S4 Episode 33: Psalm 100

Translation: New English Translation (NET Bible)

3 Questions:

What word, phrase or image strikes you in this text?

Toward what is God calling you in this text?

What is your manner of entering into God’s presence?

Additional texts:

Exodus 19:2-8a

Romans 5:1-8

Matthew 9:35—10:23

Genesis 18:1-15 [21:1-7]

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Transcript

00:01.75
Kevin Shock
Nathan asked me if I'm ready to roll. And then I realized that I'm the one starting this podcast.

00:04.57
Nathan Pile
And he said, yes.

00:08.09
Kevin Shock
So let's roll, Nathan, I guess. um

00:14.55
Nathan Pile
what's ah do When we were way young, way young, there was Smokey and the Bandit. What did Smokey and the Bandit when they were, remember do you remember, you ever watch Smokey and the Bandit?

00:25.56
Kevin Shock
I did. I did. I haven't watched it in a long, long time.

00:29.18
Nathan Pile
There was there was something that they would, over the walkie talkies, they would say to each other about, you know.

00:29.69
Kevin Shock
Although...

00:38.05
Kevin Shock
can't remember. I can't remember. ah No, but I will say that that um that movie features one of my favorite songs of all time.

00:51.96
Nathan Pile
Oh, yeah.

00:53.21
Kevin Shock
Yeah, and ah and one that I've sung at karaoke before, too. um Eastbound and Down. that that

01:01.24
Nathan Pile
eastbound and down how did that become like one of your favorite songs

01:03.10
Kevin Shock
Yeah, yeah, that's... Oh, my gosh, I just think that song's hilarious. um And I can't even think of the words now. ah Yeah, but anyway, it's all about it's all about... The song's all about bootlegging booze across state lines. It's just... ah ah

01:24.31
Nathan Pile
I think we, I like ah So I just looked up to see if there was any good, um, smoking in the bandit quotes and, um, and there's one here. So for some reason or another, you sounded a bit taller on the radio like that.

01:38.57
Nathan Pile
We could use that on our podcast. That could be one of our, uh,

01:41.14
Kevin Shock
Yeah, yeah. I like to think I sound thinner on the podcast.

01:47.17
Nathan Pile
you think that, you think you found, sound thinner on the podcast. All right. Well, that very well could be, uh, it could be the case.

01:52.86
Kevin Shock
yeah so I don't even know why I said that.

01:55.77
Nathan Pile
well

01:57.02
Kevin Shock
Oh my gosh, Nathan, like let's talk about scripture because this is just going to go down. Folks, this is like, this is the kind of stuff that Nathan and I end up doing before the podcast recording starts.

02:11.64
Kevin Shock
Um, no, no, actually maybe this kind of stuff. We wait until the podcast recording starts. We, we tend to talk about serious things before the podcast. Um,

02:21.43
Kevin Shock
Anyway, I can't even think of a name. Oh gosh, the name of the guy who sang East Bound and Down. But speaking of songs, we're going to be looking at a psalm today.

02:29.98
Nathan Pile
Hmm, transition, nice transition.

02:32.60
Kevin Shock
Thanks. Thanks. a A liturgical song, a, a temple song. and we're not And we're going to be looking at a happy song too, a Thanksgiving psalm. Psalm 100 what we're going to be looking at today. We are...

02:48.89
Kevin Shock
using the New English translation, the Net Bible translation for this psalm. And we have three questions, as we always do, to engage this scripture. What word, phrase, or image strikes you in this text?

03:07.80
Kevin Shock
Toward what is God calling you in this text? And how do you enter into God's presence? Or maybe I should say, with, with what, with what do you enter into God's presence?

03:22.46
Kevin Shock
Or what is your what is your manner of entering into God's presence? this isn't a, This isn't a technical question.

03:29.27
Nathan Pile
I like that third one. I like that, that, that last one.

03:31.78
Kevin Shock
but what did I just say?

03:32.61
Nathan Pile
Yeah,

03:33.57
Kevin Shock
what is your, What is your manner of entering into God's presence? That's what I said, huh?

03:37.91
Nathan Pile
yeah, yeah, yeah.

03:38.39
Kevin Shock
Yeah, okay. I'm going to change that in the prep sheet so we remember it.

03:41.39
Nathan Pile
Oh, look at that. Great. When we get to the third one, see, this is how this is how this happens, everyone. It just kind of inspiration strikes and we just change the whole show right in front of you.

03:52.02
Kevin Shock
Bam.

03:52.89
Nathan Pile
Boom.

03:53.05
Kevin Shock
Bam.

03:53.13
Nathan Pile
Just like that.

03:53.37
Kevin Shock
Inspiration strikes.

03:53.93
Nathan Pile
and um, And now it's going to be a new, it's going a different show because of Kevin rewriting the question. So, but

04:03.16
Kevin Shock
it's, it's ah, It's always on the verge of being a different show.

