How do you identify a Canadian? If you’re traveling outside the country, you’ll easily recognize the college student from the U of A, the office worker from Ottawa, and the family from Fernie by the “patch” – that Canadian flag sewn on backpacks hoisted by just about everyone who hails from the Great White North. But if the Maple Leaf wasn’t such a prominent part of a Canadian traveller’s uniform, how would you know whether or not that person you were swinging the clubs with in Arizona, for example, is from Canada? By their speech of course. You know what I’m talking about. The whole world knows what I’m talking about for when people think about Canadian speech they think of one word…“eh?”
Now, how do you identify a Christian? Well there is the fish symbol many Christians slap on the rear bumper of their vehicles, but how do you identify a Christian when they’re not driving? Is there a word like “eh?” we use that sets us apart from others? There ought to be. That word, according to our text, is “Hallelujah!” Today we’ll learn that “Hallelujah!” is a word for every occasion.
“Hallelujah!” Is that a word you identify with Lutherans - Christians who have been called the frozen chosen by believers of other denominations? Not usually. Oh, we sing “Alleluias” in our hymns and canticles (songs of the liturgy) but we’re probably not in the habit of belting out a “Hallelujah” outside of these walls. Maybe a reason for this is that we’re unsure of what the word means. “Hallelujah” is the combination of two Hebrew words for “Praise the LORD!” “Hallelujah” and its variations are used 23 times in the 59 verses that make up the last five songs in the book of Psalms. Why were these ancient hymn writers so keen on praising the Lord? Well, the anonymous author of our text says that he will praise the LORD because he is “the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them” (Psalm 146:6a). A few weeks ago we read Colossians 2 and were reminded how powerful God is to have made things as big as the stars. We don’t have to look so far away to see God’s power; we can see that power under our feet in the oceans that cover over 70% of the earth’s surface. The average depth of the oceans is 3,795 m (the distance between the church and Sturgeon hospital as the crow flies) while the average height on land is just 840 m. It’s not surprising then that 80% of all life is found under the ocean’s surface. Fast life like the Bluefin Tuna which can reach speeds of up to 121 kmph in short bursts. Large life like the Blue whale whose heart is the size of a Volkswagon. Microscopic life like millions of bacterial cells, hundreds of thousands of phytoplankton, and tens of thousands of zooplankton, all of which can be found in just a mouthful of seawater. So yeah, keep your mouth shut next time you go surfing.
Yes, God made the seas and everything in them but what does that have to do with us here on the Prairies? Why praise the LORD for this? We praise the LORD for this because it shows how powerful he is. Have you ever tried running in waist-deep water? It’s tough isn’t it? Consider then how God moves the Kuroshio current off the coast of Japan 121 km a day, a rate faster than the Amazon River flows. If God has the power to move trillions of litres of water, what can’t he do? There is nothing that God cannot do.
Yes, God is powerful and so we praise him but this is not the kind of praise we give to the Olympic weightlifter who can hoist 260 kg (573 lbs) above his head. We slap a gold medal on such a person but then we forget about them. I mean do you know the name of this weightlifter who holds the record? (Rezazadeh Hossein) No, but neither does he know your name. That’s generally the problem with those who are powerful in this world. They don’t care about those who are weaker than they. Oh sure, powerful companies like GM, Mattel, Johnson & Johnson may seem to care about you because they’re always trying to get your attention, but all they really care about is what you have in your wallet. God is not like that. He’s powerful, yes, more powerful than any weightlifter, billionaire, global company, and superpower nation. Yet he’s also personal. The Psalmist wrote: “[The LORD] upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked” (Psalm 146:7-9).
Powerful yet personal. That’s the kind of God we have. The LORD who gives us pizza and pyrogies; who makes us feel better after an upset stomach; who cheers us up with something like a beautiful sunrise when we’re missing that loved one; who looks after the fatherless and the widow. The LORD even frustrates the ways of the wicked like he did with the persecution in the early church. Satan thought he could eliminate Christianity by killing Christians off but he only hastened the spread and growth of Christianity.
Because God is powerful and personal it’s no wonder that the Psalmist says that those whose hope is in the LORD are blessed (Psalm 146:5). But we don’t always put our trust and hope in the LORD. Instead we trust in things that we can see. We trust in our bank account. We trust in our strong back. We trust in our past luck. We trust in a family member to bail us out. We trust in things and people that are weak and not always wise. That’s not a big deal if you’re asking for directions to the local mall, but it is a big deal if you’re seeking heaven. Only the LORD, the God of Jacob, as the Psalmist puts it, sets us on the right path. That path, a moving sidewalk really, is his Son, Jesus. Jesus who made the seas and everything in them and then came to dip his toes in those seas because he came here to give his life for a humanity that had fallen into depravity.
“Hallelujah!” It’s not just a church word. It’s a word for every occasion because the Psalmist says: “…the LORD…remains faithful forever… 10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations” (Psalm 146:6b, 10). God never backs down from his promise of love and forgiveness for us. And he reigns forever, not just for the people of the Bible - the Marys, the Josephs, and the King Davids of this world. He reigns for the Ambers, the Brocks, the Hildas, the Daves. He reigns for you. Of course it’s much easier to belt out a “Hallelujah!” at the successful birth of a child, the end of another semester of school, or a job bonus, but “Hallelujah!” is the right word when you have the flu, have been fired from your job, or when you have to shovel two feet of snow. It’s an appropriate response even when you can’t walk, can’t hear, or can’t eat. It’s the thing to say even in death! Why? Because your God fixed that problem. Death will one day swallow us, yes, but Jesus punched a hole in its stomach so that when death swallows us we slide out the other side to Paradise.
If all this is true, and it is, why is it that instead of “Hallelujah!” we more often say in anger “I’ll stick it to ya!” The Christians of James’ day had that problem and so the Apostle had to warn them: “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:9) Grumbling is not just an annoying habit; it’s a sin that God hates. A sin like lust, a sin like withholding our offerings, I sin like homosexuality, a sin like lying. God wants us to repent of this sin – not blame others for it. And he wants us to stop grumbling. How can we do this? James tells us: “10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord ” (James 5:10). Yes, look to the prophets, men like Habakkuk who wrote: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:17-19). “Hallelujah!” That was the word on Habakkuk’s lips because even though life was crummy he knew that his God was not.
So what word will identify you besides that Canadian grunt, “eh?” Will it be words like “Ugh,” “Boo-hoo,” or “Poor me”? Not if your focus is on the LORD the maker of the seas and everything in them. For this powerful God is also your personal God who saved you from hell by sending his Son and who is now preparing you for heaven. And so when someone asks: “How’s it to ya?” Say, “Hallelujah!” Say it on every occasion. Say it with genuine adoration because the LORD reigns and his faithful love endures forever. “Hallelujah!” Amen.
