This sermon is the second of three I delivered in the summer of 2024. I was happy with everything except for the title. I should have called it "Ignore the Little Gods." The video for my sermon starts at about 23 minutes. I will note that my stated goal was for the sermon to last 20 minutes, and my final time was about half an hour. But hey, on YouTube you can speed up the playback. Feel free to do so, or to not listen at all.
As usual, the actual sermon I delivered on the day was a little different from this manuscript. Losing my place in the reading, responding to the energy of the congregation, and just plain misspeaking are the main culprits. Finding the differences between the manuscript and the video recording I leave as an exercise for you, dear reader.
Robert Sack July 28th, 2024
Holy Joy English Worship Service
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”
Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations! Psalm 82:1-8
Prayer
God who gives justice, Spirit who gives life, Jesus who gives salvation, bring your gifts to us your people, amen.
Introduction
When Frank and I decided to preach a series on the Psalms, Psalm 82 was not on my radar at all. It came up in one of my daily devotionals, and it immediately got my attention because of the following:
To modern eyes and ears, it is weird. Like, really weird. This “divine council” sounds like Greek mythology, with Zeus and Hera and Poseidon and all the other gods sitting around in togas talking about whatever gods talk about.
It’s also kind of cool. Like they could have snuck some of this into a Marvel movie and no one would have noticed.
Honestly, I didn’t understand this psalm after reading it just once. Or twice. On my own, it was just too confusing, like one of those puzzle boxes where you need to know the trick for opening it. I needed help to get through this one.
Since when do we believe that other gods exist? How do we deal with Our God talking to other gods when we believe that Our God is the only god?
How is this relevant to us today? Again, It feels old and weird and mythical, not connected to modern life at all.
To some people, these would be reasons to avoid talking about a passage of scripture. But I like unlocking a tricky door, especially if I can bring a bunch of friends through it with me. One of my goals today is to connect your life directly to this weird, old song. I’m going to start with a little direct interpretation by translation.
Translation
My first translation trick will be choosing different words. Words that are easier for us to understand. You can already find many different translations of this Psalm, online or in books. I am just taking what I like from them and trying to make the ideas clearer for us. It’s not my goal to replace the words of the Bible, but to help us to understand them better.
My second translation trick will be assigning the words to different physical characters, so it’s easier for us to see who is talking, and to whom they are speaking. Psalm 82 has three characters. The first character is a narrator who helps to explain what is happening. I will be the narrator. The second character is God. Igor has graciously agreed to help me out by reading the part of God. This was a big thing to ask, and I am very grateful to him. Thank you, Igor. The third part in Psalm 82 is the gods of the divine council. These gods never speak. You, the congregation, will play that part. Your only job is to be silent, as God speaks to you. Just like in the psalm. So, let’s begin:
Narrator: Your attention, please. The LORD has called for a trial! The LORD will be judging… the gods of the Divine Council. The LORD is about to speak!
God: [to congregation] Listen up, you “gods”: How long will you judge without justice, and do favors for the wicked?
[waits silently]
Your job is to give justice to the weak, to care for orphans, to protect the victims and the poor, to help those in need, to save them from the wicked! So do it!
God: [to Narrator] I called them gods, but like people, they shall die. Every power on Earth comes to an end. They will also come to an end.
Narrator: Do it, God! Judge them and judge the Earth! The whole world belongs to you!
It really helped me to understand Psalm 82 when I visualized it, and I hope that it helps you as well.
Vocabulary: “little gods”
I don’t want to go too far into the weeds on the word “God” today, so I’ll keep this short. “God” in verse one, is sometimes translated as “The LORD” in all capital letters, which means Yahweh, I AM. I will use “The LORD,” in this sermon to refer to the God who we usually talk about in church. I have decided to refer to the gods of this Divine Council as “little gods,” to distinguish them from The LORD. “Little” reflects both the spelling, which you can’t hear, and The LORD’s judgment on them.
