Even in the Climb — July 21, 2024
July 21, 2024
Psalm 46
Even in the Climb
Dr. Craig Goff
As I’ve mentioned before I lived with my grandparents when I was very young. To be completely honest, I was kind of spoiled. (I know that is hard to believe) I didn’t have a lot to do. I didn’t have a lot of chores I was responsible for making sure got done. Sometimes, I helped my grandfather water his garden. I was often the one designated to be the one to get out and open the gate at the end of our driveway whenever we came home. (We had cows). But, overall, life was pretty easy for me in those days.
But things were very different for my two aunts, on the other hand. My aunt Vada and my aunt Charlotte had lots of things they had to do. One of the terrible, terrible, things they had to do day in and day out, was wash dishes after dinner. Not in some fancy, modern dishwasher, but in the sink. I know it is easy for me to make light of all that because I didn’t have to do it, but as I remember hearing them describe this responsibility they had, they felt like it was almost unbearable. However, what was even harder than their actually washing the dishes was their decision making process for deciding who was going to wash the dishes each night.
It was brutal. I am not exaggerating. It was literally brutal. It once led to a broken finger. It also led to my fear that we were not going to make it as a family; especially after watching Leave it to Beaver and being led to believe that is what a “normal” family is supposed to look like. I remember looking at the Cleavers and looking at us and thinking, ‘this can’t be right.”
In any family, washing dishes and other household chores can be hard. They can be the source of much conflict; but they can also be fun and relaxing, even therapeutic, at least according to the Buddhist philosopher and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh
Here is an excerpt from this book The Miracle of Mindfulness: He says,
If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact, we are completely incapable of realizing the miracles of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.
I so wish I could have given my aunt Charlotte and my aunt Vada a copy of that book when I was 8 years old. It might have saved them a trip to the emergency room.
Is it possible to enjoy washing the dishes? Is it possible to embrace and enjoy the climb? Is it possible to live in the moment? Of course, but it is not easy, especially for “some people.”
In the song Jessi sang for us which she has written, we are reminded that there is always going to be another mountain, there is always going to be another battle, and sometimes we are going to lose whatever challenge we might be facing. That’s okay.
It is okay because life isn’t about how fast we get somewhere or even what is waiting on the other side. It is about the climb, at least according to the song we just heard.
I will admit there is a part of me tempted to say that doesn’t sound very spiritual. Aren’t we supposed to hope for life in heaven? Aren’t we supposed to look forward to being with Jesus in the afterlife and walking on streets of gold and moving into the celestial mansion that awaits us….and all that “next world” kind of stuff?
Sure, but, (and now I am preaching not so much to the “choir,” but to the “preacher,” if we are not looking for the Lord in our lives now; in each present moment, if we are not conscience of the Lord’s presence with us in the climb, then our hope for what is to come is not going to be all that it could be. We are going to miss a lot of what God is doing.
If we don’t look for God in each moment, in the climb, when we do get to heaven, we are going to look back and say, “dang, missed it” — that is, if you can say “dang” in heaven.
I once heard about a young man who really wanted to see God, he wanted to hear God. He wanted to connect with God. But, he wasn’t having any luck. Finally, he went up to a mountain to see a holy man known for his wisdom and holiness. He told the man his problem: I can’t seem to see God. The man on the mountain said, “I don’t think I will be able to help you. You see, I have just the opposite problem. I can’t not see God.”
Some years ago, back in my Nazarene days, my pastor Rev. James Spruill told a story about a friend of his who was a missionary in a far-away land. I don’t remember where it was exactly, but it was a place with lots of highly venomous and deadly snakes. His friend, the missionary, came upon one of those snakes one day out walking on a trail, coiled up and ready to strike. My pastor asked him, “what did you do when you saw the snake?” He said, “I mediated on Scripture.” The Scripture he mediated on was from the text our liturgist read for us this morning, “Be still and know that I am God.” That would be a good one.
I think if I was face to face with a cobra or a black mamba I could be still and focus on God’s presence…. even with my ADHD.
But it is always good, even if we are not face to face with a deadly snake, to take time to stop during our climb and be still, and keep the faith, and know that God is with us, even in the climb.
Once there was an old man who lived out in the country. He was a farmer, 96 years old. He had a gold pocket watch that was very old and very valuable to him. His grandfather had given the watch to him. He loved that watch. It was his prized possession. One day when he was out working in the barn he misplaced it. He was frantic. He looked for the watch everywhere. He cried and cried. He called his neighbors to come out and help him look. No one had any success in locating the watch, finally they went home.
A couple of days later, one of his young neighbors knocked on his door. He asked the old man if he could help him look for his watch. The man said, “Son it’s hopeless but if you want to look you are certainly welcome to try. The young man went out into the barn and after he stayed there for several hours, he came running back to the house carrying the watch. The old man was elated, “how did you do that? Thank you so much.”
He said, “It was easy. I went into the barn laid down, got real quiet and then when everything settled down I could hear the watch.”
Sometimes whether we are climbing or just still, it is just good to listen. We might not find a gold watch, but we might discover a presence with us worth more than all the gold watches in the world.
“Be still,” the Lord says, “and know that I am God.” Be still and know that I am with you. Be still and know you don’t have to wait until tomorrow to really start living. You don’t have to wait until all the mountains are climbed and all the problems are solved to experience life in all its beauty.
Psalm 46 does what Thomas Merton has said all the Psalter does which is to not merely tell us what we ought to be, but unbelievably what we already are. It tells us we are in the Promised Land and the desert at the same time. It tells us all of life is a blessing. All of life is a gift,
Be still and know that I am with you says the Lord, even in the climb.