Psalm Meditation 602
First Sunday After Christmas
January 1, 2012

Psalm 15
1 O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart;
3 who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
5 who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.
(NRSV)

For such a short psalm, this one packs a pretty big punch. As I read it, no one gets in since each of us has done one or more of these things at least once. Even worse for us, when we do these things we find a way to justify it to ourselves so that we can proclaim ourselves innocent of the very sins that drive us nuts in others. I have noticed that some of those who get upset about other people gossiping can hold their own pretty well when the conversation turns to someone they know.

So if no one can abide in the tent of the Lord, how is it that so many of us believe that we are already at the doorstep waiting our turn to go in? For me, the answer lies not in our deserving so much as in God’s love for us. In Hebrew the word for that steadfast love is chesed. Christians are more familiar with the Greek word, grace. Through God’s love for us more than anything we have done to deserve it we will find a place in the tent of our God.

As we make resolutions to be better people at the beginning of the year, or any other time we make those kinds of resolutions, we can convince ourselves that we can, by our own effort, be the kind of people with whom God wants to be seen. Or we can put ourselves into the gracious hands of God recognizing that we cannot do enough to earn God’s favor. Through God’s steadfast, welcoming love we are given a place in God’s tent.

© December 26, 2011

Psalm Meditation 601
Christmas
December 25, 2011

Psalm 134
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
(NRSV)

Early in the history of God’s people we decided that wealth was a sign of blessing from God. While we are that wealth is not always a blessing and that not all who are wealthy have been blessed by God, there is a persistent sense that God rewards based on our actions in the world. This psalm seems to buy into that mindset as well. It appears to be set up in what is called a logical syllogism, a major point, a minor point and a conclusion usually phrased in “if...then” format. ‘If we bless the Lord, If we lift our hands in the holy places, then God will bless us from Zion.’ The good thing for us is that syllogisms aren’t always right even when they follow proper form.

God blesses us as God chooses and not by our merits. We don’t earn God’s love, we receive it. As in our human relationships, we can’t make someone love us. We can be kind and lovable as we possibly can and it is still up to the other to love us or not. We can be as cruel and hateful as possible and there may still be those who will find something lovable in us. Love is an emotion and it is always a choice. We can’t do enough to earn God’s love, including standing up to bless God constantly throughout the day, we can only receive or reject the love God sends our way.

We bless God because God has already blessed us rather than to get God to bless us. As we bless God we may find ourselves more open and receptive to the blessings God sends our way as we find ourselves in a deepening relationship with God. It is always God who acts first. Our actions in our relationship with God are reactions to the love, blessing and prodding God sends our way.

A very merry Christmas to all with thanks and love.
Cameron

© December 19, 2010

Psalm Meditation 600
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 18, 2011

Psalm 104:1-11,24,29-35
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind,
4 you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
5 You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
11 giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)

This psalm celebrates both the creativity and providence of God. God is praised for having made all that is, and then praised for the ways God sees fit to provide for each part of creation. While I left out, for space considerations, many of the parts of creation mentioned by the psalmist I commend the whole psalm as it celebrates various animals and the way God has provided for that animal as far as food and water. Vs 24 encapsulates the whole psalm as a celebration of the wide ranging creativity of God.

In addition to the celebration of creativity God’s providence is praised at the same time. Not only did God create this wondrous planet and all the animals with which it is populated, God also provides a place and a means of sustenance for each creature. I notice in various congregations, and am sure it happens other places as well, that we are not always officially aware of the need to maintain many of the things we buy or have provided for us. Since we didn’t plan for maintenance we have to string things along until we can afford to buy a new one. God has actually planned for the sustenance and maintenance of the earth and the creatures who are a part of the earth.

God is not simply the Creator, who set the world in motion and walked away to see how this piece of work would fare. God also sees that the world is sustained as each part of creation is provided a means to survive and thrive. As we look at the creative providence of God can we perhaps see an area in our lives in need of maintenance, especially one in which what is required is a tweak or two rather than a major repair/replacement issue.

