“Let Us Go to the House of the LORD”
Readings: Psalm 122:1-9 (text); Galatians 4:22-26
June 28, 2015 • Download this sermon (PDF)
Dear Congregation of Christ: For many people today, and especially the youth, going to church on the Lord’s Day is a burden, a task to do before a game to watch, or a get-together with family and friends, or a picnic in the park. It wasn’t so in my younger days. Then, it was the best day of the week, not only because our best friends were also at church, but also because the worship service and Sunday school were a big part of our life.
For Israel, the Sabbath was the most important day of the week. The annual festivals were observed with joy and solemnity, with a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as the highlight of the year. God commanded them to go to the holy city during three of these festivals: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths (Deu 16:16). On these three feasts, the people celebrated their harvest with thanksgiving sacrifices to the Lord. They also remembered God’s protection and provisions to them as they escaped their slavery in Egypt.
For those who lived in far-flung places outside Jerusalem, these pilgrimages were a big undertaking, requiring time off from their fields, families, and also much resources. And as they traveled to and from the city, the people sang some of the psalms that we are able to read today. These psalms, Psalms 120-134, are called “Psalms of Ascent,” because the pilgrims ascended to Jerusalem which is situated up on a hill. These are for a variety of occasions and emotions, such as lament, wisdom, confidence, thanksgiving and festivals.
Psalm 122 is one of these pilgrim songs. The two psalms before it give it context. Psalm 120 is a lament by a pilgrim living outside of Israel, who prays to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies, maybe even as he makes his way to Jerusalem. Then in Psalm 121, the pilgrim expresses his confidence in the Lord that he will make it safely to the city through all dangers, hardship, and evildoers. Together with Psalm 124:8, we use verses 1 and 2 at the beginning of our service to invoke the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth as our help.
Unlike other psalms celebrating the Lord’s might and majesty, this psalm focuses on Jerusalem as the holy city, much like Psalms 46 and 48. Though it doesn’t mention Zion, Jerusalem is almost identical to it, since it is where the temple, “the house of the Lord” is built. The pilgrim is joyful as he makes his ascent. As he enters the city, he is awed by how its people are closely bound together as the people of God. Therefore, being a citizen of God’s chosen nation, he prays for its peace and protection.
As Christians, we are also pilgrims in this world, in awe of the glory of Christ’s church. We too are bound with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We too pray for its peace and protection as we worship God, and preach the gospel to our family, friends and neighbors. So our theme today, then, is “Let Us Go to the House of the Lord”: first, The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord; second, The Beauty of the House of the Lord ; and third, The Prayer for the House of the Lord.
Read the whole sermon here.