Worship
The very idea of “little gods” brings us naturally to my biggest question: why does Psalm 82 talk about these other gods, when we believe that The LORD is the one and only true God? One answer, (and I believe there is more than one answer to this question), one answer lies in worship. Not just “worship” in the sense of a worship service, like this one, but something simpler.
By “worship,” I mean spending time and resources on things that we don’t need to survive. We consider some things more important than others. We even build our lives around some of them. The list of things that humans worship is long and varied. It includes entertainment, pleasure, family, friends, power over others, perfection, comfort, beauty, social status, and sometimes even The Lord. Nobody can worship just one thing. We divide our worship among this and that, mixing different targets.
Some things we worship as individuals, and some things we worship together, in groups. We will have to talk about individual worship some other time. Once again, my goal is to keep this under 20 minutes, and Psalm 82 is really about collective worship.
A Note on Psalms
I’ve talked about this before, but I want to remind you that a Psalm is a song, and a song is a kind of poem. Poems use imagery, which we all saw earlier. Images in a poem often stand in for other things, and invite interpretation. Which is what I am doing now.
Collective Worship
I believe that these “little gods” are some of the things that society worships collectively. In other words, a large number of people believe and focus on them. A society can collectively worship “freedom,” or “creativity,” or “loyalty,” or “control.” Or even K-Pop! Another word for this collective worship is culture! For example, Americans worship “Independence,” so much so that we have a holiday in July named after it that we celebrate with explosions!
These Little gods are not inherently bad, until they receive too much power. The little god “freedom” does not automatically make trouble. But when “freedom” has too much power, its worshipers refuse to wear face masks during a pandemic. Then “freedom” is walking around in the dark, causing chaos. I love the little god “creativity” and often give my time and resources to it. But when the worshipers of “creativity” make up stories that incite violence against a group of people, then the little god creativity is shaking the foundations of the earth.
The “foundations of the earth” in verse 5 of this poem are not the land on which we build our cities. The true foundations are The Lord’s values: Justice and Peace. In Psalm 82, The LORD is judging the little gods based on how the weakest people in society are treated.
Bad little gods
Any of the little gods can get out of control, but some of the little gods are born troublemakers. People do judge others without justice. People do give favor to the wicked. But why? What drives this kind of injustice? What makes people help a bad person and punish a good person? Why would we say that someone who hurts other people is a good person?
In Biblical (and modern) times, injustice is often driven by greed: a wicked person with money can hire the best lawyers, drag out trials, and avoid spending time in jail, while poor people can be thrown in jail for not paying a fine. In other words, we punish people for being poor. This is the behavior that The LORD is scolding in verse 2.
Let me share a more complicated, modern example. I am reading a book, called “Stolen Focus,” about why people today, like you and me, have so much trouble thinking and interacting with each other.
One reason that people have gotten worse at social interactions is because of our favorite social media companies. There is a company that hosts videos for free, on which you may be watching this sermon. When they suggest the next video for you to watch, they use algorithms. These algorithms do not think, they just notice what makes people stay on the website or in the app. Do you know what kind of videos make most people stay longer? Videos that make you angry or afraid. Fear and anger make most people want to watch more.
There are social media sites that let you share your personal news with others. If you do not search for specific news, guess what they show you? That’s right, news that makes you upset. Because when you are upset, you stay.
The owners and programmers know that these algorithms are not good for our mental health. They know that their products are tearing society apart, distracting people from positive parts of their lives, and making them believe lies. They are shaking the foundations of the world. Ask the owners and programmers if they allow their children free access to social media. They don’t. They know that they are pouring poison into the well of society.
Why do they do it? Why do we let them do it? Why do we reward them by using their apps, investing in their stocks, and not making laws to cut off the poison at its source?
The answer is simple: Because they make money. They make lots of money. Advertisers know that if they sell ads on these platforms, they will bring in piles of money. People use these platforms because they are free, so they save money. New laws are passed or shot down depending on who spends the most money. Money is the little god at the center of this, and many other problems. Money has become a powerful little god, and it is hurting everyone. Everyone except the people who have a lot of money, that is.
