Series: July 2026
Speaker: Bethany Nelson
Today's Sermon
“Wisdom for Ordinary Time: All In"
Psalm 145:8-21 - The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and God’s compassion is over all that God has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all God’s words and gracious in all God’s deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all God’s ways and kind in all God’s doings. The Lord is near to all who call on God, to all who call on God in truth. God fulfills the desire of all who fear God; God also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love God, but all the wicked God will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless God’s holy name forever and ever.
When I got home from work a couple weeks ago, my son and some of his friends were sitting around our dining room table playing poker. At least, that is what it looked like at first. After listening in for a bit, I realized that it was actually a teaching moment, with a couple of the friends who were experienced showing the others how to play. At one point, there was a prolonged discussion about going “all in.” That is when a player decides to bet all of their chips. When you go all in, you are either going to win big or lose it all. They were discussing the pros and cons of going all in. When does it make sense? When is it a dumb idea? Were they brave (or crazy) enough to take that sort of risk or were they going to play it safe?
I was reminded of this poker moment as I read Psalm 145 this past week, because this Psalm is about God going all in on us. God does not hold back. God gives all of God’s love to all of God’s people all the time. “The Lord is good to ALL. God’s compassion is over ALL God has made. God is faithful in ALL God’s words and gracious in ALL God’s deeds.” I could go on, but I think you get the point. The word “all” is used over a dozen times in this Psalm. God loves all. We heard this message in an ancient Psalm, now let’s hear it again in a modern-day Psalm.
God Loves Everyone by Leon Bridges
God loves the birds and the bees
God loves the stoners and freaks
And the girls on the street
Just the same as you and me
Old men and the young and the strange
School kid looking out at the rain
Cops on the beat and the crooks in the cage
Just the same
God loves everyone
Everybody under the sun
God loves everyone
Just the same, just the same
God sees all the folks on their own
God knows what it's like to be cold
And the winners and losers and player and fool
For the game
God loves everyone. I wonder, does God consider this a risk, like going all in on a poker hand? Does it make sense for God to go all in on humanity, or is that sometimes a dumb idea? There certainly are many times when we humans disappoint God. Especially when someone chooses not to love and does evil instead – we hear that referenced at the very end of the Psalm. God does set up some boundaries with God’s all in love when necessary, which is a good model for us as well. However, even knowing that some won’t return God’s love, God just keeps loving. God keeps showing up for us.
Presbyterian pastor Tom Are recalls the following story from his childhood. “One afternoon during my high school years, I was driving home from my part-time job selling shoes at a local mall. It was spitting rain, as it had all day. The way home required a ten-minute trip on the interstate. As quickly as these things always happen, two cars in front of me collided, resulting in a collection of swerving and braking, and a few horns honking. I ended up number three in a four-car pileup that brought the interstate to a halt. No one was hurt, at least not physically. Soon we were surrounded by flashing blue lights and officers with notepads.
These were the days before cell phones, so I asked a police officer if I could walk down the exit ramp to a gas station and call my mother. I walked to the gas station and put a dime in the pay phone. She answered.
‘Mom,” I said. That is all I said. I do not know how moms can tell, but with no more than one word, they can tell that trouble has come. She said, ‘Tell me where you are; I will be right there.’ I do not know what I expected her to say. Perhaps she would tell me to be more careful. Perhaps she would remind me of what was going to happen to my auto insurance. Perhaps she would rehearse how the weather conditions meant that I should have been driving more carefully. But it was not time for those conversations. She simply said, ‘Tell me where you are; I will be right there.’”[i]
That is the gift of this Psalm. God promising us, over and over again, “Tell me where you are; I will be right there.” If you are falling; if you are bowed down says the Psalmist, “Tell me where you are; I will be right there.” God is near to all who call and hears their cry. “Tell me where you are; I will be right there.”
This is good news. Thanks be to God.
And, that is not the end of the story. We are in the midst of a worship series titled, “Wisdom for Ordinary Time.” The wisdom of this Psalm is two-fold. It is a beautiful reminder of God’s great love for us. It is also a primer on how we should love others. We are called to love as God loves. We are called to show the same qualities of compassion, and justice, and kindness that are celebrated in this Psalm.
I am aware that yesterday was the 4th of July. This was an extra special 4th of July, as it was the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Something else happened on that day – July 4, 1776. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin were appointed to create a seal for the United States of America. Many of their ideas ended up not being incorporated into the final design, but one of their proposals did make it onto the seal … their suggested motto of, “E Pluribus Unum.” Out of many, one.
As I celebrated the important holiday yesterday, I reflected on that motto, as well as on the words that end the Pledge of Allegiance – liberty and justice for all. As I sat with those words, I couldn’t help but be a little sad. Right now, we are far from being “one” as a nation. Right now, there is not liberty and justice for all. Yes, there is still much to celebrate about our country, but there is also much work to do.
In his book, “Love is the Way,” retired Episcopal bishop Michael Curry has a chapter titled, “The Real E Pluribus Unum.” In it, he makes the case for the church to lead the way in bringing unity and “oneness” to our nation. And we do so by living with that love we hear so beautifully described in Psalm 145. Curry writes, “It is time to move past our differences and step together into hope. Together is the only way to face the challenges ahead. We need to find a way to unum (one) even when we know that we the people are beautifully, confoundingly pluribus (many). We need to leave behind contempt – the belief that the person who disagrees with you isn’t just wrong, but worthless.”
Curry continues, “One night I found myself sitting next to the archbishop of Canterbury taking questions from journalists. One reporter said, ‘We know that the two of you disagree on important issues. So how is it that you are sitting here together, and will be together tomorrow?’ We both gave very similar answers. I said something like, ‘This is my brother, we follow Jesus, who teaches us the way of love, not the way of agreement. That love dominates our relationship, not our agreements or disagreements.’ When Jesus talked about love, he was talking about a commitment and a way of life.”
Jesus was “all in” on love. So what does that look like for us in the year 2026? What does it look like on this July 4th weekend as we consider how we live into the E Pluribus Unum motto? Bishop Curry suggests, “It means participation in the life of our government and society. Through caring for others. Through working for policies and laws that reflect Jesus’ call to love your neighbor. Through fashioning a civic order that reflects goodness, justice, and compassion, and the very heart and dream of God for all of God’s children and God’s creation. To love, my brothers and sisters, does not mean we have to agree. But maybe agreeing to love is the greatest agreement. And the only one that ultimately matters, because it makes a future possible.” [ii]
The song we heard earlier lifted up examples of all kinds of people that God loves. The stoners and freaks and girls on the street. Old men and the young and the strange. Cops on the beat and the crooks in the cage. The winners and losers and player and fool. God is all in with God’s love for all people. In order for each of us to also be all in, I challenge you to consider who is difficult for you to love right now. And how might you show love to them? Maybe someone mentioned in that song? Maybe a family member? An elected official? The annoying neighbor down the street? Who are you going to show up for this week? Who will hear from you, “Tell me where you are; I will be right there.” Is all in love difficult? Yes. Risky? Yes? Would we rather play it safe? At least some of the time. But unlike in poker, in our lives, the right choice – always - is to go all in with love.
God loves us. Oh, how God loves us. Let us rejoice! And then let us put that love into action. Amen.
[i] Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 3, pp. 275-276.
[ii] Love is the Way, by Bishop Michael Curry, pp. 187-206.