© December 12, 2010

Psalm Meditation 599
Third Sunday of Advent
December 11, 2011

Psalm 74:1-11,19-23
1 O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your foes have roared within your holy place; they set up their emblems there.
5 At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
6 And then, with hatchets and hammers, they smashed all its carved work.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the dwelling place of your name, bringing it to the ground.
8 They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our emblems; there is no longer any prophet, and there is no one among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand; why do you keep your hand in your bosom?
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause; remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
(NRSV)

There was a time when people believed that without a temple filled with the proper symbols and emblems it was impossible for a god to be with the people. While we know that God is with us in all times and places we do find ourselves most comfortable in our places of worship when all is as it has always been. We want all the symbols and furnishings in their proper places and in proper working order. We also find ourselves most comfortable if we are in our regular place, same seat, same row. I have served congregations that did not like the choir to take the center of the chancel for the Christmas and Easter Cantatas so that they did not block the view of the altar, seemingly thereby blocking access to God.

The important symbol of the presence of God is the faithful people of God. It is those who remain faithful in the face of persecution, in the face of being sidelined as irrelevant, in the face of having the faith commandeered by those with a power agenda of their own. Faithful people appreciate the value and comfort of familiar symbols in familiar places. They also know that there is more to the presence of God than whether a particular picture hangs in a particular place. More important is that the needs of people are being met in terms of justice and righteousness, with a touch of grace and mercy for all people everywhere.

It is likely that God enjoys opulence as much as any of us. It is more likely that God enjoys the folks who live out a commitment to achieve a sense of wholeness for as many people as possible, calling each of us to make sacrifices of time, effort, status, dogma and doctrine for the sake of the people with whom we live on a daily basis.

© December 5, 2010
LCM manifold@lightbound.com
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/

Psalm 44 Psalm Meditation 598

Psalm Meditation 598
Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2010

Psalm 44
1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them.
4 You are my King and my God; you command victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down our assailants.
6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes, and have put to confusion those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)
9 Yet you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You made us turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
16 at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, or been false to your covenant.
26 Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. (NRSV)

The psalmist is aware that it is not good to depend too much on our own strength when God is in the mix, especially when God is on our side. The part that seems to have eluded the psalmist is that it not good to depend too much on God when we are working together. I have lots of stories and I imagine you do too, in which someone was overly dependent on God only to discover that God was ‘absent.’ There is a necessary mix of leaning on God and trusting our God given strengths when we are working with God.

The mystics call it ‘the dark night of the soul’ when God seems to pull back from us at a time of need. God steps back from us when we are willing to count on God to do for us what we can do on our own. We feel abandoned and disheartened; at least until we discover that we have abilities we were not previously willing to tap or trust. This doesn’t mean that God has abandoned us. Quite the contrary. God is standing back waiting for us to discover our gifts. And God is preparing the celebration for our discovery.

Sometimes we do well to step back and watch God work in our lives, and the lives of those around us. Other times we do well to step in and let God watch us work with the gifts and grace we have available to us. The difficulty comes in knowing which to do when. We do our best when we trust God and ourselves to work well together.

© November 28, 2010

psalm 14 meditation 597

Psalm Meditation 597
First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2010

Psalm 14
1 Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.
3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous.
6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.
7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
(NRSV)

I spent several attempts to make this about intellectual foolishness, only to remember that the ancients did not spend a lot of effort on psychological insights and the inner workings of a person. This is about behavioral foolishness and has little to do with what a person says or thinks. Each of us has moments in which we behave in ways that go against the best interests of those around us. This psalm is about the folks who do that on a consistent basis. Sometimes, these folks are able to amass enough power and influence that they are able to institutionalize their contempt for God and the creatures of God.

It is easy to judge them harshly as long as we can see them as separate from us. What happens when we discover that our actions do damage to others in a variety of ways? It has dawned on me recently that one of the reasons folks accused of criminal behavior are able to claim innocence is because they are convinced that their behavior is acceptable, for themselves at the very least. We can’t participate in a pattern of behavior we see as wrong or sinful. If we do not change our behavior we will perform the mental gymnastics to convince ourselves that what we are doing is right or justifiable in a set of limited circumstances that cover all of the times and places in which we participate in this activity.

