Psalm Meditation 488
Twenty first Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 25, 2009

Psalm 118:1,5-14,21-29
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 With the LORD on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?
7 The LORD is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in mortals.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
(NRSV)

I was not the coolest, most popular kid growing up and I still am not so I take great comfort in verse 22. The verse is used of Jesus and it is also true of many of the folks God has chosen to lead in Scripture and beyond. Moses thought his brother Aaron would be a much better choice for leading God’s people out of captivity. Samuel was sure that the oldest son of Jesse was the one God would pick to be king in place of Saul, however God had picked David, the youngest of the bunch. God has a way of picking those least likely to succeed to accomplish great things. God sees qualities in each of us that the world fails to notice.

As we see that God does not judge us by the world’s standards we begin to see ourselves and the rest of creation in a new light. We can rejoice at the beginning of each new day as a gift of God. It may not go the way we would hope and we may not win the rat race of the day, however, as we see each day as a gift we can more easily see God at work in all that goes on around us. Seeing through God’s eyes we may even find ourselves redefining what is important and what it means to be a success.

God is not opposed to winning and striving to be the best; God simply invites us to remember that there are multiple ways of deciding a winner and that the way the world decides winners and losers may not be the best way to do things. It is quite likely that God looks on the folks who has done more for others, the ones who have more friends, the ones people want to be like on a day to basis as closer to victory than the one with the most trophies in the glass case. God is much more interested in our relationships than in our prizes and trophies.

© October 19, 2009