The 3 P's

The Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

November 17, 2024

Psalm 16

 “The 3 P’s”

Here we are in mid-November, and we find ourselves in the closing days of the church year. From the Scripture lessons today, there is a decided emphasis on the end of all things and the return of Christ to judge the living and the dead. With these things in mind, here’s a phrase for all you Latin scholars out there: Ars Moriendi. What does that even mean? Like many things in our English language, it comes from Latin and it means “The Art of Dying.” That sounds weird; maybe not appropriate for a sermon. And yet it is. The title comes from “two related Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice… on a good death, explaining how to ‘die well’ according to Christian precepts of the late Middle Ages” (Ars moriendi - Wikipedia). The origins of this stem from the terrible impact of the bubonic plague, the Black Death, 60 years earlier beginning in 1349 and the resulting social upheavals that followed. The concept of a good death, of dying well, is worthy of our attention. Flowing from faith in our risen, reigning, and returning Lord Jesus Christ, it is a good thing that we consider what it means to die well – that is, in confident resurrection faith and trust in Jesus. If it’s important that we die well, it’s also important that we live well – also in confident resurrection faith and trust in Jesus.  The art of dying (ars moriendi) must be seen through the art of living (ars vitae), both grounded in faith in Christ. Today on this second-to-last Sunday of the church year, we do so by looking at the appointed psalm which we read together, Psalm 16. We will look at Psalm 16 through the three P’s: prayer, proclamation, and promise. You may want to open your Bible or refer back to Psalm 16 in today’s worship bulletin. May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

First, Psalm 16 begins with prayer: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1). That’s always appropriate in our lives, not just when we’re struggling and up to our necks in trouble. I recently finished teaching a Sunday morning Bible class on the book of Daniel, from which today’s Old Testament lesson is taken (Daniel 12:1-3). In today’s lesson, Daniel receives a vision, and that vision is a clear promise of resurrection: “those who sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Carried off to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem, Daniel and his companions were trained for service in the royal court of Babylon. Again and again, facing challenge after challenge, including persecution for his faith and plots against his life, Daniel’s whole life became that prayer: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” Is it any different for us today? When we face difficulties and challenges in life that seem overwhelming, where do we turn? In faith, let us turn to the Lord who created us in his own image; who redeemed us with his own precious blood; who made us his own in the cleansing waters of holy Baptism, who nourishes us at his own table where He gives us his very Body and Blood so that we might be strengthened to both live well in Christ and to die well in Christ.

Yesterday, a memorial service was held here in this Sanctuary for one of our members. We sang hymns of faith, we heard God’s own Word in the Scripture readings, we came before the Lord in prayer seeking resurrection comfort and peace. We sang that same opening hymn yesterday as we did earlier in this service today, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” which is Psalm 90 set to music. In all of this, we proclaimed the Lord’s power and mercy. That is the second P here in Psalm 16: proclamation. Again and again, the psalmist proclaims the goodness of the Lord. Look at what David writes in these verses:

•  “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (Psalm 16:2).
• “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot” (Psalm 16:5).
• “I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6b).
• “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).
• “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure” (Psalm 16:9).

Proclamation after proclamation of all that God in Christ has done and continues to do for us. I know of a pastor who often uses Psalm 16:5b when making hospital visits: “You hold my lot.” Just four short words, but they say it all. This pastor asks his hospitalized parishioners to hold onto this proclamation in faith. He even writes it on the white board next to the hospital bed! Whether we are hospitalized or in good health, whatever our situation in life may be, it is good to proclaim the goodness of the Lord in word and in deed. As we do so, we are encouraged and strengthened both to live well in Christ and to die well in Christ.

The third P of Psalm 16 is found in the final two verses: “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:10-11). This is all about promise. The promise centers not in us, but in Jesus! He is the One who fulfills that promise in verse 10. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Peter quoted these very words in his sermon on that first Pentecost (Acts 2:27-28), pointing everyone to all that Jesus has done through his life, suffering, death and resurrection. Having paid the price for our sin with his death upon the cross, Jesus rose in triumph over death and the grave. He lives and reigns to all eternity, and we now wait and watch for the promise of his coming again to be fulfilled. Until then, even as Jesus has told us in the Gospel lesson for today (Mark 13:1-13), there will be suffering and distress, He call us to hold fast; to endure in faith; to be steadfast in hope. That Scripture memory verse that we read together from the Epistle lesson (Hebrews 10:24-25) says it so well: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The promise of the Lord is sure and certain. His never-failing presence, his grace to help in time of need, his love which makes all things new – this is what enables all who trust in him to live well and to die well. It is as St. Paul writes: “For if we live, we live to the Lord, if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). Amen.