God seems to want us to live together in some sort of peace and harmony. God also wants us to share the bounty of creation in a way that leads to wholeness for as many of us as possible. This can mean doing things that will make us feel cheated and put upon or coddled and cared for beyond what anyone else might expect. Both can be uncomfortable. At the same time both can be justified and institutionalized. It is not always easy to figure out what to do instead of institutionalized behaviors and we will not be in total agreement on any course of action. Does this course of action lead us closer or farther away from the wholesome relationships God wishes for each of us?

© November 21, 2010

Psalm Meditation 596
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 20, 2010

Psalm 133
1 How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
(NRSV)

I went to an auction at which I got a good deal or two and the congregation I served made some money, as they had the food concession at the sale. The wet blanket on this event, for me, was the knowledge that the family was having the sale because they could not agree on how to divide the belongings of their parents among themselves. It seemed good to them to have a sale in which family members could bid against each other, and the rest of the gathered folk, to get their hands on family treasures and heirlooms. It seems a shame that no one in the family could say or do anything to keep unity in the family, while also preserving family treasures.

The psalmist is aware that family unity is the lifeblood of a community. It is particularly important when the community consists of members of only two or three extended families. A feud in one of those families or between two of those families can tear apart a community. A congregation can also be split by a small group grasping for or hanging on to power. The psalmist reminds us that unity is so much more life giving than any other choice a family, community or congregation can make.

Working together, even when we disagree, is the sustaining nourishment of a community. Sometimes it is dew, just enough moisture to keep the area refreshed. Sometimes it is a gentle soaking rain that adds sustenance at a deeper level. While the quest for unity can be quite annoying at times, as we struggle with competing wants and needs, it does outlive any of the alternatives.

© November 14, 2010
LCM manifold@lightbound.com
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/

Psalm Meditation 595
Twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 13, 2010

Psalm 103
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word.
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. (NRSV)

Dad used the first couple verses of this psalm to wake up my younger brother and me from time to time so it has a special place in my heart. To begin the day with a word of blessing seems a pretty good way to start the day. Add to that an awareness of the presence of God and all the benefits of that presence and a day is off to a good start. As cynical as I can be, I find that I am usually brought to a more positive world view by these first two verses.

There is more to the psalm than the first two verses and they simply add to the soaring sense of the presence of God as far as I am concerned. There is a long list of actions and characteristics of God in this psalm, however the steadfast love of God seems to be the recurrent theme. While we may want others to be punished for their sins we are grateful for our part that it is the steadfast love of God that decides our fate. We do pay the consequences for our actions, however we are saved from the full extent of our just desserts by the overarching love of God for us and others.

The psalm invites others to join the chorus of blessing and ends as it begins with an enthusiastic blessing from a grateful soul to a loving God. We could do worse for ourselves today, this week, than to begin and end the day with a blessing of God. Does God need to be blessed by us to get through a day? No. Does God relish our attention as a way of being present together in any part of the day? I do believe so. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits— “


© November 7, 2010

Psalm Meditation 594
Twenty first Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 1, 2011

Psalm 73
1 Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12 Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, "I will talk on in this way," I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.
(NRSV)

It is much easier to see ‘those folks’ as being better off than ourselves because with others we can filter their experience through our own and see them as having all the things we lack and for which we long. We think the lives of children are so much easier than our own since they don’t have to pay bills and worry our worries. We forget how scary it can be to be small and dependent on others. The poor look at the rich and see that they have no financial worries because they can afford all they want. The rich look at the poor and see they have no financial worries because they can take care of all their money on their own without having to deal with all those money managers looking out for their own interests. It is easy to see others as having something to envy when we are in the mood to do so.

Each of us has plenty about which to worry and the ability to make our own worries bigger and more pressing than the worries of other people. “...until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.” In the light of God we find the ability to put our worries in perspective and perhaps the ability to see the worries of others in a new light as well. We discover that with a set of advantages comes a set of worries and difficulties that are different and just as perplexing as the worries over which we currently fret. We may discover that as we envy others less our own situation becomes more bearable.

