The Gospel According to Jimmy Buffett, Psalm 105, 9/10/23
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-37
Rev. Dr. Rhonda Blevins
September 10, 2023
O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name; make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
~~~~
When he summoned famine against the land and cut off every supply of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;
until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord kept testing him.
The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions,
to instruct his officials at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.
Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.
He sent his servant Moses and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They performed his signs among them and miracles in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words.
He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to die.
Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies and gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain and lightning that flashed through their land.
He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number;
they devoured all the vegetation in their land and ate up the fruit of their ground.
He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength.
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
______
Any “Parrotheads” out there?
Up until last Saturday, when I learned of the passing of Jimmy Buffett, I might not have said I was a “Parrothead.” Don’t get me wrong, I like Jimmy Buffett’s music, but I’ve never been to a concert, never bought an album, and this past July was the first time I’d ever been to a Margaritaville.
But when I learned of Jimmy’s passing, I was sad. One of those, “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone” kind of things I suppose. Jimmy’s music represents that tropical, care-free, relaxed, beachy spirit so many people love, especially here in Florida.
Since Saturday’s news, I have been listening to Jimmy’s music nonstop. Does that make me a “Parrothead?” So many lyrics are forever in my head. Let’s see if the same lyrics are in your head as well. I’ll sing a line, and you sing the next one . . .
· “Come Monday” (“it’ll be alright”)
· “Fins to the left” (“fins to the right”)
· “Some people claim that there’s a” (“woman to blame”)
· “Changes in latitude” (“changes in attitude”)
· “Cheeseburger in” (“paradise”)
· “Mother, mother ocean” (“I have heard your call”)
· “If we couldn’t laugh” (“we would all go insane”)
· “Yes I am a pirate” (“two hundred years too late”)
· “Searching for my” (“lost shaker of salt”)
“Why don’t we . . .” keep some of Jimmy’s songs in the bar where they belong, shall we?
If you’re more accustomed to hearing Jimmy’s songs in the bar than you are in the church, you might be wondering, “what possible connection is there to Jimmy’s songs and the life of faith?”
I’m glad you asked!
While most of Jimmy’s music is about that care-free, sun-loving, laid-back beach lifestyle, there are a few songs that have some real depth to them. And in my Jimmy Buffett marathon since last Saturday, I heard one of his songs I’ve never heard before.
The title of the song is “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.” Jimmy said of the song, “That’s the way you get through anything in life—breathe in, breathe out, move on.”[1] And you know what? I think he’s absolutely right.
He co-wrote that song for a benefit concert to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Here are some of the lyrics:
And it rained, it was nothing really new
And it blew, we've seen all that before
And it poured, the Earth began to strain
Pontchartrain leaking through the door, tides at war
If a hurricane doesn't leave you dead
It will make you strong
Don’t try to explain it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on.
Those lyrics might be prescient to some of you dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia last week.
“Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” Hold that thought for a moment, while we get into our scripture lesson for today, Psalm 105. You might think this is a departure from our summer walk through Genesis and now into Exodus, but not so fast! What the author of Psalm 105 is doing is summarizing events from Genesis and Exodus, and God’s faithfulness to the Hebrew people throughout their history. So instead of reading six chapters of Exodus to you, I decided to read the “Cliff’s Notes” version—a summary of the events described from Exodus 7-12.
Now, last week we heard about Moses being called by God to deliver Israel from the “ooze” that was slavery in Egypt. We talked about the impossibility of that task—evacuating over 2.4 million people (roughly the population of Chicago) and their livestock from an armed and hostile nation. And yet, that was exactly what God called Moses to do. God’s only promise to Moses? “I will be with you.”
God then tells Moses to go to Egypt and lead the enslaved Hebrews to ask Pharoah to let them go three days into the wilderness to celebrate a festival and to make sacrifice to their God. God knows that Pharoah will not let them go, so he says to Moses:
“I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders
that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go.” (Exodus 3:20)
So Moses went to Egypt and did exactly as God commanded. He led the Hebrew people to ask Pharoah to let them go three days into the wilderness to worship, to which Pharoah said, “Uh, no,” (my paraphrase) just as God said would happen.
You know how Pharoah rewarded the Hebrews for this bold request? He ramped up the abuse. Made their work exponentially more grueling. Made the beatings more frequent and severe.
And you know who the Hebrew people blamed for their misery? Moses.
Let’s pause here and try to put ourselves in Moses’ shoes. God has given him a calling, and he is doing exactly what God has called him to do. And yet, it isn’t going so well. In fact, it’s going miserably. The people say to Moses and his brother, Aaron:
“The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh
and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Exodus 5:21)
Poor Moses. Have you ever felt like Moses must have felt in this situation? That you were right where God wanted you, and yet things weren’t going so well? Maybe it was even a complete and utter disaster? How did you get through it? And what would be your advice to someone else in a similar situation?
Perhaps more importantly, WWJD? (What would Jimmy do?)
“Breathe in, breathe out, move on.”
Sometimes that’s all we can do, breathe in, breathe out, move on. And you remember from last week that the name of God that God revealed to Moses, YHWH, can’t really be spoken at all, only breathed. So when all else fails, and all you can do is breathe in and breathe out . . . all you can do is . . . “God in, God out, move on.”
Well, God didn’t leave Moses in that terrible position, with Pharoah refusing to let the people go and the people blaming Moses for the ramped-up abuse. Enter: the 10 plagues of Egypt.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the first plague upon the Egyptians, turning the river Nile into blood.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the second plague upon the Egyptians, a plague of frogs upon the Egyptians.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the third plague, turning dust into gnats across Egypt.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the fourth plague upon the Egyptians, flies to destroy the land.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the fifth plague, a disease among the livestock, killing off all the Egyptians’ livestock but sparing the Hebrews’.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the sixth plague upon the Egyptians, boils! Festering boils on animals and humans alike.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the seventh plague, hail that destroyed plants, animals, and humans.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the eighth plague . . . locusts! So many locusts that they covered the earth and the land was black.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the ninth plague of darkness that covered the land for three days.
· God told Moses to say to Pharoah, “Let my people go!” So Moses did as God commanded. How did that work out? Pharoah said, “No.” Relax Moses: “Breathe in, breathe out, move on.” God sent the tenth and final plague upon the Egyptians, the death of the firstborn.
You know what happened next? The people said to Pharoah, “Let those people go!” And so he did.
(And we just summarized six chapters of Exodus!)
Think once again about Moses, and how he must have felt throughout that long, arduous ordeal. Refused by Pharoah eleven times (by my count). Blamed and judged by the very people he was called to lead. He must have felt like a complete and utter failure at multiple points along the way.
If you ever feel that way, that you just can’t get a win no matter how convinced you are of your calling or that you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, remember these words from Mother Teresa:
“God does not require that we be successful, only that we be faithful.”
There’s another story in the Bible—a story that looked like anything but success. They hung Jesus of Nazareth on a Roman cross. They executed him. That seems like anything but success. But we know the rest of the story. What looked like failure to the world was the very mechanism God used to save the world from the power of death.
So remember, beloveds, when it seems like you just can’t get a win:
“God does not require that we be successful, only that we be faithful.”
Or if Jimmy Buffett is more your cup of tea:
“Breathe in, breathe out, move on.”
[1] https://buffettworld.com/2018/02/01/breathe-in-breathe-out-move-on-single-from-hurricane-relief-show/