Sermon for May 27th, 2018

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

4 One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help.
  Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10 If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they are breathing out violence.

13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Psummer of Psalms - Psalm 27

Most of us are familiar with the biblical image of David the Giantslayer, who challenged and triumphed over the giant Goliath. You may even remember David the Outlaw, who lived in a cave and led a band of rebels in exile. And of course, later in the story we remember David the King, who led his armies into battle against the enemies of Israel.

But I bet you didn't know that long before the Walking Dead or Night of the Living Dead, David was actually the first person to face the terrible onslaught of a Zombie Apocalypse? Psalm 27 is evidence of this, particularly verse 2, where we read of David's enemies, who seek to devour his flesh, and have a tendency to stumble and fall down.

You know, I've always believed that in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, we as Presbyterians would be the first ones to die. We're a pretty brainy bunch, and zombies like brains. But in a whole different way. Probably our church handbell choir would be the first to succumb. Then they'd be a bunch of dead ringers.

As Zombies, we'd probably still eat the communion bread with our fingers...first the communion bread, and then the fingers. Wait, is that groaning I hear? Maybe the apocalypse has already started.

But Pastor Neal, you say...Zombies don't really exist, do they? Of corpse not. I mean, of course not. I just wanted to give you something to chew on, something to flesh out a little bit.

Ok, no more. I'll be serious now. Dead serious.