Covenant Weekly
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A couple of weeks ago I began to read a book written by a pastor from Ancaster named Aaron Gerrard. It is the story of someone leading a group to plant a church. In the first chapter, he made some statements that really stuck with me. He talked about his need for Jesus to do work beyond what Aaron himself could do if this new church plant would last and actually make a difference in people’s lives. As a part of this line of thinking he writes, “I did not want to talk about Jesus like he was not in the room. I wanted him in the room. I wanted to feel his presence. I wanted to hear his voice.”
This hit me hard. How often do I talk about Jesus like he’s not in the room? We pray, giving the illusion that we believe God’s in the room…or at least on the other end of the line. But do I, do we, functionally believe Jesus, by his Spirit, is in the room with us when we gather on Sundays, or when we sit with our small group, or when we visit with friends, or when we eat as a family, or when we are sitting with our loved one in a hospital room, or when we’re visiting with a client, or when we’re competing on the court, or when no one can be seen with us as we sit in a room crying and at the end of our rope. Some days I do believe that in a real and functional way – a way that makes a difference in my life. On other days or times or places, I slip into talking about Jesus’ presence as an idea more than a reality. And on other days or times or places, I don’t functionally believe Jesus is there at all.
But Jesus talked about sending us a comforter, a helper, the Spirit who would be everpresent. Hebrews 13 picks up the language of Deuteronomy and calls us to hear God’s promise that, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
Just to be clear, this is not like the threat that comes with being told that Santa “Sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake.” The purpose of being reminded that Jesus is God With Us is not to be used by parents or a Sunday School teacher or a priest as a warning that “God is WATCHING you!” The fact that God is with us is offered as truth to fall into when we are desperate for love or a friend or somewhere safe to land because we’re falling apart.
But as I think about it for my own life, this truth does invite me to think about how I speak about God and how I represent Jesus. Knowing that God’s first posture towards me is love and grace and patience gives me a sense of peace as I think about this. But there remains a level of sober reflection because I want to represent this one I love and who loves me in a way that is as accurate as possible. Taking this seriously can and should foster humility and openhandedness and grace in the lives of all of us who are a part of representing God With Us in the world. We’re representing Jesus, but he’s still in the room!
The writer of Psalm 139 captures the balance of awareness, deep comfort, the cry of one in need, and sober reflection that all come from recognizing that God With Us isn’t just news for Shepherds outside of Bethlehem. It is for each one of us each day in each place where we go. As Isaac Watts wrote over 300 years ago, “There’s not a place where we can flee, but God is present there.” Below is the text of Psalm 139 for you to read. Pay attention for whichever part is a helpful reminder for you today.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.