Sermon given on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 19, 2009, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk. Text is Psalm 23.
Earlier in this service I invited you to meditate on Psalm 23. This morning I would like to look with you at Psalm 23 in light of what it means to meditate on scripture.
First of all, some thoughts on meditation? We often think of meditation as some kind of a special spiritual exercise that only monks, nuns, priests, and eastern religions do, but most anyone who uses their mind to solve a problem has probably used meditation to discover solutions that were not immediately apparent when the problem first appeared.
Meditation begins with an idea, not knowing where it will take you, and then letting the idea itself create something new. I like building things, and I like solving problems. When I’m in the midst of a project, I rarely have the best solution to a problem become immediately apparent to me. I have to think about it; mull it over, turn the problem over and over in my mind; thinking, deliberating and pondering – and slowly, ideas come to me of solutions I might try. That’s a kind of meditation; seeking an idea I didn’t have before, that will help me find a better, well-informed solution to the problem.