The task is to do our best with what we have, using our benefits to overcome the current set of liabilities, and perhaps even moving ourselves into a different set of challenges and opportunities. The poor can rise to a new level of wealth or fall into deeper poverty. The rich can fall into debt and lose everything or amass even more wealth. As people of God, we find ourselves less concerned with monetary worth and more concerned with a relationship with God for ourselves and for others. While it might be nice to be wealthy and worry free, it is so much better to be aware of the presence of God and the relationship of justice and righteousness to which God calls each one of us.

© October 31, 2010

Psalm Meditation 593
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 30, 2010

Psalm 43
1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from those who are deceitful and unjust deliver me!
2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you cast me off? Why must I walk about mournfully because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
(NRSV)

Psalms are most helpful when we can identify with the psalmist. When we are able to recognize that God is with us even when we are not able to experience that presence in a given moment. It serves as a reminder that, bleak as a situation might be, we are still and always in the presence of God. When we can see that we are not the first to experience this feeling of abandonment it allows us the option of seeing that we may not be the only one feeling abandoned. We may even be able to raise our heads high enough to see one with whom we can share our trial and our conviction of the presence of God.

Psalms are most convicting when we can identify with the group against which the psalmist complains. When this psalm makes us catch our breath as we realize that we are guilty of deception and injustice toward others and ourselves. We suddenly see in ourselves the lies we have told and believed in order to achieve and justify our place in the world. When we see that we have rationalized and even institutionalized injustice we turn to God in gratitude for not treating us as we deserve for our actions.

On either side of the psalm we can take refuge in God. As we identify with the need of the psalmist we are reminded of the presence of God whether we are aware of that presence or not. We begin to reclaim the peace that God offers to us as people, children, of God. As we are convicted by the psalmist we turn to God to shield us from and turn us from the evil in which we have become complicit. We allow ourselves to reclaim God’s call to justice and righteousness over and above our desire for personal gain.

As we turn to God together we find ourselves renewed in hope for ourselves and others. We also find ourselves drawn to those on the other side of the psalm who can help us and teach us what it means to re-commit ourselves to the ever present God of justice. We join in praise with all people who turn to God for any reason.

© October 24, 2010

Psalm Meditation 592
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 23, 2011

Psalm 13
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will say, "I have prevailed"; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
(NRSV)

I find it interesting that there are a number of psalms in which the psalmist complains to God about having been abandoned by God. However, if the complaint were not directed to God it would not be in the Psalms. Who do we turn to when our lives seem to be collapsing all around us? Do we turn to
God, even though it seems that God is one of many who has turned away and left us to fend for ourselves? Do we complain to friends or family, even when this would mean we are not as alone as we believe ourselves to be? Or do we hold it in and let our complaint join in the process of chewing us up from the inside as the current enemy chews on us from any number of locations? It does seem that when we feel totally abandoned God is the one who will hear us even in the deepest darkness.

Enemies prevail when we have nothing left to give. As long as we have the energy and willingness to complain to God we have something left on which to rebuild life and hope. Life and hope may have to be built somewhere other than in this life. As we find our hope in God we see the possibility of life in the presence of God.

Even as we complain to God it changes our focus from the attacks we are enduring to the steadfast, unshakable love God offers to us in all times and places. A new focus and perspective can rob the current situation of some of its power as we see that there is something beyond this crisis that cannot be touched by this or any other crisis. That new perspective is the beginning of salvation.

October 17, 2011

Psalm Meditation 591
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 16, 2011

Psalm 132
1 O LORD, remember in David's favor all the hardships he endured;
2 how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 "I will not enter my house or get into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool. "
8 Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy.
10 For your servant David's sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: "One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne."
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation:
14 "This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam."
(NRSV)

If, as it appears, this is a psalm for the dedication of the Temple, it was written by or for Solomon. At the same time folks are rejoicing in the covenant faithfulness of God there is a statement of faithfulness on the side of the king as well. Was there bragging involved on the part of Solomon or was it a recognition of the awareness that we have conditions placed on our relationship with God?

