Psalm Meditation 520
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 6, 2010

Psalm 24
1 The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah
(NRSV)

In a time before psychology became a science the best way to judge folk was by their actions. If their actions were pure then the person had to be pure. Now that we have psychology we discover that there is almost always a touch of selfishness behind even the purest of actions. We find ourselves weighing our options with an eye to both the cost and the promise involved in the performance of our simplest tasks. While I am grateful for the folks who gave us the basics of psychology, as well as those who continue to practice and refine the art and science of it I believe there are times we do well to let actions speak without dissecting motives.

If we have to find the dirty underbelly of each and every action we will discover that no one will be in the presence of God for longer than a few seconds. I am a firm believer in grace, especially God’s grace. However, this psalm is about our hands and hearts and not about grace. The psalmist had to have some folks in mind at the writing of the psalm or it would have painted a much more bleak picture of our chances of standing in the presence of God at the victory celebration.

While our motives may be suspect and our actions are sullied by our motives there is still a victory celebration and some people get to be in the presence of God for it. So when the gates are lifted up and the doors swing open we will do well to gather for the celebration. As we are able to recognize the glorious presence of God it may be the case that God will recognize in us the kind of people who will make for a great celebration and party. When it comes down to who is actually on the guest list I am counting on some surprises.

© June 1, 2010