What Shall I Render?

Bishop JOHN

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: I said in my haste, ‘All men are liars.’ What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.—Psalm 116:9–15

When I awoke this morning, a line from this psalm was in my head, on my heart, and singing in my body: What shall I render unto the Lord? I usually awaken pleased to greet the day. I’ve buried enough friends to know that every day is a precious gift, so I begin each day greeting God and thanking Him for the day. This day, however, was different. Undeniably, I was shaken by this psalm, so I share it with you in the hope of understanding the message and getting on with my day.

We understand the psalms to be prayers. They are the largest portion of our corporate worship as the Church, the called-out and gathered community of God. It is our prayers that define us. What we pray is what we believe, and what we believe is who we are. Our belief is not reduceable to cognitions or thoughts. Our faith is our connection to God Himself and to each other. It is what unites us. Ultimately our prayers originate in God, who gives us our senses and life itself, so that He can share Himself with us. We in turn recognize His presence and respond. Sometimes we respond out of our hearts; this morning I respond with the words of the psalmist, indeed the words of the Church.

I said before that it is our prayer that defines us. We know from God’s revelation that we are created by God in His image and likeness. God creates and God gives abundantly. So it is our very nature to be creative and giving. Anything less contradicts how we are created to be. When we act, usually out of fear, contrary to our nature which is in the image of God, we experience the discomfort of what social scientists call “dissonance.” Dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling we have when we know something isn’t right, that it doesn’t fit. Heaven is orderly, so we need things to be orderly, predictable, beautiful, and peaceful. This is how we are created to be, but the world isn’t orderly right now. Our basic prayer, given to us by the Lord, says, “…on earth as it is in heaven.” The world is in disorder because it isn’t reflecting heaven. So what can we do?

When we pray, we connect with God “who art in heaven.” We transcend the disorder around us and embrace “Our Father,” but literally “baba,” or, “Daddy.” Holding on to God as Daddy, we share His calm, eternal life, timelessness, and peace. We forget, for the moment, imposed isolations, quarantines, shutdowns, and restrictions, and instead share our unity with Him and, in Him, with each other. In Christ there is no separation between people, because in Christ even the dead are alive and with us. As I have reminded you so many times, even the yet-to-be-born share life with us in Christ and in the Church. When we pray the prayers of the Church, we unite ourselves to all those of the Church who share the same prayers.

When I pray, I am in Christ and united to God. When I pray the prayers of the Church, I am in the Church which is in Christ. When I embrace “Our Father,” I am in heaven which is also in Christ. So my question remains, What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? All I have is myself, so that is what I will offer today: myself, as the best I can offer, is in His image and likeness. His image and likeness is without my fears and sins. It is without my greed or neediness. It is without my holding on to anger or slights or wounds from disrespect. It is with the newness of the day that I render myself unto the Lord, who values His saints (people) and offers salvation.

May the new day and the New Year be blessed with our transcendence of earthly cares and our embrace of heaven.