Psalm Meditation 529
Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 8, 2010

Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
(NRSV)

Traditional worship services and those of us who attend them are not usually filled with expressions of joyfulness. For that matter many congregations discourage anything too wild as far as outward display of emotion. That does not mean that folks in worship are as joyless and sour as we are sometimes painted. Some folks are joyless and sour to be sure, however many of us in worship are filled with joy and exuberance that we keep carefully tucked just under the surface.

We are glad to be in the presence of God and we are glad to be gathered with the people around us. We continue to gather together because these people continue to have a place in our hearts. Yes, there are some with whom we disagree on many things and yes, we miss them when they are absent for any reason. We find that we are a part of a family, a group that stretches our image of the kind of people with whom we get along.

In the midst of all the human faults and failings we bring together into our worship gatherings we discover the steadfast love of God. That love touches us, restores us, rekindles in us the awareness of the presence of God in our lives. We may feel as if we are gathering with reluctance or resentment even as we continue to gather into the presence of God on a regular basis. We allow ourselves to be reminded that God loves us as we are and that God faithfully stands with us in every part of life.

Enter the presence of God with joy, thanksgiving and praise. Some will make a joyful noise while the rest of us will feel the joy bubbling just under the surface in our worship.

© August 2, 2010