A Song of Love

Preached by Michael Cheuk
December 21, 2008, Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Luke 1:26-38

Love songs. They are the most popular genre of songs in our culture. Every year, thousands of love songs are composed and sung. Every generation has its own favorite love songs. Indulge me for a moment, and let’s take a trip down memory lane. In the fifties, Elvis Presley crooned “Love Me Tender” as girls all over the country swooned. In the sixties, Sonny & Cher, in their hippy hipness, popularized “I Got You Babe.” In the seventies, a whole generation slow danced to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” In the eighties, Lionel Richie smoothly serenaded us with “Hello.” In the nineties, Celine Dion promised again and again that “My Heart Will Go On.” And recently, thousands of young lovers are staring at each other googly eyed to the tune of “When You Look Me in the Eyes” by the Jonas Brothers. Most of us are suckers for love songs.

Today’s Lesson from the Psalm is also a love song, which the psalmist begins by singing: “I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”  This is not your typical “silly love song” as Paul McCartney and The Wings might put it. No, this is a serious love song that affirms the faithful and steadfast love of God for God’s people.  Many scholars describe this as a “royal psalm,” a song about God’s covenant or agreement with the house of King David to establish David’s royal line and dynasty forever.  This is a song of love anchored in the faithfulness of God.

A Song of Joy

Preached by Michael Cheuk
December 14, 2008, Third Sunday of Advent, Year B
Psalm 126

Well, folks, Advent is half-way through; Christmas is almost here. I can feel the anticipation in the air. Longwood students have finished their exams and most have returned home; professors and town residents rejoice!  I want to ask our grade school students: Are you ready for classes to end this Friday? Are you excited about not having homework for two weeks? Can’t you almost taste the freedom? Yes, you are ready, and so are your teachers! Christmas is almost here and for some, you can almost feel the joy.

Have you ever been in a situation in which you were eagerly waiting for something wonderful, but the time for its fulfillment had not yet arrived? I remember as a child waiting for Christmas morning to come, and I was so giddy with excitement that I couldn’t fall asleep on Christmas Eve. And when I did fall asleep, I dreamed about all the presents that I was to open, and it was a wonderful dream made even better by the reality of the morning.

As we continue with our Advent sermon series called “Songs of the Season,” we come today to Psalm 126, which I’ve entitled “A Song of Joy.” It is a song that expresses the hopes and dreams of a people eagerly waiting for something wonderful-their deliverance from captivity-but the time of its fulfillment had not yet arrived.  As translated in the New International Version, the Psalm seems to suggest that the people are already freed and returned back home. But as literary biblical scholar Robert Alter argues, given the fluidity of the verb tenses in biblical poetry, one can make a strong case for reading verses one to three using the future tense:

When the LORD restores Zion’s fortunes, we should be like dreamers.  Then will our mouth fill with laughter and our tongue with glad song. Then will they say in the nations: “Great things has the LORD done with these.” We shall rejoice.[1]

A Song of Peace

Preached by Michael Cheuk
December 7, 2008, Second Sunday of Advent, Year B
Psalm 85

As we continue with our Advent sermon series called “Songs of the Season,” we come today to Psalm 85, which I’ve entitled “A Song of Peace.” Upon first hearing, this Psalm does not sound all that peaceful. In fact, some Bible scholars place the writing of this Psalm right after the Jews returned from their exile in Babylon. According to the prophets, the people of God were displaced from their land because they had strayed away from God.  God allowed the Babylonian empire to conquer God’s people, to destroy the sacred city of Jerusalem, and to deport the Jews to Babylon. Fifty years later, the Persian Empire overthrew Babylon and the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to their homeland.  While this was good news at first, when the Jews returned to their homeland and Jerusalem, they found the land desolate and barren. The long awaited homecoming after fifty years of exile was bittersweet, and those conflicting feelings are reflected in the first seven verses of this Psalm.

A Song of Lament

Preached by Michael Cheuk
November 30, 2008, First Sunday of Advent, Year B
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

It’s now after Thanksgiving, and already, the commercial signs of Christmas are everywhere.  The lights, the garlands, the yes, the Christmas music.  You walk into any department store, and more than likely, you’re going to hear Christmas songs piped through the sound system.  Is it just me, or are most Christmas holiday songs incessantly cheerful?  I submit to you these songs:

“Have a holly, jolly Christmas; it’s the best time of the year . . .”

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas . . .”

“I’ll be home for Christmas; you can plan on me . . .”

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . .”

During the month of December, we are bombarded with songs like these that tell us that we’re supposed to be happy, to smile and laugh, and be full of cheer because after all, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.  But for many people, this is not the most wonderful time of the year.  Today, some of us are grieving because a parent, spouse or child is dead and will not be home for Christmas.  Today, some of us are sorrowful because a relationship is broken beyond repair.  Today, some of us are depressed about a looming economic depression that might devour our life savings and leave us desperately in need.  Today, some of us are anxious about aging parents and wayward children.  Today, whole families are crying out bitter tears in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.  Today, you are bummed out because you just realized that this won’t be the “feel good” sermon of the year.

Today, as we begin the season of Advent, we will spend one Sunday acknowledging that for many of us, the Christmas season is not necessarily a season of joy, but a season of lament.