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June 6, 2004
Trinity Sunday
A L ittle Lower Than God
Psalm 8
Let us pray: Lord God, as mortals, we sometimes act as if we are among the lowest creatures on earth, manipulating our fellow human beings, exercising great cruelty toward one another. Yet at other times we seem to be touched by the divine, exercising great compassion, soaring to heights of love and joy, forgiving ourselves and others. May the words I speak today address both these human extremes, and may you use my words to touch — with a measure of your spirit — the hearts and minds and wills of those of us who have gathered. In the name of Christ. Amen.
From my earliest days, I have witnessed two human extremes: on the one hand cruelty — on the other hand kindness.
- I have fond childhood memories of spending each New Years' eve with my maternal grandmother, staying up till midnight, pulling taffy, watching on her brand new color TV the bright ball descend the tower at Times Square.
- Yet I also have an even earlier memory — buttressed by family lore and legend — of visiting this same grandmother in gray halls of what in those days was called a "sanatorium," hearing family members whisper "shock treatments" and "alcoholism." In most of her adult years, her life was marked by pain she inflicted on others through the combination of her illness and addiction, though I only knew her as being kind.
As a minister
- I have seen people face the cruelty of death with grace, courage, and heroism, and yet, obviously, I have seen the cruelty of death come far too often.
- I have seen people who have a tremendous capacity to forgive, and people who bear grudges as if they were cheap tattoos that cannot be removed.
- I have seen people use their tremendous charisma for the betterment of a church, a corporation, even a nation; and I have seen people use their charisma to manipulate others into satisfying their egos, their sense of greed or entitlement, their sexual desires.
Most of you have seen similar cruelty and courage among people you know. Our experience reveals that human beings are capable of great courage and great cruelty, sometimes within the same person.
I.
For centuries, philosophers and theologians have staked out one of two major positions on human nature.
Some have argued that humankind is essentially good.
"Our hearts are restless," St. Augustine said, "until they find their rest in Thee." [1]
Centuries later Friedrich Schleiermacher wrote that within each of us is a "feeling of absolute dependence," a feeling that can lead us to God. [2]
At the same time, others have drawn less favorable views of human nature.
Nietzsche saw humanity driven by a "will to power."
Kipling coined the phrase "the law of the jungle." [3]
And within a few years of one another, Darwin, Marx, and Freud all described humanity as being gripped by biological, economic, or psychological forces that determine who we are, what we believe, how we act.
These are significantly less positive views of human nature.
II.
Lest this sound like an introductory philosophy course, let me remind you that our view of human nature often guides our decisions and actions.
If I believe that human nature is evil and selfish, then my primary task will be to try to survive.
If I believe evil marks the human condition, I am more likely to resort to power and force in rearing my children, managing my business, reacting to my neighbors.
If I believe men and women are fundamentally evil, I am much more likely to support time limits on welfare, strict sentences for lawbreakers, a quick use of military action.
If, on the other hand, I believe all humans ultimately have the capacity for good, I am more likely to seek change through persuasion, education, nurture, diplomacy, religion.
How we view human nature often determines how we act or react in many aspects of our lives.
III.
At first glance, Psalm 8 appears to have a highly positive view of human nature.
When I look at your heavens [the psalmist says],
The work of your fingers,
The moon and the stars that you have established…
What are human beings
That you are mindful of them,
Mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them
A little lower than God,
And crowned them with honor and glory. [4]
The psalmist moves from a feeling of awe toward God's creation to humility at the insignificance of human beings to marvel that God has made humankind "a little lower than God" and "crowned" humanity with "honor and glory."
Yet a second look at this psalm leads us to see that the psalm is not so much about human nature as it is about the role we mortals play in God's created order.
The phrase "a little lower than God" — or as some translations have it, "a little lower than the angels" [5] — is less about human nature than about the role we occupy and position we play in God's creation. The psalmist seems to say that no matter what our nature is, as human creatures, our position is only one notch below our creator. "You have made them a little lower than God."
In addition, the psalmist outlines our role in saying "you have…crowned them with honor and glory." In the Old Testament world, "honor" and "glory" were bestowed upon rulers, whom people believed were God's representatives or agents on earth. [6]
Thus, when the psalmist says:
You have made them a little lower than God,
And crowned them with honor and glory,
the psalmist is not necessarily saying that the human creature is good, but simply, that the human creature represents God on earth.
