Episode 14: Under The Sea
Greetings Earthlings! For the next three episodes, we’re going to be dancing in the Psalms. I love psalms because it’s like that old iPhone commercial. “There’s an app for that.” Except, there’s a psalm for that. You wanna praise god? Got you. You wanna cuss out your leaders? Got you. You wanna sing to Dory and Nemo? Got you. You want to be in awe of the stars and planets? BOOM.
I love the psalms because there are so many human expressions present there. And they’re not all squeaky clean. If I’m being generous, psalms are a mirror. They reflect the human condition. They sometimes talk about our aspirational values, but more often, they describe what real people feel about real conditions. I think this is worthwhile.
What I love most about the Psalms is that, most of the time, they reflect a communal experience. Sometimes you get a sense of where the psalmist might be at that moment, but for the most part, it is designed to respond to a collective experience.
My strongest conviction about Biblical texts is that it's up to us to make the lesson out of them. You can read a story about King Nebuchadnezzar demanding everyone to bow down to him, or Jesus calling a woman out of her name and say, “WE SHOULD DO THIS!” or you can say, “maybe the lesson is, don’t behave like this.” I think bible stories are instructive for that reason; they show us an example of something and then, in community, we discern “how would we replicate, change, or reject this idea given our unique place in the world?”
I think that’s what church is supposed to be for. A lot of people think it’s for status. Yikes.
Chopping Board
I am one Earthling among many.
There are Earthlings that lived before me, and Earthlings that will live after me.
Even if I tried my hardest, I cannot disconnect myself from being intimately connected to other Earthlings. We share air, water, land, and sometimes dreams.
God has room for every living thing, even when the markets do not.
Fish Sandwich
Today’s text comes from Psalm 148:5-13 in the NRSV
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 The Lord established them forever and ever;
fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling The Lord’s command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for The Lord’s name alone is exalted;
whose glory is above earth and heaven.
Under The Sea
You may recognize this title from the classic 1989 film, The Little Mermaid. Sebastian the Crab, played by the late Samuel E. Wright, tries to convince Ariel that there’s no reason for her to go above land. Given that Samuel Wright is the only Black person in the main cast, I really do see his song a little bit differently than what’s on the paper. Comrade Sebastian said, “we don’t need the Human’s Ice! It’s not cooler than ours!” He said, “we will determine who we are! Stay down here with your people, stop tryna kill yourself to assimilate into these Humans’ way of life!”
As a kid, I thought Sebastian was a hater for singing this. Obviously Ariel wanted to travel and experience something magical. But as an adult, I see just how wise Sebastian was. Never again will I sell my voice for ANYBODY. okay?
He had a WARNING.
“Down here all the fish is happy
As off through the waves they roll
The fish on the land ain't happy
They sad 'cause they in their bowl
But fish in the bowl is lucky
They in for a worser fate
One day when the boss get hungry
Guess who's gon' be on the plate?”
The sea is huge.
Some years ago after a summer internship in college, my dad took me to Maine to go whale watching. And what I learned is, if you want to see whales, you gotta wake up before they wake up. Which is before God. You get on this tiny boat, and then you realize just how big whales are, the ocean is, and how tiny you are. And you just pray. I’m glad that my Dad was on that boat with me. In theory, it sounded like a lot of fun, but in real life… Lord Jesus, get me back to Earth!
What I learned is that these animals are highly social creatures. They create their own societies and structures, some that make sense to us, some that don’t.
Whales live underwater, but they are not fish. They do not lay eggs and then move on. They gestate, meaning, they get pregnant. They are mammals, which means they give birth to live young and have to come up for air every so often.
They are more like us than we like to imagine.
In her new Book, undrowned, Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals, Alexis Pauline Gumbs sits exactly with this truth. If you are looking for an Advent devotional, I highly recommend it.
She writes that marine mammals specifically are worth listening to as Black people because they teach us so much about the “vulnerability, collaboration, and adaptation we need in order to be with change at this time… especially since one of the changes we are living through, causing, and shaping in this climate crisis is the rising of the ocean.”
The ocean will teach you a lot if you let it. The first thing that the ocean teaches us is that there’s more room than we can imagine. The psalmist writes about Massive, larger than life oceans. Waters that make you feel small. Waters that make you question life on land.
It’s *mad* whales living underWATER and you mean to tell me there aren’t enough houses for humans in NYC? HOW? When the empty apartments that serve as tax shelters are so numerous that it’s referred to as “the sixth borough,” after Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx? How are there thousands of species of fish under water, and we only think men look like this, women look like that, and that’s all God created?
Excuse me?
We actually have no concept of just how deep the ocean is. We only pretend to know exactly what is in there. Any trustworthy biologist will admit that we only know a FRACTION of the biodiversity under the water. Marine biologists and engineers had to invent diving video cameras to reach places that would otherwise crush human lungs with pressure.
