Psalm Meditation 540
Twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 24, 2010

Psalm 92
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this:
7 though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever,
8 but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For your enemies, O LORD, for your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.
10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
(NRSV)

I know people who have made the choice to remain faithful and those who have chosen to let faith and other things go as they aged. It becomes obvious when someone says that they have already done a particular act of service and that it is time for the younger ones to step up. Yes, in some cases it does take a younger stronger person to do some particular task; those are not the ones I am troubled to hear. It is in the projects in which there are multiple levels of activity needed and they don’t want to do any of them. They seem to be no longer invested in any part of the project.

At the other end are the folks who put people half their age to shame with the variety and intensity of activity around congregation and home. These folks have made the choice to be actively engaged in life for as long as they are even remotely able. Their faithfulness of spirit is evident in their investment in the people around them. They thrive on the activity as well as the fellowship that goes into many a congregational project. Their lives are a testimony to their sense of gratitude to God for the gift of life and all it offers.

The task is not so much to decide what another person’s motives might be as it is to invest ourselves as thankfully and faithfully as possible into the work of God in the congregation and the rest of the world. The reward comes as much from having invested a bit of oneself as from any success of the project itself. It is good to give thanks to God and to sing God’s praises. It is good to live out our thanks and praise in strong, deep relationships that lead us and others deeper into the steadfast love of God.

© October 18, 2010