The psalmist then emphasizes this exalted role by echoing the creation story in Genesis:
You have given mortals dominion
Over the works of your hands;
You have put all things under their feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes along the paths of the seas. [7]
Reinforcing Genesis, the psalmist says that the role of human beings within creation — even after the Fall — is one of deputy-ship. We mortals are responsible for all living things within creation, including all people, whether we view people as good, evil, or a mixture of both.
IV.
Once we realize our divinely-sanctioned role, we are freed to exercise our deputy-ship with wisdom. In each situation, we are freed to consider what we believe to be the character of the people with whom we are dealing, as well as our own motives and character.
For example, in many, hopefully most, of our relationships, we correctly observe that the people for whom we are responsible — our children, our students, our workers — are capable and well intended. In such circumstances, our responsibility as deputies of God's creation is to provide them with the best information, the most intentional coaching, and the strongest nurture to enable them to become the people Christ has redeemed them to be. We respond to what is positive in them by leading them with diplomacy, education, and nurture.
At other times, hopefully less often, our observation and experience of people leads us to believe that they are either motivated towards ill or that they are in the grip of an evil power
- Such as hatred or bitterness
- Religious fanaticism or terrorism
- Addiction or mental illness
that neither education, diplomacy, nor nurture can alter. In such instances we must revert — reluctantly — to more forceful means if we are to exercise our deputy-ship toward positive ends.
What do I mean by "forceful means"?
- I mean consistent structure and predictable discipline in the home or workplace, as opposed to shameful abuse and sexual humiliation of prisoners detainees we have witnessed in recent weeks.
By forceful means,
- I mean appropriate and well-trained law enforcement when people are a danger to themselves or to others.
By forceful means,
- I mean "tough love" within the family — love, to be sure, but love that refuses to give in to pathologies that tear apart the fabric of the family or destroy the mind, body, or spirit.
- I mean the termination of relationships in a family in which there is no hope of love, relationships in a workplace in which there is no hope of life, relationships either place that are destructive.
By forceful means,
- I mean the use of military action as a last resort, when, in the best judgment of leaders, such use is tragically necessary to defend self or nation or to rescue victims of genocide or abuse.
As we exercise our God-given stewardship for creation, we are called to assess the people and situations for whom we are responsible and to respond with tools that address their motives and abilities.
V.
I have preached this sermon as if this psalm were a wisdom psalm. I have tried to outline what in essence involves observing when human nature is inclined toward good, when it is inclined toward ill, and how to respond based on each observation.
Though this psalm involves wisdom, it not primarily a wisdom psalm. It is rather a psalm of worship.
- This is the only psalm in which every verse is a direct address to God. [8]
- It is a prayer. [9]
- It moves from the "we" or corporate worship to the "I" of personal worship. [10]
- It is filled with wonder and awe and marvel at the handiwork of God.
While the Christian faith offers us wisdom on how to deal with people, the fact that such wisdom occurs in a psalm of worship reminds us that "the beginning of wisdom" is "awe and reverence for God." The beginning of wisdom is worship. [11]
As we marvel at the creation God has made,
As we begin and end our day on our knees,
As we make decisions
With our hearts and hands and voices
Lifted to God in worship,
We acquire the wisdom to deal with ourselves and others
Who are cruel, kind, or — like my grandmother —
A mysterious mixture of both.
Amen.
1 Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1.1. go back
2 The Christian Faith (1821). go back
3 J. L. Mackie, "The Law of the Jungle: Moral Alternatives and Principles of Evolution," available at http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/ go back
4 Psalm 8:3-5. go back
5 Psalm 85. KJV has "angels"; RSV and NRSV have "God." go back
6 J. Clinton McCann, Jr., "The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections," in The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IV, Leander Keck, General Editor (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 711-712. go back
7 Psalm 8:6-8. go back
8 J. Clinton McCann, Jr., "The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections," in The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IV, Leander Keck, General Editor (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 710. go back
9 See the "O Lord" of 8:1. go back
10 Notice the switch between 8:1-2 to 8:3-8, then back again in 8:9. go back
11 See Proverbs 1:7. go back
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