It’s that big! I’m sure there are aliens and dinosaurs down there, way down deep where sunlight does not reach.
The psalmist names all kinds of animals. And they need room to live.
Whales don’t live alone. The writer says, “Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps.” PLURAL
And not just the sea creatures! The writer says, “wild animals, and all cattle, creeping things, and flying birds!” In other words, let the whole animal kingdom come out and praise God! Everybody on the saints at Pride Rock, get Simba and Mufasa and Nala! Call Scooby Doo! Call Nemo and Sebastian and Ariel! Call Blues Clues! Mickey Mouse! Call every living thing that hath breath!
The psalmist invites all these animals to praise, but how? After all, They don’t have church. They don’t have pastors. They don’t have communion.
If I’ve learned anything in these last 19 months, it is that praise can be anywhere.
One of the meanings of the word “praise” is shine. Or to flash forth light. To illuminate. Illumination has nothing to do with lightness or darkness as a binary, but it’s when something becomes obvious to you that was never obvious before, when you have the lightbulb moment.
Nature illuminates the glory of God.
I think about the Black Church Food Security Network, who puts fresh produce in the hands of Black people, farmed by Black folks. That’s illuminating God’s glory.
When you teach Black children that they are loved by God and you’ll always be on their side, that’s praise.
That illuminates the Glory of God.
Psalms are a genre unto themselves. Full of poetry, they rely on hyperbole.
“Until the ocean covers every mountain high. Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea.” Another kind of Psalm. That’s obviously never going to happen, but Stevie Wonder uses exaggeration and hyperbole to express just how much he loves his beloved.
Likewise, The writer of this text is using hyperbole to express the totality of God’s service area. Maybe the porgies aren’t having Fish Church. But what’s true is that God is down in the deep, and God is where the cattle are, where the flying birds are.
God is with me in this office as I’m recording, and God is with you as you’re folding clothes or making dinner listening to this podcast.
God is just that big.
I rejoice when Black people pay off debt and buy homes. But you are not a failure if you can’t do that. God is down in the deep and up in the mountain. God is with you when you are in debt and when you hopefully finally crawl out of it. You are never outside of the service area of God’s love.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for God commanded and they were created.
God established them forever and ever;
God fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
The ocean also teaches us that We are connected through our creator.
We, all of us earthlings, are connected through our Creator. We’ve watched parts of the country and the globe get weather we never get. Tornadoes in NYC? Summers are getting more intense, with hotter days on record every year than the ones before. Glaciers are melting. Entire species are either in danger of extinction. All of us can do our part to support a healthier planet. We can take shorter showers, we can eat less meat, we can recycle, we can use only the things we need. These are things we should do.
And, We have to put the focus where it ought to be. According to EcoWatch a few years ago, the US Department of Defense produces more hazardous waste than the 5 largest chemical companies combined. Wherever you find military bases across the world, you will also find that jet and rocket fuel contaminates drinking water sources and soil.
How in the world am I supposed to balance out the forces of the largest military in the world? Me and my little cans going to the recycling, against the US Military?
The psalmist has an answer.
“Kings of the earth, and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth.”
As if to say, “hey! I’m talking to you. You are not outside of the audience here!”
This writer tells the rulers, “go and praise God, yall too.”
Which does not mean have prayer breakfasts and be at the National Cathedral and perform praise. I don’t want no shallow praise!
What does praise look like when you have power? What does illuminating god’s glory look like, when you are the one voting on defense budgets?
Well, I don’t really know how much you can praise God when that’s the job that you in.
Praise looks like approving more stimulus checks so more people can be unburdened. I don’t know how we got to the part of the movie where we are only pushing vaccinations alone. What helps people is stimulus checks. I love a vaccination, give me that health juice. Juice me up! And! Give me my stimmy, y’all got all kinds of money to do all kinds of stuff. Where is my money? Why am I paying y’all in a pandemic?
Cancel the debt, not just holding off on interest rates. You’re not getting that money back, I’m sorry to tell you.
Stop kicking families out of homes.
Let’s invest in healthy futures.
This is how we illuminate God's glory.
Imagine what kind of communities we could have if we had what we needed. We ain’t asking for a handout nor revenge. Just what we owed.
What kind of Glory could we have, if we all realized that we are connected through our creator?
Isaiah says it like this:
God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
When you realize you are connected to others, your visions are bigger than just “I, Me, and Mine.”
Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord. If The sea monsters can praise, why not the rest of us.
God is delighted when all kinds of people can get together to worship. If we can agree that the stars, and the whales, and the cattle, and the birds should praise God, then what stops the rest of us? In other words, why do we create such boundaries in churches for people?
Everybody is welcome! But only the able bodied people will have a good time and everyone else will be spending time tryna figure out how to get into the building.