04:07.29
Nathan Pile
on prefer of being

04:09.50
Kevin Shock
It is. That is. That's not it we we never We never quite know where the spirit's going to take us in this conversation, which is at least...

04:10.93
Nathan Pile
it's It's always there. You're right. It's always on that edge. wait um We never quite, we never know. There's no quite about it.

04:21.43
Kevin Shock
Yeah, which right.

04:21.46
Nathan Pile
We never have any idea.

04:22.79
Kevin Shock
Which in and of itself is at least half the fun, if not more.

04:28.42
Nathan Pile
Information about your hosts who are, um yeah, they're something. We're men married to, we're rolling.

04:34.28
Kevin Shock
We're rolling.

04:36.24
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

04:37.94
Kevin Shock
Eastbound and down.

04:38.94
Nathan Pile
East bounding down with Smokey the bandit and the sheriff, whatever the sheriff's, what was his name?

04:45.58
Kevin Shock
Smokey.

04:45.82
Nathan Pile
you for Buford, Buford Day Justice.

04:48.89
Kevin Shock
it

04:50.14
Nathan Pile
said It came back to me.

04:51.13
Kevin Shock
Gosh, that sounds like a real biblical name.

04:51.48
Nathan Pile
It was just a moment. Yeah. Buford does not sound biblical, but were men married to women in financially stable households, white firmly in middle age, college and seminary educated, We work in the Lutheran Church and were born and raised in western Pennsylvania.

04:58.19
Kevin Shock
No.

05:10.72
Nathan Pile
All of this affects how we read scripture and discuss it, but none of this makes us better able to read and discuss scripture than anyone else. We believe that the wisdom of scripture is the whole community's compiled interpretation for life with God in one another.

05:24.58
Nathan Pile
So we want to know what you hear and think from your life experience as well.

05:33.44
Nathan Pile
Psalm 100. A thanksgiving psalm, as Bishop said. Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with joy.

05:45.98
Nathan Pile
Enter his presence with joyful singing. Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us and we belong to him. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

05:58.42
Nathan Pile
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give him thanks. Praise his name. For the Lord is good, his loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all generations.

06:14.62
Nathan Pile
If you're meeting with a group, you can pause the podcast now and engage the questions on your own. Or you can listen here as Kevin shares, what word, phrase, or image strikes you in this passage?

06:30.10
Kevin Shock
ah he, He made us and we belong to him.

06:34.01
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

06:35.06
Kevin Shock
there, There's something, I don't know, there's just something that gives me a really good feeling about that line.

06:45.02
Kevin Shock
Yeah, something that, I

06:50.46
Kevin Shock
don't know, maybe it's just my headspace today. But that line reminds me that it's, it's not up to me to become who I am because God has already made me who I am.

07:17.76
Kevin Shock
Like, I don't know, something about this line in a, in a day when I feel lots of ah pressure to perform, I, which is just the, which, which is just a fancy way of saying I have a lot to do. I have a lot on my plate. um this ah this feels This line, for some reason, takes some pressure off.

07:47.25
Nathan Pile
He made us and we belong to him takes off the pressure.

07:50.74
Kevin Shock
yeah, Yeah, in the sense, not, I mean, you know, not like I'm not still called to do what I need to do, but um no, not...

07:58.49
Nathan Pile
So what you're saying is in an hour, you're still going to feel the pressure, right?

07:58.95
Kevin Shock
no, Yeah, I'm probably still going to feel the pressure, but reading this right now makes me feel like um

08:01.86
Nathan Pile
But right now. Hmm.

08:09.82
Kevin Shock
God made me and God is... ah God is happy with how God made me. And I'm not, I'm not always living in to be the person that God made me to be, but, but ultimately God is god as pleased with who I am.

08:23.80
Kevin Shock
And that feels like it takes off some of the pressure today. Yeah.

08:35.32
Nathan Pile
Well, I think it is a, to me as well, it's a hopeful to to hopeful line. um

08:45.19
Nathan Pile
I tried to look at the translation piece there. It probably confused me more than it was helpful. um Because Kevin and I are reading in the New English translation, which means lots of footnotes.

08:52.79
Kevin Shock
Oh, I didn't look at it.

08:58.90
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Yeah. Even for the short passage. Yeah.

09:00.92
Nathan Pile
even for this short passage, there's four um in it.

09:02.23
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

09:05.80
Nathan Pile
So, and it's only five verses long. So lots of ah little, little notes kind of throughout here. And I guess technically there's one at the very beginning for Psalm 100. So they technically there's five.

09:22.36
Nathan Pile
ah For me, um it, it's the, I've been, I've been, kind of working with Outdoor Ministries Connection, which is a ecumenical group of camp directors on a grant. And we've been talking a lot about spiritual practices. And, and I said this a couple of weeks ago, and it continues to hold true, this idea of shouting our praises, singing our praises, that music is,

09:52.82
Nathan Pile
um music singing is a spiritual practice and I don't always think of it that way. I think Bishop was at, at our recent benefit dinner um couple of weeks ago and and I called him out since he was in the room of, did you know that singing was a spiritual practice?

