Psalm Meditation 1335 ¶Second Sunday After the Epiphany ¶January 18, 2026 ¶Psalm 59 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2059&version=NRSVUE ¶The most useful tool of those in power is fear. Fear can get us to watch for enemies before they enter our communities, and it can get us to see enemies in friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors. If we are being threatened by an actual malicious enemy, the fear can be real and helpful. If we are being distracted from something important by fear-mongering, the fear is a manipulation of our self protective instincts. For whatever reason it is used fear is a very effective tool. ¶If the introduction to this psalm has been attached from the beginning, we can see that all Saul needed to do is make it appear that he is out to kill David for David to be extra vigilant. To David’s credit, he turns to God for deliverance from the threat with which Saul has weighed him down. David is being intimidated by sounds of strength and fury that are deeply upsetting. However, rather than being cowed by the threats David gives the whole situation over to God and lifts his own voice in singing as a sign of his assurance that God is in this situation. ¶The specter of intimidation and violence hangs over each of us at some time in our lives. It may or may not be at the same level as that experienced by David, however we have a great example from him as to how we face it. Rise or fall, live or die we can face all manner of hurts and harms when we rest secure in the presence of the living God. ¶January 12, 2026 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1334 ¶Baptism of the Lord ¶January 11, 2026 ¶Psalm 60 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2055&version=NRSVUE ¶Many of us assume that God is one who controls everything, causes our calamities and comforts, leaving us with little to do but go on as if we have a say in our lives. My theology professor asked us as class began, ‘How do you parents know when you have lost control of your children?’ No one answered since we had never lost control of our children. (Yeah, right) He answered his question with, ‘You have lost control when you have to reach out to restrain your child. God does not lose control.’ ¶If we bring ourselves to calamity, as in this psalm, God stands with us to support us as we recover from our ill fitting choices. We can say that God caused something to happen, which makes God an adversary, or we can recognize that we have made a foolish choice or two that put us where we are. In the latter case God’s presence is a source of comfort and strength to help us navigate the effects of our choices and get things back to a new normal. In the best of all worlds, that new normal includes a closer relationship with God. ¶There is some comfort in believing that everything that happens for good or ill is directly caused by God. We are not finally responsible for anything that goes on around us. I would rather see God as one who chooses to be present with us, sending us people who will teach us and lead us in ways that lead to a closer relationship with God. The presence of God acts as a comfort and blessing to us in every time and place rather than as a source of foreboding as we await the next punishment for our sin. ¶January 5, 2026 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1333 ¶Second Sunday After Christmas ¶January 4, 2026 ¶Psalm 55 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2055&version=NRSVUE ¶Grudges have a way of doing more damage to those holding them than to those who are the objects of those grudges. If the other did the damage intentionally, they are happy to see us burdened by our anger against them and will twist that knife at every opportunity. If the other did the damage with the best intentions, they may notice the barrier between us and them without knowing the source of it. Either way, we are the ones carrying the burden while they go on their merry way. ¶The psalmist determines that the best course of action is to call upon God to find and destroy those frenemies because of their evil actions. Anger is easy when their actions involve getting at us through a friend or loved one, or going for the friend or loved one with no regard for our relationship with them. The anger is real and justifiable. Calling on God to destroy a person or group is understandable in the heat of the moment. However, actually expecting God to carry out our desires goes against the ways of God. ¶God loves each one of us, because it is the nature of God to love, rather than because we have earned it or deserve it. While we may rail at God to wipe out everyone who has ever wronged us, it is more in line with the ways of God to have God lead us to forgive those who have wronged us and our friends and loved ones. That certainly does not mean that we will be best buds again any time soon, it means that we wish them the best going forward with the hope and prayer that their future does not include us. ¶December 29, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1332 ¶First Sunday After Christmas ¶December 28, 2025 ¶Psalm 49 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2049&version=NRSVUE ¶It is pretty common to wish that we could be rich. Some even say that being rich would not change them. I have come to believe that this is true of each of us. Money does not have the power to make us different, it accents who we are. People who are selfish use their money for themselves, those who are wasteful will waste a lot of money as quickly as they wasted a little, people who are generous will be as generous with a lot as they are with a little, and bullies will bully people with their money. Some will be a bit more lavish in their types of spending, and some will take John Wesley’s advice, “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” ¶The psalmist tells us that money doesn’t change things for very long, because each of us is going to die. No matter how much a person may have it will do them no good when they are dead. We may have an ostentatious burial place, however that will not make us any more or less alive. “Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life; there is no price one can give to God for it.