Psalm Meditation 546
Second Sunday of Advent
December 5, 2010

Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
(NRSV)

The folks who receive contempt for reasons of race, class, gender or some other arbitrary cause that has nothing to do with them personally will eventually grow weary of the contempt and will rise up and demand respect. There seems to be a strong part of us that wants to feel superior and we do it at the expense of another. In our history as human beings we have been known to look down on folks for some obvious and seemingly random characteristic which sets them apart from us. Are all of ‘them,’ as a class, really inferior to all of ‘us’ simply because of that one characteristic?

The psalmist takes great comfort in the presence of God as one, or as the one, who will deal mercifully with those held in contempt by others. The presence of God will not keep one group from looking at another group with contempt. The presence of God gives folks an alternative viewpoint. In God we see ourselves as people of ultimate worth who are deeply, steadfastly, and unconditionally loved. When we see through the eyes of God we recognize that we are neither inferior nor superior to any other group.

In God we see ourselves as unique and incomparable individuals. Do you have more money than I? I have strengths and gifts that you neither need nor want for yourself yet serve me well. As we want to feel superior to another person or group we will find a way. As we want to confirm a poor opinion of ourselves we will find folks who are willing to let us feel inferior to them. As we desire to live with a sense of mutual respect, love and tolerance we will find those who are seeking that as well. In God we are led to mercy. In mercy we find a way to live together with our differences intact.

November 29, 2010