10:14.47
Nathan Pile
And he's like, well, yes, indeed I did. Kind of, you know, kind of a little gaudy, I thought.

10:20.36
Nathan Pile
You know, his tone implied like, oh, you're an idiot. You didn't know that. Kind of, you know, that's, that's what I felt in the moment.

10:27.34
Kevin Shock
that's not,

10:28.64
Nathan Pile
um

10:29.71
Kevin Shock
that's not what I implied

10:29.75
Nathan Pile
But there was a lot of heckling going on that evening from the bishop and past bishops. To be honest, there was three bishops and Bishop Emeritus is in the room and all of them were heckling me at some point.

10:42.26
Nathan Pile
So. There was a lot ah lot of banter going on at that moment, but I didn't feel as if there was a little bit of a, you know, you know, we, what, you're, you're, you're surprised that singing is a spiritual practice.

10:47.74
Kevin Shock
We all.

10:59.16
Nathan Pile
And so, you know.

10:59.45
Kevin Shock
Well, I, I hope I, I will say, I will say that, yeah, I mean, that it's not it's not it's probably not a spiritual practice that I would name very like that I would name off the top of my head.

11:12.32
Nathan Pile
openly True, true, true.

11:13.66
Kevin Shock
Yeah. um but, But when you said that, it made sense to me. And I, and I recognize how even in my own... um in my own devotional life which has it is you know on again off again if I'm being honest uh singing does play a role in that for sure yeah yeah

11:30.84
Nathan Pile
Absolutely. and And, and, and, and I think for me, when I thought about it too, it was like, the but you're, but for me, I don't think about it. And so that was kind of what my point was during the, you know, the speech. Um,

11:44.09
Nathan Pile
and and But I do think that that music, for me specifically, I'm not saying for everybody, but at camp we use a lot of music at and sing a lot of camp, a lot of songs that that are both funny, silly songs, but we also sing a lot of faith-based songs at camp. Five times a day we sing. Yeah.

12:04.70
Nathan Pile
and it's a lot of singing in the world that that that there isn't that practice but for us it is a spiritual practice at camp because again we want kids going home singing the tunes of camp in their heads and so this idea of uh as as um we're on the the very steps of the summer here as we step into the uh into this this is going to be um

12:22.36
Kevin Shock
you

12:28.82
Nathan Pile
we're we're in the middle staff training and we are welping, welcoming kids in just a few days. And so this idea of shout praises, worship and with joy, singing would be a part of that for us here at camp, you know joyful singing.

12:44.73
Nathan Pile
And so those first couple of lines in this Psalm brought all of that in into mind of of the hundreds of kids that will be singing at the top of their lungs and

12:56.49
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

12:58.81
Nathan Pile
here as we enter our our our summer season. and And again, how do we, um, how we continue to practice that? How do we,

13:09.43
Nathan Pile
um as as the the camp community, but also recognizing for myself that music is an important part of my spiritual connection to God. that The number of times I'm humming or whistling a hymn um or a camp song,

13:27.51
Nathan Pile
um is just about every day now occasionally other songs will pop into my head um you know musical songs or something I've uh I've sung but most typically uh easily 80 percent of the time it's, it is some kind of a faith based song.

13:47.34
Nathan Pile
And so how, how I, and, and that, that, that is a spiritual practice in and of itself. I don't, again, I don't normally connect it with, um, morning devotions or centering prayer or journaling.

14:00.70
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

14:01.90
Nathan Pile
Um, when I talk about spiritual practices, those are all things that kind of pop into my mind. Corporate worship is a part of that Bible study. Um, you know, even mealtime prayers that we do at camp are, are, are, um, things that I think about as a part of spiritual practices, but singing is also one of those things. And so, um, and that it's easy for me to think about, uh, joy associated with, with that part of singing. And so how do I, continue to, ah to, you know, being at camp again, it makes it kind of easy, um, that singing is a part of that, um,

14:41.77
Nathan Pile
that spiritual practice. And it's a part of the joy that I experienced through the singing of it. Um, and, and really, you know, the, the singing, obviously the Psalm, this is, this is ancient song, right?

14:56.72
Nathan Pile
And so God's people have been doing it for a long time.

14:57.87
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

15:00.31
Nathan Pile
Maybe there was a revitalization of it during the reformation with Martin Luther and others who brought music, um, into the worship and, and maybe some new and different ways. But from the very beginnings, you know thousands of years before, at least a thousand years before Jesus, because many of the Psalms are given to David, but I would, ah, I would tend to guess it was probably that David helped to get them written down.

