All Creatures of Our God and King

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church

Sabbath, January 4, 2014

We will share the Lord's Supper following the sermon.

Bible Readings for the day:

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!

Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.

He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away.

Praise the LORD from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths;

Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars;

Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl;

Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth;

Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory [is] above the earth and heaven. . . .

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 148. NKJV

What is the price of two sparrows--one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31. NLT

Morning Hymn

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
Refrain
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
Refrain
Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.
Refrain
Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.
Refrain
And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.
Refrain
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
Refrain

Sermon

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Last Sunday Karin and I and kids and kids-in-law went to Paradise (not the afterlife, but the site on the south side of Mt. Rainier). It was a glorious day—blue sky, sunshine, no wind. Our six-month-old granddaughter was along. We snow shoed up to a high point with grand views to the south and west and shared lunch and hot chocolate together.

It was perfect.

Sometimes during pauses in our conversation we could hear sounds floating upward from the parking area and sledding hill. Laughter, squeals, the voices of kids and parents melding together across the distance. I walked away from our lunch site for a few minutes so I could fully enjoy the hymn—human creatures creating a bubbling, cheery sound track for the beauty of the place.

When we're surrounded by glorious scenery, it's easy to get caught up in the elation. It's not too hard to imagine all creation singing.

 The hymn writer, Francis of Assisi, captures this natural joy. He imagines himself singing, and his community singing, and the whole world singing. I can almost see him glancing around, looking for more voices to add to the choir. You and you, and you, too, lift up your voice and sing. We are having too much fun to keep it to ourselves. Sing alleluia with us!

At the heart of our faith is the conviction that the universe is suffused with joy. We come together in worship to taste together this truth. It lies at the heart of our singing.

The words of Francis' hymn echo the language of the Psalms. They find their ultimate expression in the visions of Revelation 4 and 5. There John pictures Paradise as a place of endless ecstasy. Joy enraptures every creature. The entire creation participates in a thunderous hallelujah chorus.

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty--the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come."

I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered--to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing."

And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
belong to the one sitting on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever.” Revelation 4:8; 5:11-13.

When we sing together we are rehearsing for Paradise. We are tasting already the essence of God's vision for the future and his preference for now—endless joy.

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Come sing with us. Taste the joy that is found in singing Alleluia.

Today we will share together the Lord's Supper. We will eat little bits of bread and taste tiny cups of grape juice. As we eat and drink together, we remember Jesus. And we are glad.

We are glad that Jesus valued serving his friends more than life itself. We are the descendants of those friends and carry the same value for Jesus the first disciples did. Our life and hope and confidence is rooted in the story of Jesus who deliberately chose death that others could live—that we could live.
One of the inescapable implications of Jesus' death is that Jesus regarded his followers—and that includes us—as valuable as himself. We can take this a step further as Christians. God regards you as valuable as Jesus. Or to put it the other way around: Jesus is not more valuable than you. Not to God, anyway.

That's worth singing about. You are precious. Remember that when you place the ceremonial piece of bread in your mouth. Remember that when you sip from the ceremonial cup. If God allowed Jesus to die for you, then the necessary implication is that God regards that as a fair trade—Jesus for you. You are worth as much as Jesus—in the eyes of God.

The Lords' Supper invites us into another mystery—God with us.

Just as the bread and grape juice enter us, become us, and are translated into our actions, so Jesus, the Divine Son of God is in us. His life becomes our life. His life is translated into our actions.

Finally, sharing together this ceremonial meal reminds us of the preciousness of communion with the Risen Jesus. As Jesus enjoyed sharing table fellowship with his disciples, so God enjoys communion with humans today.This is the ultimate secret of our faith.

It is certainly true that Jesus calls us to a radical ethical vision. He calls us to cooperate with God in tending the world, in mending the world. We need to feed the hungry, share our extra shirts, heal the sick, bring relief and new hope to the oppressed. These are glorious duties, exalted responsibilities, difficult callings. They deserve our energy and wisdom. Yes!

Jesus also modeled and taught communion with God.

Jesus knew he was not carrying the weight of his ministry alone. He was working with God. When Jesus spent hours in prayer, he came away from his praying with a renewed sense of partnership with God. When Jesus spoke, he did so with a keen sense that he was speaking out of an intimate, personal connection with God. Jesus ethical challenges, his healing ministry, bold response to the "powers" of his day were suffused with the sense that we acting in concert with God.

This kind of intimate, personal connection is the deepest secret at the heart of our faith. Not all of us have experienced it. But some among us have. Some of the saints of Green Lake Church have heard the voice of God. Their lives have changed direction because of what they have heard. They live with a vital, lively awareness that they, like Jesus of long ago, are partners with God. They are companions with God. Their prayers are not words flung at the ceiling. Rather praying is communing with the divine.


When we share the Lord's Supper together, we come because we are family, not because of the quality of our individual communication with God, not because of the quality of our faith or the quality of our character. We come because the Master of the family has invited us all to be present.

When my six-month-old granddaughter settled in for lunch high on the side of Mt. Rainier last Sunday, obviously she was there by virtue of her membership in the family. She certainly did not climb there! But she was no less welcome because of her inability to walk.

When we share the Lord's Supper here today we owe a special debt of gratitude to those whose spiritual life is rich and sweet and confident. They are our seniors, our guides, our spark plugs. Jesus is pleased with the special gifts you bring to the table and pour into the life of God's family. And to you who struggle because God seems distant or unreal, we owe you a special debt, because your presence here helps to connect this holy family to the real world of humanity.

Wherever you are on the spectrum of spiritual experience, thank you for joining us this morning to sing alleluia. And welcome to the table of our Lord, to the feast that celebrates the value of people and the love of God.