Psalm Meditation 476
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 9, 2009

Psalm 141
1 I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I alone escape.
(NRSV)

Complaining is easier than complementing and much easier than doing anything to change a situation. Many of us can complain about things and complain about folks who are doing something to change the way things are all in the same breath. We may not know how things should be done but we are pretty sure that this is not the way. We do well to keep verse 3 in mind as we go through a day.

I can fall into complaining and whining about the state of the world with the best of them and not notice that I am anything but positive about life, the world and the people of the world. We turn to evil so readily we do not even notice. It is not that we are actively doing bad things so much as we are cruising into entropy, a state of least possible movement. We don’t do bad things we simply fail to do good things. We don’t cause damage we simply allow it to happen and then complain that no one cares enough to do anything to stop the slow slide into apathy. We don’t exploit people we simply take advantage of the exploitation. It is not that we contribute to the evil so much as we fail to contribute to the positive.

Just as physical exercise both drains and fuels the body so too spiritual exercise drains and fuels the spirit. While prayer can be exhausting it also inspires us to keep praying as we become more open to the ways God works in our lives and the lives of those around us. Exercise reshapes our bodies, our priorities and our relationships. As our bodies become stronger we are no longer content to sit and do nothing, we find ourselves pressing to the next level of fitness and we discover that we desire the company of others who share our desire for fitness and health. Spiritual exercise reshapes us in similar ways. We find that we are no longer content with things as they are, we find ourselves looking for ways to bring God into the world and the world closer to God and we find ourselves seeking out the company of those who see God at work in the world in a variety of ways.

As we turn toward God we discover that while we continue to acknowledge the presence of evil in the world our focus is on the presence of God. We discover that the refuge God offers is not a hiding place so much as a place to rest from our labors as we look toward the next opportunity to bring wholeness to a world longing for a loving relationship with the living God.

© August 3, 2009