15:31.64
Nathan Pile
and that they were songs before David's time even. And so you're talking thousands of years as a part of ah an oral tradition that was passed on from one, one generation of people to the next.

15:37.16
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

15:43.99
Nathan Pile
And so we have these ancient songs that we now typically, most of the time, read in many of our congregations. Some of you might still chant them.

15:56.41
Nathan Pile
um and and sing them in tone um but for the most part we a lot of times they get red and so um and today's songs are even more complicated than than these ancient um passages but the image of of of shouting praises of singing of of uh worshiping god again all of that kind of hit me in this passage um

16:23.45
Nathan Pile
as you, as, as I read it of, of what this passage kind of what struck me about it at first glance.

16:34.17
Nathan Pile
So, and I think I've talked about that probably three years ago or something when we talked about a psalm some other time, but but I love that idea, that image of that spiritual practice of music and what it does for us.

16:49.58
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you want to sing this psalm the next time we do it?

17:02.68
Nathan Pile
we, We could, except I think it's your turn to read it, isn't it

17:06.39
Kevin Shock
It is. Well, I wonder, I wonder if I could maybe put it to the tune of Eastbound and Down, but I don't.

17:11.77
Nathan Pile
it? Oh, if you could do that, if you could pull that off, um that a that would a is it would be a gift to our listeners.

17:14.07
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Yeah.

17:20.31
Nathan Pile
um

17:21.46
Kevin Shock
Yeah, no, I don't know.

17:21.59
Nathan Pile
ah

17:22.42
Kevin Shock
um ah With this, no, I, no, I think I'd need another translation.

17:23.11
Nathan Pile
You're not going try and pull that off? No.

17:26.93
Kevin Shock
Looking at this translation, I don't think it's going to work, but, um, that's the thing.

17:30.42
Nathan Pile
That's the thing that's getting in the way of it.

17:32.46
Kevin Shock
Yeah, it's really, yeah, it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's going to be hard for me to, to divide by lines, um, and, and fit the tune.

17:32.70
Nathan Pile
That's it. Translation. absolutely

17:40.62
Kevin Shock
So I think, maybe I think maybe I'll just speak it.

17:43.98
Nathan Pile
He's bound and down and Psalm 100.

17:44.15
Kevin Shock
Um,

17:48.66
Nathan Pile
hello For any church musician out there, you can pull this off and get it to Bishop.

17:50.39
Kevin Shock
my gosh Oh

17:54.84
Nathan Pile
I'm sure he will use it at some point in time.

17:56.72
Kevin Shock
my gosh.

17:57.36
Nathan Pile
Um,

17:58.33
Kevin Shock
I know we have talked about um Psalms, that sometimes Psalms begin with note, like the Psalm of David or um to in it like in the style of or to ah the deer at the water or something like that, which we which we think is like a modern um or we think is not a our translation is modern.

18:13.27
Nathan Pile
Right, right.

18:23.90
Kevin Shock
We think that it might be a reference to like a hymn tune or a style of music that's being played. So yes, I imagine this is Psalm 100, a maskil to eastbound and down.

18:37.11
Kevin Shock
A Thanksgiving psalm. ah Okay.

18:40.60
Nathan Pile
yeah

18:42.64
Kevin Shock
All right. we're, I'm going to read through it.

18:45.05
Nathan Pile
we're, we're, we're, The joy is overflowing here, folks.

18:48.02
Kevin Shock
The joy is overflowing.

18:48.37
Nathan Pile
today

18:49.38
Kevin Shock
Yeah, right. Which is exactly, exactly how this psalm should be should be performed or prayed.

18:53.26
Nathan Pile
That's right. Joyful.

18:56.98
Kevin Shock
All right. Psalm 100. Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with joy. Enter his presence with joyful singing. Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us and we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

19:12.47
Kevin Shock
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give him thanks. Praise his name. For the Lord is good, his loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all generations.

19:24.85
Kevin Shock
Nathan, toward what is God calling you in this text?

19:29.62
Nathan Pile
Well, I probably shouldn't have gone on and on about singing um and used that for my ah second answer because that's definitely a part of, of, of my response here.

19:36.54
Kevin Shock
Hmm.

19:40.18
Kevin Shock
Hmm.

19:47.22
Nathan Pile
But in,

19:51.16
Nathan Pile
in my, in my thanks and praise, whatever that looks like, any any every day and and and any day that like it's not just my thanks and praise isn't just bound up in um in my in my worship or corporate worship or when I, when I would gather with a community and and do it. But again, I think that idea of there's a part of me that absolutely

20:24.89
Nathan Pile
Will a song will pop into my head sometimes ah it'll be a song I'll think about the the actual song and say oh I can sing that right now and and off I go singing it in my head, maybe as i'm walking down a trail or as i'm preparing a lot of times for.

20:41.24
Nathan Pile
Like when I was a parish pastor, it would be preparing for Christmas or, or Easter services. Certain songs would pop into my head as I was making preparation of the sanctuary space.

