November 17, 2024
Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus
“Come in, she said, I'll give you, shelter from the storm”
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch
November 17,2024 Based on Psalm 16
Let me tell you about a small village in southern France called Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, nestled high on a plateau. It’s an unassuming place, surrounded by quiet fields and forests. But during some of the darkest days of the 20th century, this village began to be known as something special, a refuge.
During World War II, while much of Europe was dominated by fear of Nazi rule and military expansion into France, the people of Le Chambon did something extraordinary: they opened their homes and their hearts to strangers.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Jewish refugees—most of them children—found shelter there. The villagers hid them in their private homes, out in farms and in public institutions, they fed and cared for them, and even helped them cross the border into neutral Switzerland. When a Nazi patrol would come they would hide people in the surrounding forested mountainside. When it was safe the villagers would walk out into the forest singing, as a call that it was safe to return.
The village served as a refuge for so many people and by doing so risked their lives, not for fame or recognition, but simply because they believed it was the right thing to do. What’s more remarkable is that this wasn’t an isolated act of heroism. This little village has a long history of providing refuge to those in need. It’s part of who they are.
From the religious wars of the Reformation to the chaos of the French Revolution and the Spanish Civil War, the people of Le Chambon seemed to instinctively understand what it means to be a haven, and even today, as refugees from Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East arrive on their doorstep, the people of Le Chambon continue to embody that same spirit of radical hospitality. They welcome the stranger not as an outsider but as a fellow human being. They sit with their pain, share their food, and knit clothes for their children.
This is what I picture when the psalmist cries out “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.”
A person doesn’t seek refuge from minor trouble; this is a cry for help, for shelter in the midst of something terrifying, overwhelming.
We know that feeling, don’t we? especially over this last week, as the world around us feels unstable, chaotic, and stormy. Right now, so much of what is happening or is to come over the next four years is uncertain and scary. When the world around us feels so unmoored, it’s natural to look around and ask, “Where is our refuge?”
Yesterday, just a few blocks down High Street from the church in the short north, a group of neo-nazi’s marched with flags proudly bearing swastikas. They were shouting racist and antisemitic rhetoric and trying to incite people to fight them.
As the people walking the streets of the Short North saw this, many ducked into businesses to hide, several businesses locked their doors to keep them out. In the face of threat and terror, people looked for safety, they were looking for a refuge, and thank God they found it.
But still its terrifying, that it in the wake of the election, the ugliest, meanest, most hate-filled side of people have been and will continue to be emboldened.
Psalm 16 speaks directly into these moments. In times of struggle, generations of believers have turned to God, and turned to faith, and found an anchor, a shelter, to weather the storm. These are words from the faithful who lived long before us, in times every bit as painful, uncertain, and fearful as ours, and found a reminder that they are not alone, that God longs to bring people to comfort and safety. The psalmist begins with a plea for refuge, and through the poem we see the psalmist realize that God is a refuge. Slowly they find comfort, assurance, and protection in the arms of God, until finally they can proclaim “I shall not be moved.”
While I think this psalm is referring to our faith as emotional and spiritual safety and refuge, I think it also inspires for me, the idea that our faith and our faithful communities can serve as a real safety and refuge for people. At least that was the call for the town Le Chambon in World War II. The origin of the village’s response to welcome Jewish refugees was in the church. The protestant clergy and the church members were responsible for organizing the village’s efforts.
Inspired in no small part by Jesus’ words carved into the stone on the village church: “Aimez-vous les uns les autres:” Love one another. This was their call, and it’s our call too. To know that no matter what our strength, our comfort, our protection, and our assurance, come from God. To know who our refuge is, but then to extend that refuge in real ways to others. To be a community of protection and hope for people to weather this storm.
As I was thinking through the scripture this week, I was reminded of something I learned at some point about church architecture. While it’s not our church’s architecture, there are many churches designed like this one, the chapel at Louisville seminary, designed to look like Noah’s ark flipped upside down. The ark was a symbol in the bible of protection, and refuge in the midst of a storm of destruction and chaos. The metaphor for us is obvious. What if we see this place as an ark for the world, as a refuge, as a center for protection, as a community of respite and safety amid the chaos of the outside world.
How do we live in this world that feels so unsteady, stormy and chaotic? We come to God. We gather. We pray. We keep showing up for one another. We keep showing up for our neighbors. We do the work God has called us to do in this place and time, even if it feels like the storm is raging on. We take refuge in God, and we provide refuge for others—not because it will make all our worries disappear, but because it roots us in something lasting, something stronger than fear.
This is what it means to be people of faith: to choose hope, to act with compassion, and to hold onto love when others might turn to anger or despair. It means refusing to let our lives be defined by what the world might take away from us and instead trusting that God will always be enough, that God’s vision of goodness, justice, and wholeness will keep leading us forward.
May we be encouraged by the stories of those who walked this road before us, those who found refuge in God and kept going, hand in hand, trusting in the God who walks beside us. And may we, as a community of refuge, rooted in our faith, strengthened by our God be able to proclaim as the psalmist does, that we shall not be moved.
May it be so, Amen.
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE “Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning” Ebeneezer Beesley
arr. Anne Britt
INTROIT "In God Alone" Jacques Berthier
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
One: This is the day that the Lord has made
All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come, let us seek refuge in the One who is our strength and shelter.
People: We turn to God, our hope and our foundation.
Leader: When the world feels unsteady, God is our rock.
People: In God's presence, we find peace and comfort.
Leader: Come, let us worship the One who leads us in love.
People: We gather to place our trust in God, our guide and our joy.
*HYMN 834 “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” PRECIOUS LORD
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION Robin Murray
We have placed our trust in earthly powers instead of in you. We have allowed anger and despair to cloud our vision of your goodness. We have turned away from our neighbors and looked inward, rather than extending compassion and care. Forgive us, O God. Strengthen our hearts, that we may cling to hope, rooted in your presence and guided by your love. Help us to walk forward in faith, trusting in your promise to be our refuge, today and always. Amen.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PRAISE 694 “Great God of Every Blessing” vs. 1 AURELIA
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM “When In Our Music God Is Glorified” arr. Harriet Ziegenhals
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE Psalm 16 - NRSVUE
“Protect me, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord,
“You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the holy ones in the land,
they are the noble ones
in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god
multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless the Lord, who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad,
and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word
Thanks be to God
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Jeremy Carroll
SERMON Rev. Trip Porch
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
*HYMN 610 “O for a Thousand Tongues” AZMON
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
TIME OF OFFERING online giving is available at www. indianolapres.org/give
On Sunday's where our music includes uncredited African American Spirituals a special free will offering is taken up to support the Columbus Cultural Orchestra, a group whose work empowers, educates, and equips black musicians in our community.
OFFERTORY “Prayer of Refuge” James Michael Stevens
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE 693 “Though I May Speak” vs. 2 GIFT OF LOVE
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Gracious God, we offer these gifts as an expression of our trust in you. Use them to create places of refuge, hope, and renewal. May our lives reflect your love, that all may know the shelter of your grace. Amen.
*HYMN INSERT “I Shall Not Be Moved” I SHALL NOT BE MOVED
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE & BENEDICTION
BENEDICTION RESPONSE "God Be with You Till We Meet Again" William G. Tomer
POSTLUDE “A Shelter in a Time of Storm” Ira D. Sankey
arr. Bill Westin
Acknowledgments:Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452