A L R E A D Y,   B U T   N O T   Q U I T E   Y E T
Highland Park United Methodist Church
May 14, 2017​

In Psalm 31, King David calls out to God for rescue and deliverance from adversity while simultaneously praising God as a trustworthy refuge and savior. He was most likely fleeing from his son who was trying to take the throne my means of a violent rebellion, so his trust in God was challenged by the realities that made salvation seem impossible. Jesus may have felt the same way when he quoted Psalm 31:5 from the cross: “Into your hand I commit my spirit.”

Like David and Jesus, we often come to worship God on Sundays with realities of life and feelings that make salvation and redemption seem impossible. As Christians, we have hope that God has already saved us and the world, but that salvation is not quite fully enacted yet. We sing hymns and participate in liturgy to lament the brokenness of the world, but also to praise the faithful God who is working to make all things new. Even when we don’t feel like trusting God is possible, we take communion and receive the salvation of Jesus into our bodies.

When our reality seems like God is not saving anything, there are often people in our lives who act as a refuge for us and show us a partial glimpse of God’s infinite love. As we celebrate and remember our mothers, we honor them for embodying God’s love and refuge and we praise God for the salvation we have received and will receive.