God loves us all the time. That is beyond question as far as I am concerned. God is also aware that relationships are always two sided. God tells us that we can always expect unconditional love. That is not up for negotiation or debate. If we want to have the deepest possible awareness of that love we do well to hold and share that love in our hearts and lives in these certain ways. From our historical, biblical perspective we know that after David and Solomon kings began to take the love of God for granted and drifted or ran away from the human side of the covenant with God. God continued to love the kings and the people even as practices of justice and righteousness were replaced with practices of oppression and hunger for power. God loves us continually as well, whether we live out the call for justice and righteousness or follow another path.

From a Christian perspective, even though folks, kings, waxed and waned in the pursuit of justice and righteousness, God kept the promise to keep an heir of David on the throne forever. As we are able to keep ourselves tuned to the invitation to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God offered by God through the prophets we will more easily, readily, willingly see the gleaming crown on the brow of the heir of David.

October 10, 2011
LCM

Psalm Meditation 590 Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time October 9, 2011 Psalm 102:1-13,23-28 1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. 3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. 4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread. 5 Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin. 6 I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. 8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. 9 For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink, 10 because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. 11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass. 12 But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations. 13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come. 23 He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days. 24 "O my God," I say, "do not take me away at the mid-point of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations." 25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away; 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end. 28 The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence. (NRSV) One of the issues with which we must wrestle is the awareness of our own mortality. Since we are aware that we will die at some point we find ourselves making deals with God about when that point might be. Since God is eternal, outside our conceptions of time, we keep hoping that God will somehow spare us a bit of extra time so that we can get through this or that episode of life. Especially when our lives seem to be teetering on the brink of existence we find ourselves bargaining over the time frame of our lives. If God does have our lives mapped out for us, we have no idea how that map looks. So, we can blame God for shortening our lives when times get tough or we can make the most of the lives we have. If we see ourselves as collaborators with God, co-laborers with God, we have some input into our lifespan in both length and breadth. Either way, the lives we live will end at some point. As we live our lives in the presence of God, we will be ready and willing to live each phase of life, death and new life in the presence of God. All of the things in our lives, including our bodies, will wear out and fade away. As we live and hope in the presence of God we will find that though it seems to ebb and flow, closer and farther away, the presence of God in our lives does not wear out or fade away. God is with us for the long haul; through our lives and beyond. October 3, 2011

Psalm Meditation 589 World Communion Sunday October 2, 2011 Psalm 72 1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. 2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. 3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. 4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. 5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. 6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. 7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. 8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. 11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. 12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. 13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. 14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. 15 Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long. 16 May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. 17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy. 18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. 20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended. (NRSV) The beginning of something always holds such hope for us, especially the reign or term of a new leader. Let this be the one who is able to do everything for everybody without forgetting anybody. It is a pretty unachievable goal for any leader, up to and including the new king celebrated in this psalm, even though the king was seen as the agent of God. It is not through human agency alone that the needs of God’s people are met. God chooses the king, by lot or by dynasty and gives that king authority to act in the name of God for the sake of the people, to bring justice and righteousness to the people being ruled. At best the justice and righteousness of the king expands to include all people, including those outside our borders. The difficulty lies in the part about co-laboring with God for the sake of all people. It does not take long for power and special interests to drive out the desire to serve all of God’s people. The good thing is; we don’t give up. We continue to hope for and work toward finding the leader who can move us all in the direction of collaboration with God for the sake of justice and righteousness on a global scale. While the psalmist is content with the defeat and humiliation of the enemies of the nation, the arc of history continues to bend toward justice and righteousness for all of creation. September 26, 2011

Psalm Meditation 588
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 25, 2011

Psalm 42
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help
6 and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
8 By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?"
10 As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
(NRSV)

“Where is your God?” is a devastating question in some circumstances. In the situations in which it already seems that God has moved away from us it can be the last straw for someone to taunt us with this question. If anyone can get the question to echo in our heads they have added a further difficulty to an already dark situation. When we are surrounded by a sense of loss, even asking the question about the presence of God can throw us into despair.

For the psalmist, and hopefully for each of us, there comes a moment in the midst of despair in which we realize that God has been, is and will be with us, no matter what. We may be self-absorbed and unable to see beyond our own skin and our own particular need. In those cases God is only one of many who seems to have abandoned us. God may have stepped back to let us learn something we would not have otherwise chosen to learn right now. In those cases God is waiting beside us even though we may not be aware of that presence. Eventually we look out and see that God has been with us the whole time and the question of where God is can be answered with confident assurance.

