Yet

This message was delivered by Rev. Teresa Sherrill. The Scripture Reading is Habakkuk 3:17-18.

Habakkuk 3:17 — “Though the fig tree does not blossom and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.“

Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, understands well the power of lament, and drew rapt attention from her listeners through the powerful cadence and momentum of her words of prose. Truth washed over us as we listened. In rewatching YouTube’s recitation at the last presidential inauguration, we can see, we can hear her challenge to us to acknowledge our need for lament while looking to the light. She began, and ended with questions about light.

When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We’ve braved the belly of the beast

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace

and the norms and notions

of what just is

isn’t always “just-ice.“

And she ended her vision with,

“When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid,

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it — If only we’re brave enough to be it“

There is always light. That’s the truth that Habukkuk claimed in his prophetic book written 2700 years ago, and his song rings out to us today. The “always light” for Habakkuk is the presence of God. Habakuk makes a choice. He chooses to acknowledge the light, to proclaim the presence of God – Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord – in the midst of darkness and lament.

Times were tough for Habakkuk and his people. The prophet lived in a time of uncertainty, as do we. He was an obscure character, not appearing anywhere else in Scripture. At times we might feel obscure, like no one knows our name.

Habakkuk lived in Judah, at a time perhaps just after their King Josiah had died, during a time of societal mourning. Aren’t many of us sometimes lamenting and mourning what is happening in our society, the world – and sometimes in our homes and relationships?

In Habakkuk’s collective societal memory,the leader at the time, King Josiah, exhibited transformative leadership bringing his people together to keep the commandments of the Lord. However, Josiah’s children did not follow God’s ways and the surrounding enemies, one after another, sought to conquer and oppress the people. The book of Habbakuk opens with a prayerful plea to God as he saw the many dangers surrounding them. God’s reply to Habbabuk is “a work is being done in your days that you would not believe if you were told.” God doesn’t say, I am taking the oppression away. Instead, God promises to be with them during the times that they are conquered and during times of oppression. God promises presence.

Despite the many questions the prophet Habakkuk had concerning the evil happening all around him, he remembers all that God has done for God’s people and knows that God will continue to be at work. He concludes his conversation with God, his lament of all that is going wrong around them, with a refrain that is now familiar to us – YET, I will rejoice in God.

Habakkuk utters these familiar words, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength… after a list of nos showing the many essentials of life that were not present for this prophet and his people. Habakkuk’s external circumstances were –

1) no fruit on the fig trees, not even any blossoms

2) no grapes, no fruit, growing on the vines,

3) no olives,

4) no produce of any kind,

5) a lack of sheep, and

6) a lack of herds.

Yet, after this terrible list, the prophet says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”

For us our list, could be –

1) No peaceful holydays, no signs of peace (there are over 30 major conflicts happening in the world right now)

2) No employment or drudgery in our jobs

3) No affordable mental health resources or healthcare 4) No productivity or the feeling of not being valued

5) No respite from the fears that keep us up at night

6) No more looking across the table at loved ones

7) And we pause to remember the unsaid nos in our lives

These are external circumstances that we can relate to, that call us to lament. In the midst of lament, we too can recall as Habakkuk did, all that God has done, and will continue to do in the midst of all the nos around us. We too can still ourselves to feel God’s presence in the midst of our laments. We can continue in our callings to advocate for the brokenhearted in our world. And we can choose to rejoice, and receive from the Lord what we need to continue on during our lamentable days. This strength emerges not from our own strength but from the steadfastness of God’s presence “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength…”

Lyric moments continue with beautiful words from the book The Cure at Troy written by Irish poet Seamus (Sheemus) Heaney. ‘History says / Don’t hope on this side of the grave / But then, once in a lifetime / The longed-for tidal wave / Of justice can rise up / And hope and history rhyme. And hope and history rhyme.’”

The next lines of The Cure of Troy speak loudly with a message of hope for each of us and our families.

So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that further shore

Is reachable from here.

Believe in miracles

And cures and healing wells.

What healing wells are near you that you can draw from? Let’s take a moment to (slow pace down) recall how Scripture speaks to us,

how breathing calms us,

how sharing prayers speaks to our souls,

how meditating allows us to center on God’s presence. Take a moment to connect with your healing well.

In today’s Scripture, we see how Habakkuk draws close to God in the midst of times of too many nos. It is from that place that he encourages us that we can “rejoice in the Lord; and exult in the God of our salvation” in the midst of times of too many nos as well. Each of us, every one of us, is experiencing some form of no sweet figs, or sweet fellowship no fruit from our actions,

no tangy olives bringing spice to life,

no lack of counting sheep as we spend sleepless parts of night and no herd immunity to the myriad of physical and social diseases that surround us and our society. It is important for us to pause, to lament, to remember.

PAUSE, I would like to invite each of you to settle down in your seat, plant your feet on the floor and feel grounded in your chair, and then take 5 deep, slow breaths. As we breathe together, bring your laments to the healing well. The healing well of God can restore. (PAUSE and do 5 deep, slow breaths)

Our passage gives us what we need in the midst of lament with a very important word, YET. Habakkuk encourages us that YET in the very moments of real lament, God is present and God is at work. It is in these thin places when we can hope in God, that we too, with Habakkuk can say “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength…” It is not just only us in the lament, God is present in our laments and gives us the strength

to breathe another breath,

to walk another step towards peace, to speak another voice of advocacy, in the midst of all the nos around us.

Let us write down this verse and put it somewhere where we will be reminded of God’s presence. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength…” and let this verse come back to mind again and again as we read our newspaper or click on an article, as well as while we are listening to our friends and family. As our minds and hearts lament the reality of our worlds and lives – let us remember the reality of God’s presence in all of them. We too will see the glimmers of God’s light as Habakkuk did!