20:52.18
Nathan Pile
Now I find that I, that that happens a lot as I prepare for staff training here at camp or even getting ready for a worship service on ah on a church.

21:03.70
Nathan Pile
on a Sunday for us as a staff community that a a song will pop in. and And in many ways, as I'm singing it, humming it in my preparation, it's so it's preparing me for that time and space that will be our corporate worship, but is, is preparing me as the leader for what has to happen.

24:07.29
Nathan Pile
Yeah, so that's kind of where I'm at. Kevin, toward what is God calling you in this text?

24:13.40
Kevin Shock
um I, I, yeah, I, I mean the singing is part of it um but I, I think, um, I, I, the, the line, the line that comes before the line I talked about in the first question is the one that's drawing me in right now acknowledge that the lord is god um

24:33.97
Nathan Pile
Hmm. Hmm.

24:36.45
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

24:37.66
Kevin Shock
And what does that mean? I mean, there are some ways that the, the psalm then outlined some of the ways that we do that. Give him thanks, praise his name. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.

24:49.69
Kevin Shock
ah But I do think that...

25:00.09
Kevin Shock
Oh, I don't know. You and, you and I,

25:04.78
Kevin Shock
it's, It's weird the place this psalm is taking me because this is like a... I actually had trouble, trouble picking which text I was going to do for, I wanted to do for this week.

25:15.96
Kevin Shock
um And this is the one I finally landed on. And I don't, I'm not even sure why. um But ah I think that there is ah there's a sense here that

25:30.04
Kevin Shock
This is a Thanksgiving psalm. It's a psalm of praise. And I think I understand why the psalmist would write a Thanksgiving psalm and write these words because I can't, I can't name all the times in my life where I have felt despair or worry or concern.

25:52.06
Kevin Shock
and um, either when I take a step back or someone else takes a step into that place with me, it's easier to see how God is at work in the midst of all of this.

26:06.97
Kevin Shock
And, um, there may, maybe, maybe there are times where, like I said, in the first question where I do feel pressure to perform and, um, and yet, uh,

26:24.15
Kevin Shock
God is, yeah, ah yeah, God is, God is overseeing all of this. And, and, and not, not in a sense um sense of like, oh, well, you know if you worship God, ay God's going to make everything turn out all right.

26:47.51
Kevin Shock
Not in that sense. But um I don't know. don't know.

26:54.22
Nathan Pile
Well, but sometimes our, our to do list right can feel like the thing that drives us and here what you're saying is this verse acknowledge that the Lord is God.

27:01.72
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

27:04.98
Nathan Pile
This is the this is what's most important.

27:08.70
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Okay.

27:09.82
Nathan Pile
God is Lord.

27:10.26
Kevin Shock
Yeah. That's yeah. Thanks. Thanks for making sense of my rambling. um Yeah. that Right. This is what's most important. And this is. this I guess I'm thinking, I'm, I'm assuming this is a psalm that's either for, that is sung during worship. I think it is because it's not listed as a song of ascents, which means it's not necessarily sung as you come toward the temple or come to the temple.

27:41.20
Nathan Pile
Mm-hmm.

27:41.34
Kevin Shock
However... there is this line in the Psalm of enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. So that also, that almost makes me feel like the song is, the Psalm is sung outside of the temple.

27:56.15
Kevin Shock
um But maybe not, maybe it's just, you know, yeah. I mean, we sing about coming to church and gathering in the church building whenever we're already in the church building, so. um i Yeah, so I, I guess what I'm thinking then, based on what you said, is that the certainly the time to do that is whenever you are coming to worship, whenever you're entering into the place where God has been told, yeah we've been told that God dwells.

28:24.73
Kevin Shock
ah And yet also, I think that this line has application far beyond that as well. in, in, in everything, In everything we do, acknowledge that the Lord is God.

28:40.15
Kevin Shock
ah Yeah. I, I, there, I don't like to... um I don't think it's accurate to depict God as some kind of genie who grants us the wishes that we want.

28:55.36
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

28:56.28
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

28:58.50
Kevin Shock
But I do think it's accurate that we to say that we easily get lost. In.

29:09.82
Kevin Shock
We easily get lost in everything that's happening that is causing us stress or trouble. um that makes it difficult for us to perceive what God is doing and then and and yet then God has ways of showing us that God, showing us that I'm still here. I'm, I'm still here and I'm with you in any any trouble or or distress that you're facing um I think, I think that's, I think that's what it is for me. it's not um It's not about we worship God and we do good and God rewards us. No, it's about our worship and our acknowledgement of God allows us to perceive the way that God has never left us to begin with.

29:58.87
Kevin Shock
That God has always been there.

29:58.99
Nathan Pile
Okay.

30:02.52
Kevin Shock
Yeah. So enter, enter his gates with thanksgiving, but also... um the whole universe is God's and God is in it everywhere.