Of course, money is not the only bad little god in our world. Fear, prejudice, popularity, control. I’m sure you can think of others.
God’s Judgment
But there is good news: The LORD has judged these little gods, and condemned them to death. The world was founded on Wisdom, and these little gods have neither knowledge nor understanding. The world began with Light, and these little gods are walking about in darkness, shaking the foundations of the world. The LORD will not tolerate it. The trouble that humans have made for themselves will not last forever. On the other hand, God has not yet wiped them out. We are still dealing with these little gods today.
So what hope do we have for the present? What can we do right now? I believe that the answer is in the word we use to describe ourselves. What religion are we?
The Witness of Jesus
What does the word “Christian” mean to you? The dictionary says a Christian is someone who believes the teachings of Jesus. Which is okay, I guess. But the original Greek word, Christianos, means someone who follows the messiah. Not just someone who believes that Jesus was really cool and awesome, but someone who follows Jesus, trying to do what Jesus did, the way that Jesus did it.
Jesus is The LORD’s demonstration of how a god walks the earth properly. Jesus did not stumble around blindly, leaving a trail of broken people behind him. Jesus followed the trail of broken people left by the little gods. His eyes were open to the pain and suffering of humans, and he was moved by it. When Jesus saw pain, he brought healing. When Jesus saw hunger, he gave bread. And when Jesus saw people who were being crushed by the weight of their sins, he forgave them.
You know, Jesus actually quotes Psalm 82 when the Pharisees accuse him of blasphemy, for claiming to be the son of God. I believe that Jesus is taking his place as a proper role model, showing what it means to walk the earth in peace.
Don’t forget what Jesus said from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” We don’t realize that we are creating and maintaining these little gods. Little gods that can, and do, crush us.
Our Choices
The little gods are doomed. The LORD will surely prevail. In the meantime, we are caught in the middle, between the chaos that we have created, and a savior that we don’t deserve. We do have a choice, though: to side with The LORD, or to embrace the little gods that we have created.
My family has tried to live without worshiping this little god, money. It is hard. It has caused us problems. It is causing us problems now.
As a society, we rarely stop to ask some very important questions: Why is money more important than happiness, health, and safety? Why does our society believe that money is more important? Why do so many people agree to push our children so hard to get into the best schools, so that they can get the best jobs, so that they can have the best lives; even though most people agree that justice and mercy, kindness and humility, are worth more than money?
Standing with The LORD in opposition to the little gods will cost you. It may cost you friends, money, or reputation. Just remember that The LORD has already declared victory over the little gods.
Conclusion
At first glance, Psalm 82 looks like nothing more than an irrelevant, old, mythical play. It is old, and it is mythical, but it is anything but irrelevant to us today. It gives us the language and framework to better understand the struggle for the world that we are living in.
You may have noticed that Psalm 82 is written in the present tense, as though the action were happening right now. Right now as in when the Psalmist wrote it, but also right now as in July of 2024! The kingdom of Heaven is at hand! The psalmist saw it and proclaimed it, and we also see it and proclaim it!
The little gods of ancient Israel are not that different from our little gods today. We make, give power, and bow down to these little gods by agreeing together that we will not examine them too closely. We all get behind Aaron and his story about the golden calf walking out of the fire on its own. We collectively buy into the lie that the way things are is just the way they have to be.
The little gods will not prevail, because Our God, The LORD, the great I AM, has told us that they will fall. The question for you is, will you cling to the little gods as they are being destroyed? Or will you live as though they were already gone?
Prayer
Lord, the victory is yours. We can neither help you nor stop you. Give us the wisdom and strength to turn away from the little gods. Open our eyes to see the beauty in you. Open our hearts to feel the pleasure of your love. Open our hands to share your love with those around us. Amen.