“ People will be impressed with our riches while we live and may well forget about us soon if all we had to offer was riches without relationships. ¶“Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.” We can live a lavish lifestyle for as long as we live, however, once we die it no longer matters how grand our lives were, what will matter is what kind of relationships we leave behind. Will we be in the hearts and minds of those we leave behind, as well as in the heart and mind of God, or will we be a warning to others that wealth will only buy things? ¶December 22, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1331 ¶Fourth Sunday of Advent ¶December 21, 2025 ¶Psalm 43 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2043&version=NRSVUE ¶When things go sideways in our lives our first thought can be to decide who is to blame and why it is someone besides me. It is all those other people who are out to get me anyway who caused this particular calamity. I do not deserve to be treated this way and God let me down by not protecting me from this trial. ¶If only God were watching out for me more carefully this would have happened to someone who deserved it and not to me. ‘God, now that you have let this happen to me, I am giving you this opportunity to fix it by leading me back into your gracious presence where I can go to your altar and praise you for welcoming me back to your presence where I belong. ¶After going through the blaming part, we get to where it isn’t as important to lay blame as it is to remember that God is with us to quiet our spirits and restore our faith. Even in the worst of situations we see that God is with us, to share our burdens and give us hope as we move into the future with the assurance of God’s abiding presence in our lives. ¶December 15, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1330 ¶Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudette) ¶December 14, 2025 ¶Psalm 38 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2038&version=NRSVUE ¶The helpful lesson from psalms like this one is the focus on God. While the psalmist is convinced that God is contributing to the current pain it is still God who is being called on for help and comfort. Even though it is God who has inflicted some of the foul and festering wounds, the psalmist knows that the most helpful relief will come from God. Friends who are willing and able to help are at a loss of what kind of help is needed so they stand back, still willing while feeling helpless. ¶God stands as the one who is willing, able, and knows what we need and how to offer it to us. It may be direct help, though it is just as likely that help will come in the form of one who says or does the right thing at the right time without knowing that they have done so. An awkward word at an awkward time may be the right thing to say in that moment. An act of care and concern can be life changing when God is in that act. That God can act through our awkward discomfort is a gift that is given to the giver and the receiver. ¶Whether we are the mediator or receiver of an act of God, we can give thanks for God’s presence in and around us. We will certainly go through times of woundedness and pain that seem insurmountable. And yet, God continues to be with us, offering us healing and wholeness in the face of our deepest wounds. ¶December 8, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1329 ¶Second Sunday of Advent ¶December 7, 2025 ¶Psalm 58 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2058&version=NRSVUE ¶We like to know that we are a lot like God. We like the same things, the same people, and the same behaviors from those around us. The difficulty is that it is so much easier for us if we see that God is more like us instead of us becoming more like God in our thoughts, words, and actions. If we want revenge, certainly God wants the same satisfaction from seeing us standing triumphantly over those who have done us wrong. And, of course, we always want God on our side rather than exacting some kind of revenge on us for the way we treat those around us. ¶So, we call on God to break the teeth of those who are mean to us, to tear out the fangs of those who have hurt us in any way. When a prophetic voice reminds us that the will of God is for us to love our enemies, we respond that we love it when our enemies suffer, and our constant prayer for them is to dissolve into nothingness and to die screaming in the fires God has prepared for them and their kind. Our love and compassion are reserved for the people of our own tribe, clan, group. ¶Revenge may be sweet in the short term, however it leaves a terrible aftertaste that we may or may not notice. While there is a certain amount of glee in watching the suffering of those who have hurt us in some way, it keeps us from moving in the direction God is leading and calling us. “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.” The reward is in moving toward God rather than in reveling in the suffering of others. ¶December 1, 2025 ¶LCM