HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-10-22, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015. PAGE 19.
By Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
Blyth Christian Reformed
Church
On Sunday in our worship service,
we sang a song based on Psalm 82.
Singing that song intrigued me, so
after the service I looked at Psalm 82
and what follows is my reflection on
that psalm.
It is Monday morning, the day of
the election. It is too early to tell how
the election will go, but in a little
while I will be going to the polling
station, and I will be casting my
vote.
It is a privilege to live in a
democracy. We sometimes complain
about the quality of the candidates,
but if we consider the alternative,
that is far worse. I would rather live
in Canada where I get to have a
voice in choosing our leaders than in
North Korea where citizens have to
show absolute loyalty to their leader
or face imprisonment.
Democracy, even though it has
weaknesses, is far better than a
dictatorship, for in a democracy, I
have a voice in how the nation is run.
And yet, Psalm 82 points out that
we must be careful about how we
think about authority. In a
democracy we, as citizens of
Canada, delegate authority to our
elected officials to speak on our
behalf. In a sense, they are
responsible to speak our words, for
they are our representatives. They
are responsible to us. But Psalm 82
takes it one step further: all world
leaders, no matter how they come to
power, are ultimately responsible to
God. God is the ultimate authority
over all, and all are obligated to bow
before his will.
Psalm 82 begins by showing us a
picture not unlike what we might see
in New York at the United Nations
building. There, representatives
from most of the nations of the
world gather to discuss issues that
are important to us all. Psalm 82 has
a similar picture, showing us a
gathering of all the powerbrokers in
the world, political, military and
economic. Presiding over that great
assembly is God.
In the Ancient Near East, such
assemblies occurred from time to
time, as a great king gathered his
vice-kings (kings of vassal nations)
together to discuss issues relevant to
all. But the great king had the right
to set direction and veto any
decisions that did not fit in with his
plan. Such is the picture that Psalm
82 gives us of God. God presides
over the gathering of world powers,
and he has ultimate authority in that
assembly.
Psalm 82 gives a name to these
power brokers: it calls them “gods.”
The New International Version
(NIV) translation of the Bible rightly
puts the term “gods” in quotation
marks because it wants us to
understand that this is how the
power brokers of the world view
themselves. “Gods” are those who
believe that they have the right and
authority and ability to direct their
own destinies, to set the course not
only for their own lives but for the
entire world. We might say that Kim
Jong-un, president of North Korea,
believes himself to be godlike. But,
then, so do many Canadians, for we
believe that all laws should be
democratically determined and that
the people have the right to govern
themselves as they see fit. In this
sense, we view ourselves as godlike,
having the authority and ability to
direct our own destinies.
But that is to be mistaken. Psalm
82:7 says that even the greatest
power brokers alive today “will die
like mere mortals and will fall like
every other ruler.” In other words,
the power and authority of every
human being is significantly limited.
We are not as much like “gods” as
we think we are. Because of our
limitations we may not say that we
have ultimate control over all things.
God, the one to whom we owe our
very lives, on the other hand, is not
limited. He is eternal, and he is all-
powerful. And because he is, he has
both the authority and the ability to
direct this world and all who live in
it to his desired ends. The greatest of
the world leaders, be they political
or economic, are nothing more than
privates in the army where God is
the five-star general.
Thus, even as we go to the polls,
we ought to be reminded that while
we may vote for change or vote to
maintain the course, our vote will
not ultimately decide the course of
the world. And, our elected officials
cannot and may not think of
themselves as having ultimate
authority. They too are accountable
to God. God, ultimately directs the
affairs of this world.
Now, I know that this may not be
entirely palatable to many in our
Canadian culture. God has been
written out of the western human
story for decades, and it is
uncomfortable for us to think that he
might still be directing that story
even if we don’t acknowledge him.
And we may even find the whole
idea to be a little bit too much like
North Korea. We may want to equate
God with Kim Jong-un, a man who
has far too much power.
But there are few parallels
between the dictators of our world
today and the God of the Bible.
Psalm 82 makes that clear. At the
heart of the psalm are God’s words
to the power brokers of the world,
power brokers that have become
quite corrupt and self-seeking. The
psalmist hears God saying, “How
long will you defend the unjust and
show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the
oppressed.”
In this challenge to the power
brokers of the world, we see the
heart of God. God is not nearly as
concerned as our politicians are
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph’s
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.
A New Sunday Series At
Just Like Joshua
HURON CHAPEL
Every Sunday in Auburn @10:30am
huronchapel.com
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
Sunday, October 25 ~ Join us at
Brussels United Church for 11 am Sunday service
Sunday, November 1
A Sweater Life
Worship Service & Sunday School at 10 a.m.
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.
Children
Welcome
getlivingwater.org
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at 308 Blyth Rd. (former Church of God)
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Oct. 25: Php. 3:7-16
Evangelical Missionary Church
Tues. 7:30 pm Wingham Small Group
Wed. 10 am “Coffee Break” Women’s Bible Study at CRC
“DANIEL
PLAN #3:
“Setting
Goals in
Faith”
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
Nursery care available
519-887-9017
Worship & Sunday School - 10 am
Coffee & Snacks - 11 am
We invite you to join our church family in:
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ~ Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville’s basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, October 25
Brussels Business & Cultural Centre
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and
preschoolers during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
Morning Service 10:00 am
The evening service will be
held at Trinity CRC
in Goderich at 7:00 pm
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
BRUSSELS
WORSHIP SERVICE
AND SUNDAY SCHOOL 11:00 am
All Welcome
United Church
Minister: Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M.Div.
Bulletin notices: 519-523-4224
blythunited@tcc.on.ca
Church bookings: 519-887-6377
Other concerns: 226-963-1175
Joint farewell service for the
Parish of New Beginnings
for Pastor Perry
Sunday, October 25
10 am at Trinity, Blyth
From the Minister’s Study
Election can change some things, but not all
Continued on page 22