Whether we sense the presence of God or simply come far enough out of our despair to know that God is somewhere even if it is just beyond our reach we can join the psalmist in the tentative statement of hope in God for now. After the worst of the current situation passes we will actually sense the presence of God more closely and we can join again in praising God.

September 19, 2011

Psalm Meditation 587
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 18, 2011

Psalm 12
1 Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2 They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, "With our tongues we will prevail; our lips are our own--who is our master?"
5 "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up," says the LORD; "I will place them in the safety for which they long."
6 The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
7 You, O LORD, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among humankind.
(NRSV)

I have discovered through the years that the crowd of which I am a part is made up of people like me, whether I like it or not. I couldn’t understand how I kept attracting friends with a particular mindset until someone used that same term to describe me. If the psalmist was not one of the folks being described in the first part of the psalm there was at least a strong temptation to be like that. It is possible that this group is keeping the psalmist as a mascot or pet; the one of whom they make fun for the quaint ways of faithfulness.

It is just as possible that while the psalmist denies the lying and flattering personally while seeing it in the rest of the group that it is just as visible to everyone else in the psalmist. If, as in this case, one has become adept at lying and flattering it is just as possible to lie to and flatter oneself as anyone else. At the same time the psalmist is aware that this is not the way people of God are supposed to act. If God were to destroy all these flattering, lying people none of us would have to be subjected to this type of behavior ever again.

Fortunately for us, God is not one to destroy enemies in a cloud of atomic particles. God usually works more slowly, prodding and cajoling us out of our current behaviors and into more helpful and faithful ways of behaving and thinking. When we grow weary of our hurtful, harmful ways we find ways to withdraw from one circle of influence so that we can be more easily drawn into a new circle of friends who fit our new choices and convictions. And through it all God is with us, offering us safety and protection from people like we used to be as we become the people we find ourselves wanting to be.

September 12, 2011

Psalm Meditation 586
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 11, 2011

Psalm 131
1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
(NRSV)

Having gone through a terrible experience, the greatest fear is that it will happen again if the circumstances are even close to the what they were for the original event. In some cases we broaden our sense of fear to the point of being uncomfortable in our own skin. This holds true for individuals and communities all the way up to nations and probably beyond that. We get to the point at which we feel that everything we do leads us right back to that original traumatic event.

The psalmist reminds us to climb up into the lap of God and curl up into the security, love and warmth that can only be found in that holy place. From that vantage point the largest looming fear is made less and together we can face that fear even if it leads to death and destruction. In the presence of God we are reminded that the death of a mortal body is not the end of our life in God. While we do not seek death, we also do not fear it.

In the lap of God we move from victims to survivors. Yes, we were traumatized by one event whose fear broadens to touch many other aspects of our lives. As people of God we do not dwell on the trauma, we deal with it as a part of who we are and move through it by the power of a gracious love that sustains us with hope for the future, despite or perhaps because of the trauma of the past.

September 5, 2011

Psalm Meditation 585
Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 4, 2011

Psalm 101
1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing.
2 I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
4 Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
5 One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not tolerate.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue in my presence.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
(NRSV)

Many of us have the goal of ridding the world, or at least our area, of all of the bad and evil people who populate it. Many of us take a path other than the psalmist pledges to take. The first step in the process is to turn to God. In the presence of God the psalmist will concentrate on loyalty to God and a concern for justice. To make it all easier to remember and more interesting it will all be set to music. As we want to set our world right it is a good idea to start with a relationship with God, especially one built on loyalty and justice. The loyalty reminds us that we have picked sides and will support the side we have picked. The justice reminds us that we will put more emphasis on doing the right thing than on winning.

The second step in the process is to work on ourselves. Rather than finding fault with the ways everyone else is living their lives we will concentrate on putting our own lives in order. As we work toward our own blameless life we will find less and less time to pick at the faults and flaws of the folks around us. We may even find ourselves sympathetic to some of those faults as we deal with them in ourselves first. As we concentrate on what it means to be lined up with God we may find we have less time for and interest in looking for the flaws in others. The flaws will still be there; we will simply have other things to do than look for them.

