Psalm Meditation 495
Third Sunday of Advent
December 13, 2009

Psalm 144
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
(NRSV)

Children ask for everything, expecting parents and others to fulfill each and every request. As children we really do believe that each one of those things is important to our survival and necessary for our enjoyment in life. Parents smile and nod recognizing that not every request from a child has to be done right away if at all. We even recognize that at times the best way to fill a request is with a refusal. We want to hear the requests even as we know that not every one is as much a matter of life and death as it is presented.

Certainly God hears our requests in the same manner. While many of our petitions and intercessions seem to be matters of great import to us God recognizes that it is not always in our best interest to give us all we ask for. At times we discover that the answer to our prayers lie in trusting our own abilities to meet our needs and the needs of those around us. Other times God waits patiently for us to ask for help that only God can give as we keep trying to fix it by our own skills. I can only guess that God takes great delight in our willingness to bring God our joys and concerns.

God teaches us, provides for us, shelters us from a variety of storms in a variety of ways. God blesses us in ways that are outside our ability to comprehend. God does all this willingly and lovingly. God wants to be in relationship with us and wants us to be in relationships with each other. As we become more aware of how best to be in those relationships we discover more of what it means to be blessed.

© December 7, 2009