, and we become more resilient. Positive thinking can be very powerful. But we have to work at it. We have to practice it. And when we do, we deal better with the challenges and setbacks. For example, when we can name three new things each day for which we are grateful, this changes how we engage with the world. We move away from darkness and toward light. When we give attention to that which we can control, our lives take a more wholesome shape.

            Third, resilient people ask - is what I am doing helping me, or hurting me? It is not just about how we think, but about what we do. And if we are not careful, we spend lots of energy and actions doing things that prohibit our resilience, prohibit our living our best lives. What are the patterns of our lives? Do they make us bitter or better? All the little things that we do each day give shape to our lives, make our lives. When we ask, about each thing that we do, is this helping me or hurting me, it helps us live better, find wholeness and hope. 

            Psalm 25 is really trying to help us - with our focus and with our resiliency. “O Lord, to you I lift up my soul, . . . . in you I trust.” This is another reminder that God is our help and strength, a present help in times of trouble. What are we focused on - can we find gratitude in the midst, or not? Are the things that get our attention, and the things that we do, making us bitter or better?        

            There is a wonderful line from Colossians that encourages me in these days: “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, . . .  and be thankful.”

            So much of life demands that we maintain our FOCUS and work on resiliency. “1To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2O my God, in you I trust.” . . .  Make me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. . . . All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.”

            It is always about FOCUS and RESILIENCY. 

            May God’s Spirit shape us in those ways, today, tomorrow, forever. AMEN            

PRAYER - Holy God, to turn from you is to fall; to turn to you is to rise; to open our hearts, to trust you and serve you - that is to abide forever. We seek the way of Jesus. Amen.

Alex W. Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on February 21, 2021. This is a rough manuscript.