Once we have our own lives in order we can begin the process of ridding others of their faults. At the very least we will separate ourselves from all those whose sins and faults and flaws harm us and those around us. One of the images of perfect people is that it is annoying to be in their presence as they find fault with everyone around them. Turns out that those are the perfectionists, who find fault as a way of deflecting their own imperfections. The perfect people, and even some of those who are approaching perfection, are patient with those of us who have a ways to go. We discover that their method of destruction is to coach us and win us over rather than to actually destroy us.

God stands in the midst of the whole process, coaching and winning folks into relationships of loyalty, justice and music.

August 29, 2011

Psalm Meditation 584
Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 28, 2011

Psalm 71:1-18,24
1 In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
3 Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
7 I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10 For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life consult together.
11 They say, "Pursue and seize that person whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver."
12 O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
13 Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge.
16 I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.
24 All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced.
(NRSV)

A refuge is a place of safety rather than a hiding place. In a refuge one can go around much more freely because of the protection that is so much a part of the concept of refuge. That doesn’t mean there won’t be folks waiting at the boundaries for those within the refuge to step over the line of protection so they can do as they will to the one who steps out. While the psalmist is concerned that there are limits to the refuge God offers, including age limits, we have come to see that the only limits are the ones we place on that refuge ourselves.

As we get older our strength fades and we become more vulnerable to any number of attacks and calamities of disease and the people around us. And taking refuge in God does not keep these attacks from happening. Taking refuge in God keeps the attacks from getting to the core of our being, from destroying us in any way other than physically. We will be in the presence of God, no matter what. In the presence of God we will find that despite weakness and disease we take comfort in being with God.

Even as health and vitality fade from our lives we can find wholeness in God’s gracious presence. Things that used to be easy will get more difficult even as some things that have challenged us in the past will become easier. Through it all God will be with us as a source of refuge, calm in the midst of storm.

August 22, 2011

Psalm Meditation 583
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 21, 2011

Psalm 41
1 Happy are those who consider the poor; the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble.
2 The LORD protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
4 As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5 My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish.
6 And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)

According to the psalmist, integrity does not keep us from sinning so much as it gives us the wherewithal to confess when we do sin. We confess our sin to God and put ourselves in a position to accept the mercy God offers to us. When the sins we commit are against others we find ourselves willing and able to confess our sin to those we have wronged as well. In one sense it may even be the sense of integrity that has made the psalmist sick in the first place. Sometimes we let ourselves get eaten up with guilt first and then we realize that it is due to some sin of omission or commission that we have made ourselves sick. Our own integrity can eat at us as a reminder of our desire to be our best possible selves.

At the same time integrity does not make us immune from gossip, it almost makes us a target. There are those who get joy out of watching as others are taken down a peg. They seem to resent anyone who might be seen as a saint or hero. They hunt for ways to prove that this person or that is not as pure and worthy of adulation as everyone else would like them to be. In some cases they may even befriend these good people in order to get close enough to gather damning information against them. Interestingly, people of integrity do not make any claim to sainthood or hero status. These folks live so that all the pieces of their lives fit together as well as possible. The rest of us look at these folks with either a sense of admiration or with a desire to see them fall off the pedestal on which they have been placed.

A person of integrity can weather all sorts of storms, especially those brought about by relationships with other people. It is not so much that God takes special care of people of integrity so much as these folks are more in tune with what it means to be a person of God. We are a mix of purity and sin, of acting on the things we say are important and of giving lip-service to things we wish were important to us. Our lives are a constant battle between integrity and disintegration. As we move away from some of our disjointed attitudes and actions we find ourselves more deeply integrated, more in tune with God and the people of God. We find ourselves more comfortable in our own skin.