30:15.16
Kevin Shock
So, yeah

30:18.72
Kevin Shock
yeah. Yeah, that's where I think I am in that Psalm. Or, yeah, a call to acknowledgement.

30:29.46
Nathan Pile
let's do it a third time.

30:31.32
Kevin Shock
Okay.

30:34.87
Nathan Pile
Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with joy. Enter his presence with joyful singing. Acknowledge that the Lord is God.

30:46.20
Nathan Pile
He made us and we belong to him. And we are his sheep, are we and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Kevin, what is your manner entering into God's presence?

30:59.54
Nathan Pile
for the lord is good his loyal love endures and he is faithful through all generations

31:09.62
Nathan Pile
Kevin, what is your manner of entering into God's presence?

31:16.84
Kevin Shock
Hmm. Yeah. um Well, I mean, this Psalm tells us we should do it with thanks and praise. ah And I think, I think a place of gratitude is a good place to start.

31:29.43
Kevin Shock
I think a place of humility is a good place to start acknowledging that God is the Lord. Um, I also...

31:41.72
Kevin Shock
think that a place ah entering into God's presence with ah a sense of wonder and openness is a good way to go too.

31:53.30
Kevin Shock
um We were at a was at a meeting last night and kind of and in just a couple of weeks we're going to have our synod assembly and the theme of that assembly is God is doing a new thing um And so I've been trying to talk about leading up to that, but what the new thing that God is doing. And sometimes we

32:22.62
Kevin Shock
think that the new thing has to be something like a complete 180 from what we've always done, or the new thing has to be something that's grandiose, something that's huge. Sometimes the new thing is just something that God causes, God uses to get our attention.

32:42.07
Kevin Shock
um It doesn't always have to be something big and grand and majestic. It can it can be something small. And so that that for me is that sense of wonder and openness um when we enter into God's presence.

33:00.22
Kevin Shock
You know, I, I wish that I, I wish that every time I entered into worship, um I had the wherewithal. I wasn't distracted by anything else to sit simply offer a prayer up to say, Lord, show me what you're up to in this place.

33:19.12
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

33:21.85
Kevin Shock
That's, um yeah, yeah, there's, yeah, I think that there's just, yeah, we never know what we're going to quite we never quite know what we're going to encounter when we're in god's presence and um you know like we were talking about at the beginning of this podcast episode we never know where the spirit's going to lead us in this conversation and I think that's a good thing and think that that moves us toward transformation or opens us to the possibility of transformation

33:55.03
Kevin Shock
That I'm going to I'm going to leave this worship event, this worship experience, or I'm going to leave this discussion ah about scripture a different person than I entered into it.

33:55.42
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

34:09.07
Kevin Shock
And yeah, so I, yeah, there, that's, that's the answer I'm landing on. Entering God's presence with a sense of wonder and openness.

34:21.94
Kevin Shock
What about you, Nathan? What is your manner of entering into God's presence?

34:26.14
Nathan Pile
Well, ah I appreciate where you ended. um And well, you took me on the bunny trail there for a while.

34:33.22
Kevin Shock
Oh, not where I began.

34:37.27
Nathan Pile
I was following, I was with you. I was like a coon doll chasing the bunny. um

34:42.78
Kevin Shock
Yeah, I'm not i'm not very not very focused today for some reason, but...

34:46.55
Nathan Pile
But I think for me, I guess, I had lots of different images as I read this the third time through knowing that this was gonna be our question. um and And I would say that it really depends.

34:59.26
Nathan Pile
There are times that I'm a, a sheep ready to fly through the gate to a big, abundant green pasture, super excited. Like, you know, but then there's also times that I could see myself being the sheep that just kind of ambles in the field, kind of.

35:18.58
Nathan Pile
um And so that that that part of um what is your manner of entering into God's presence, you know, I think that there are as, as, as you, you articulated in your in your sharing the like it it really depends on what's going on in the world. There are some times that I'm, I'm a grumpy Nathan standing in front of the soda machine as I entered, you know, demanding God for, I want this now I'm hitting the machine.

35:51.90
Nathan Pile
I'm hitting the God machine and I'm hitting the button. There's other times that I'm, I'm, I'm ambling in just kind of trusting that God is there and, and it's, you know, whatever's going to happen is going to happen. And there's other times when I'm not, I see the abundance of God in front of me and I go charging in as a sheep hungry to eat the green grass of the pasture. Um,

36:12.98
Nathan Pile
You know, so there's all of all of that spectrum is a part of what manner I enter into God's presence. I think um when I'm being the most intentional, I'm doing what you what where you kind of ended, which was was that idea that I'm um, I'm being, there's wonder and and hopefulness and and and being present with God's presence that is there. Yeah.

