A Mighty Fortress
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Imagine trying to lift a great weight all by yourself. Then consider how much more easily that weight can be lifted with the help of many.
"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."
- Helen Keller
"Many hands make light work."
- John Heywood
Psalm 46:1-5
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall…
Food for Thought
Music is a powerful thing. A song can transport me right back to wherever I was when first I heard it – busting out some goofy dance moves in the back of a fifteen-passenger van with my youth group, or scurrying down the tan carpet of my grandparents’ church to make it to the front before the Children’s Sermon started. Certain songs can provide us with comfort, a smile, a laugh, or even a hard memory.
The book of Psalms is full of songs, each with its own rhythm, parallelism, and imagery, specifically chosen by the author to convey a particular message.
Psalm 46 is a song that was written to provide comfort to the city of Jerusalem. The authors, the sons of Korah, asked God to be a source of strength, safety, and refuge for their city that had witnessed destruction. Maybe this psalm was on the playlist that the people of Jerusalem chose to listen to when they couldn’t sleep at night or were having a bad day, or needed to be reminded of and comforted by God as their stronghold.
The psalmist describes God as a protector and an anchor, a source of safety against the rage and randomness of nature. “Though the earth gives way, the mountains fall into the sea, the waters roar and foam, and the mountains quake with their surging, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is within her, she will not fall.”
In 1529, Martin Luther wrote the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, inspired by Psalm 46. In the second verse of the song is the line, “did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.” We are reminded here that our own strength, our individual strength, is severely limited. I don’t think Martin Luther is discounting human agency. He’s not saying we have no control over our actions. Rather, we should not be naive enough to think that our own strength can carry us through the hardest of times. Rather it is the strength of God we find in community that carries us through. God is within her – God is within her, the community – she will not fall.
The sons of Korah knew all too well the consequences of relying on one’s own strength and self-importance. Dissatisfied with his position in the community, and hungry for notoriety and prestige, their father lost his life in an attempted revolt – all in a quest to gain power for himself at the expense of the community’s well-being. Korah’s pride ultimately led to his downfall.
The sons of Korah experienced the personal and communal consequences of that – they lost their father, and the city lost the presence and contribution of a key member. Their witness came through in song.
How often do we allow our pride to tell us, “that task is beneath us”? How often do we allow our own pride to get in the way of us seeing the blessings that are already at hand? Too often we can allow our own desires to get in the way of seeing the greater picture of what God is orchestrating all around us. Community is made possible by the presence of each of us, and we each make the difference that only we can make.
When we stand together, there is no measure to what we can accomplish. But it is a choice. Each of us must choose whether we will live for ourselves or live for our community. Will we build up, or will we tear down? Will we continue creating divides, or will we bridge and mend them? Will we confide only in our own strength, or will we, with our community, lean on the mighty fortress that is our God?
God is within her – the city, the community – God’s presence and strength are in that place. Not the singular, but the plural; not the individual, but the community; not the solitary, but the collective. “God is within her. She will not fall.”
We are all a part of the community of God – no task is too small or too big for us to accomplish if we work together. Think of one task you can do today, right where you are, that can contribute to the betterment of your community.
The goal of this series is to take small steps toward inviting others into deeper community with you. One way might be inviting others to join in for a little Table Talk. Here is a printable version of today's Table Talk, A Mighty Fortress, that we hope you will use in whatever way is helpful in your journey!
Blessing
God of Community
Your love lives within each of us.
Help us to see that we are stronger together.
Together we embody your strength and love,
and when bound together by your love, we will not fall.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Discuss together the concept of pride. What immediately comes to mind when you think of pride – do you view it positively or negatively?
Have you ever allowed your pride to get in the way of enjoying the blessings that are around you? Share one thing you missed out on. How might you change your response in the future?
Together, make a list of small ways you can make a difference within your community. Maybe be accountability buddies and tackle a few of those tasks together this week.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Talk with your kiddos about what it means to have pride. Explain that pride isn’t bad, but when we allow it to get in the way of being kind, it can be hurtful to others.
Make a list of small ways we can each make a difference within our community (picking up a piece of litter, holding the door for someone, painting a pretty picture for a communal space).
Have them draw a picture of what community looks like to them – allow them to use their imagination and see what happens.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Blair Ramsey earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Religious Studies and her Masters of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Mathematics Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a student-athlete on the Cross Country and Track and Field teams. Currently a high school math teacher at Durham School of the Arts, she loves that in one day she can debate the hottest musical on Broadway and talk ACC basketball with her students, particularly savoring the sweet, sweet victory of March 5, 2022. She loves hanging out with her friends, running all local trails, and losing track of time in Reconsidered Goods.
To hear more from Blair throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
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