Everybody is welcome! But we don’t recognize all families during baby dedications.
Everybody is welcome! Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all have one friend who would love to come to church with us, but they’ve been bruised by double minded Christians.
The writer says “men and women alike” as a reminder that God isn’t just the God of some of us. There are people beyond male and female, beyond man and woman, beyond the binaries of the boxes that white supremacy has imposed on us. And we thank God for divine creativity in making us all bigger than the English language can even attempt describe.
In the same way, the writer also says, “old and young together.” And we know there’s more than just old and young. We often put people into categories, “this is for young people” “This is for elders,” but depending on where you are, your category might change.
Some weeks ago I was in a conversation with college students. In the flyer, they described me as a queer elder. Because I’m thirty. Now, that makes sense, because the students I talked to were late teens and early twenties. Sure, I’m an elder in relation to you.
But then let the room shift, and say, become an NAACP meeting or a prayer breakfast, and quickly, I’m not so much of an elder anymore.
The psalmist puts the old and the young and everyone together on the same status. Men and women and everyone together.
Before you get ready to tell a younger person off about something, before you get ready to write off something an elder says, remember that word that the psalmist uses. “Alike.”
Find out what you have ALIKE. Ask their name. Ask them what kind of music they’re into, chances are, their favorite artist likely samples yours. This is worship. This is praise. The days are coming when we will need each other’s wisdom. Our collective wisdom will spare us, but if we’re so busy writing people off just because of age, and gender, and class, and ability, and sexuality, we’ll miss the message.
God is delighted when we bend the world so that everyone can participate in the project of praise. God is delighted when we build institutions and movements and churches that make room for everyone interested in liberation.
But back to the whales.
Maybe the whales know that they are massive creatures in a massive sea.
Maybe they understand that they are connected through their creator.
But they definitely understand that we have to move around to reach optimal conditions for community survival.
You see, scientists have observed certain species of whales in their sleeping patterns. They don't sleep like you or me. Rather than floating around laying on their bellies, they sleep vertically, in their pods of five or six. Close to the surface of the water where they can catch a gulp of air if necessary, they intentionally sleep in pods like this to avoid predators, to maintain social contact, to manage their breathing.
If we are going to survive, we’re gonna have to find ways to organize ourselves, our bodies, our societies, such that we avoid predators and protect our vulnerable. We’re going to have to maintain social contact. And more important than ever, we’re going to have to manage our breathing and our connection to the breath of God.
Can you imagine, just how big the ocean is, if whales can cluster in groups for a nap? Can you imagine, just how creative we can be, if whales have learned to organize their bodies for survival of the community?
Do you think God would stop HERE? DO you think God would make room for whales and not you?
God delights when we make room. When we resist the myth of scarcity. When we make room for all kinds of people to participate in the project of praise. When we learn from elders who have added to the freedom map blueprint, that’s delightful. When we learn from younger people who have a new set of circumstances that shape their perspective and skill set. When we hold the kings and rulers and princes and presidents and cabinets and senators and congresspeople and influencers and celebrities to account and ask them, “Aht aht! How does what YOU are doing praise God? How does this budget glorify God?”
On this day, God wants you to praise. Not because God requires Her ego to be stroked, not because God will withhold a blessing until you compliment Her, not because praise is a transaction that God keeps a record of in Her ledger book. But because when we Praise God, we build muscle memory that teaches us to build the world we so desperately need. Coming together, honoring the Earth, honoring our fellow human and Earthling, refusing to let powers and principalities get away with playing in our faces.
This is what we need to do to survive. And what a beautiful gift it is, that God gives us practice right here in worship. We get to learn how to love each other… here.
Had I a thousand tongues to sing,
The half could ne’er be told
Of love so rich, so full and free,
Of blessings manifold;
Of grace that faileth never,
Peace flowing like a river,
From God the glorious Giver—
To God give thanks.
Let all the people praise Thee,
Let all the Creatures praise Thee,
Let all the beings praise Thy name
Forever and forevermore!
Or, maybe you don’t know that hymn.
So let’s go back to Sebastian.
The newt play the flute
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp
The bass play the brass
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul
(Yeah)
The ray he can play
The lings on the strings
The trout rockin' out
The blackfish she sings
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at
And oh that blowfish blow
If you are a blowfish, a Blackfish, a ray or a trout, there’s room for you. You don’t have to be anybody else but you.
May it be so
Amen.
To Go Bag
The next time you leave your house, put your biologist hat on. What kinds of nature do you see? Trees? Grass? Cows? Pigeons? Yes, humans count! How do these beings interact with the world around them? Do they hop from place to place? Sway in the wind? Take turns walking on the outside of the sidewalk? Pay close attention to how living things, either intentionally or informally, make choices about the space they give each other.