36:42.33
Nathan Pile
I think if I'm being the most, being the most intentional of doing that. And, and sometimes that's happened, like the stories that I shared earlier of of, as I'm preparing for certain parts of the ministry that I lead, whether it was in, in the parish or in this camp setting, there are times that I become very attuned to recognizing that, that I'm calling on God to be with me in,

37:12.41
Nathan Pile
in the planning of worship, in the planning of training, in the planning of, um, our, our programming. Um, and there are other times, uh, maybe I'm not as intentional, but I'm still joyful, um, in my knowing that God's presence abounds and and is, um, is upon me and others that I'm gathering with. And so there's that excitement and energy behind it. Um,

37:43.48
Nathan Pile
and, And probably if I'm completely honest, there would be times that I would be ah even a little timid about entering into the green pasture here ah for sticking with the the image of being a sheep that I'm like, I don't know if I want to go over there. God, I don't know if I want to come in to your presence this day. Yeah.

38:08.41
Nathan Pile
So, you know, this question kind of sparks me is that sometimes I enter God's presence unwillingly. There's definitely a lot of the time that I'm doing it more much more willingly, joyfully and intentionally. But there are probably other times where I'm, you know, the shepherds pushing me saying, get in there. I need to close the fence. I need to close the gate. And this is where you need to be. and so I don't like to think of myself as that type of a sheep, but there definitely would be times, I think, if I'm being...

38:45.30
Nathan Pile
honest that there would be times that, that I know God's presence is there and I just don't, I'm not ready to do it. I don't want to, you know,

38:54.33
Kevin Shock
Interesting. Yeah.

38:58.36
Nathan Pile
um I'm busy pouting over here.

39:02.26
Nathan Pile
please I don't want God's grace and love to encompass me. I want to sit over here in my own miserableness a little bit more.

39:10.61
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

39:12.28
Nathan Pile
Again, I don't think of myself as that, being, you know, that, that I'm, that I'm consciously saying it that way but looking back now having hindsight being able to look back and say yeah there's times that that god's presence is always with us um is a part of something that I believe and and so um sometimes I might be ignoring God or or uh

39:44.25
Nathan Pile
fighting or resisting God's presence. And those wouldn't be that, you know, my, my behavior or manners at that time aren't things that I would be proud of, but God would have a way of still interjecting into, into the, to my world. I'm not saying that I'm, that's the way I am much of the time, but they're if I'm being transparent, there, there's the full, there's a full spectrum of,

40:13.62
Nathan Pile
ways that i that I have entered into God's presence in my lifetime. Joyously and intentionally are the things strive for, but there are, the reality is God has shown up even when I'm not joyful or intentional about it.

40:21.79
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

40:30.14
Nathan Pile
God's presence is, is there, and in, in times of deep sadness, in times of of personal sadness, ah anguish or loathing, God is still there. Um, and I haven't been intentional or joyful about that, but God was, what it was there still in those moments.

40:50.16
Nathan Pile
So I go ahead

40:53.24
Kevin Shock
Well, that's a that's an honest answer, and I appreciate that, because I think I answered the question, in, in what manner should I enter into God's presence?

41:05.37
Nathan Pile
ahead. Well, you use that word that you love so much.

41:07.68
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

41:09.75
Nathan Pile
Um,

41:10.07
Kevin Shock
what Yeah, right, right. what's what's the, What's the ideal manner in which I enter into God's presence? of that's, That's honestly, that's probably how I, yeah.

41:20.95
Nathan Pile
Well, and I think hopefully we would all be answering it that way, right? I think, I think it's a way of being able to, again, if we're being intentional, opening ourselves to that experience.

41:35.10
Nathan Pile
But I think as ah as I listened to you talking and, and I looked at the question, there's a reality that there's absolutely times that I'm like, no.

41:43.77
Kevin Shock
Yeah, yeah.

41:44.15
Nathan Pile
I know you're here, God, but I

41:47.35
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

41:48.85
Nathan Pile
I'm, I'm selfish Nathan right now. ah So.

41:54.46
Kevin Shock
Yeah, I mean, yeah, if I mean, if I'm being honest, just thinking of thinking about this a little bit further and the implications of it, I, um I don't, I don't like to miss church.

42:06.68
Kevin Shock
um

42:06.85
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

42:08.06
Kevin Shock
and, And I and guess, you know, well, yeah, you're the bishop. You shouldn't like to miss church. um, I, I think for me,

42:20.54
Kevin Shock
I guess, I guess you don't want a bishop who likes to miss church. Yeah. every, Every once in a while. And I mean, every once in a while, maybe once a year. I'll just, you know, and usually if it's something like if I've had a long Saturday or something like that, I'll say, yeah, I'm just going to sleep in this morning.

42:38.84
Kevin Shock
But the reality is the church where I attend when I'm not leading church is church. you know, their worship service starts at 1030 in the morning and um it doesn't, you know it's only 10 minutes away from me. It doesn't take a lot of effort to get up out of bed and get dressed in a decent manner and head over there. um I, but for me, if I like worship, weekly worship is a centering thing for me, whether I feel it in the moment or not, I think I feel less rooted

43:06.09
Nathan Pile
Yeah. Hmm.

43:11.45
Kevin Shock
it going through my week if I'm not, if I don't have the opportunity to gather with other people in in worship. And um so I think I've gotten to a point in my life where I recognize that enough to know, even if I wake up and I don't feel like going to church, I still probably ah make it happen because I know that it's going to affect the rest of my week.

43:34.58
Kevin Shock
um So I don't know how you would describe that manner, but that is a manner. I did. maybe it's almost a question of necessity for me. Um, that it is like, you know, like if I, if I, if I don't get enough calories, I get grumpy. If I don't get enough sleep, I get irri-, irritable.

43:56.95
Kevin Shock
If I don't get enough worship, I just feel adrift, I guess is the best way to put it.

44:01.98
Nathan Pile
Out of sync.

44:03.66
Kevin Shock
But yeah. Um,

44:05.62
Nathan Pile
That's a good way of putting it. That's a great way of putting it, thinking about it.

44:09.37
Kevin Shock
I will say that that does mean, though, that there are times I do not always enter into that space with praise or thanks or wonder, or sometimes I enter into it with a sense of tiredness.

44:23.54
Kevin Shock
And sometimes I enter into it with a sense of heaviness.

44:24.12
Nathan Pile
Mm-hmm.

44:27.08
Kevin Shock
And sometimes I enter into it with a um I just, I just, I don't feel like being here, but I know that if I don't, then I'm going to regret it later, I guess, is a way to put it. Yeah.

44:43.32
Kevin Shock
Because what is true is what you say is that God still finds a way to show up, even if I'm grumpy or irritable or there because I need to be. And that, yeah, that's, that's perhaps the most important part of it is that we, We go to, in our tradition, we teach that worship, word and sacrament worship, or or rather, word and sacrament is how Jesus promises to show up for us specifically.

45:11.61
Nathan Pile
yeah.

45:13.72
Kevin Shock
um Not that he's not with us at all other times, but but we know in those things, Jesus is most certainly present. And so, right. and why Why then would I, and i'm I'm going to go,

45:27.67
Kevin Shock
where I know Jesus promises to show up. And sometimes I'm ready to meet him and sometimes I'm not ready to meet him. But he shows up anyway.

45:48.06
Kevin Shock
any, Any other thoughts about that fir- third question?

45:48.81
Nathan Pile
I don't think so.

45:52.95
Kevin Shock
Okay. Well then.

45:54.73
Nathan Pile
appreciate I appreciated the question.

45:57.14
Kevin Shock
yeah, well, and this is you know again this is a short little psalm that doesn't have a whole, I mean, isn't, isn't a big theological expo-, yeah, it, it's not a big theological exposition so it, yeah, I never quite know where those are going to lead us but I'm always glad when we engage them so some additional texts if you're looking for something a bit meatier um exodus

46:06.58
Nathan Pile
there's, There's stuff to chew. right Yeah, it's not a big...

46:26.20
Kevin Shock
Chapter 19, verses 2 through eight a is a description of the covenant with Israel at Sinai. ah Romans 5, 1 through 8 is big theological meat. While we were still while we were sinners, Christ died for us. And I know that Nathan and i at least I feel like we've, I don't have proof. I feel like we've talked about that passage before on this podcast.

46:52.86
Kevin Shock
Matthew 9 says, I was going to pick this one, but also we've done we've been pretty Matthew heavy the last few episodes. ah Matthew 9, verse 35 through chapter 10, verse 23 is the sending of the 12.

47:04.40
Nathan Pile
Thank you.

47:07.35
Kevin Shock
It's where the disciples are chosen and then they're immediately sent out to to go and do the work of Jesus. um Our semi-continuous readings, if you're in that in that channel of her readings this season, it the first is Genesis 18, verses 1 through 15, and then you can also add to that chapter 21, verses 1 through 7, which gives the end to the story. The Lord appears to Abraham and Sarah.

47:40.47
Kevin Shock
And then the semi-continuous psalm is Psalm 116 verses 1 through 2 and 12 through 19. I will call on the name of the Lord.

47:51.34
Kevin Shock
It's good to talk with you, Nathan, about a psalm of praise and thanksgiving, one that reminds us who God is and... talk about entering into God's presence, and I, I trust that God was present with us here in this conversation. So, friends, I also pray that God is present with you wherever you are listening to this episode, and that you are finding ways, good or bad, to enter into God's presence. ah Righteous or less than righteous, to enter into God's presence, because we know that God shows up there.

48:24.76
Kevin Shock
um And we... Like to hear your reflections, and we hope to tend our faith with you again soon. Grace to you.

48:33.34
Nathan Pile
And peace.