August 15, 2011

Psalm Meditation 582
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 14, 2011

Psalm 11
1 In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to the mountains;
2 for look, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence.
6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.
(NRSV)

In my junior high years my friend Jeff and I walked away from a youth group event at the city park and headed for my house. It was dark and we failed to tell anyone that we were leaving. So, we were in all sorts of trouble no matter what happened to us. At one point in our journey Jeff told me that he was not afraid because he was with me. He figured no one would bother us because I was so big. I told him that I was not afraid because I knew how tough he was. I figured he could protect me if there was any trouble. It was unnerving to discover that the one I was counting on to protect me was counting on me to protect him. It was also energizing to know that he trusted me.

If two junior high school aged boys can find strength in each other’s presence it is easy to see how the psalmist can find strength in the presence of God. While others are in a panic over the presence of evil forces coming against them in the darkness, the psalmist leans a little closer to the presence of God. The LORD, Yahweh, combines the characteristics Jeff and I saw in each other. God has the size to intimidate and overwhelm any enemy and the strength and toughness to overcome those who are not daunted by size. The psalmist reminds us to put our trust in God no matter how big the forces arrayed against us.

When we have chosen to be on the side of God we have a hope beyond this life. As we place our trust and hope in God we open ourselves to the gift God gives to those who are righteous. We will stand in the presence of and behold the face of God. “For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face”

August 8, 2011

Psalm Meditation 581
Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 7, 2011

Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(NRSV)

Sometimes the depths out of which we cry out to God are of our own making. We take something personally that was not meant that way, we read non-existent motives into the actions of others, we misinterpret a word or a gesture that spins us into a deep funk. Even when it is of our own making, the depths are just as deep. We are just as wounded, just as abandoned. When the depths are of our own making we may sink even deeper because, not only does it seem the world has turned on us, we have turned on ourselves. That leaves no one to pull us out except God, and we may find ourselves doubting God’s motives as well.

Whatever the cause of the depths out of which we find the psalmist crying there is enough presence of heart, mind and soul to know that God is out there. God is above the depths waiting and willing to pull us or cheerlead us out of the depths in which we find ourselves. Whether we need forgiveness or simply a fresh perspective on the situation God has taken a place above the foolishness, pettiness or sinfulness in which we find ourselves. Whether we dug the depths ourselves or were pitched into those dug by someone else God is present for us.

Through the years of salvation history folks have given witness to the lengths to which God goes to see that we move from the depths to the abundance that life in God offers. Sometimes God pulls us out from above. Sometimes God comes down with us and pushes us out. Sometimes God sends others to pull or push us out. Sometimes God shows us someone else who is in the depths and we work together to move to higher ground. No matter the method God is at work through steadfast love to offer us redemption, as individuals and as the body of the people of God.

August 1, 2011

Psalm Meditation 580
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 31, 2011

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)

It seems that the first thought of many of us when we think of joyful noise to the LORD is of exuberant leaping and shouting and dancing in worship. While that is a comfortable worship style for some, it is outside both comfort and experience for many of us. Leaping and shouting is not the only way to express our joy. Some express joy through tears, others in the broadest smile their face will allow, some through a sparkle in the eye. For each of these the emphasis is on the joy that comes from being in the presence of God.

The psalmist puts the emphasis on activities other than the physical expressions of our joy. There is gladness, singing, thanksgiving and praise as a part of our joyful noise to the LORD. There are times when one or more of these characteristics is missing from our worship and it makes a difference for us and others. When I am not glad to be in worship, or worse when no one is glad to be in a particular worship setting, the service suffers. Each characteristic makes a difference in the rest of the worship experience. Without gladness the singing, thanks-giving and praise suffer. If there is no singing it is a somber service. Without thanksgiving worship is missing something. Without praise worship seems empty.

Whether our joy is expressed in a way that anyone can see it or we keep it inside we are joy filled by the presence of God, who loves us beyond our ability to comprehend. The psalmist invites us to move toward worship experiences that are filled with gladness, singing, thanksgiving and praise so the we can more easily open ourselves to the faithful and steadfast love that comes to us from God.

July 25, 2011

Psalm Meditation 579
Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 24, 2011

Psalm 70
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me!
2 Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me.
3 Let those who say, "Aha, Aha!" turn back because of their shame.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!"
5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
(NRSV)

I am reminded from time to time that not all those who “seek my life” and “desire to hurt me” are outside of me. I find myself having made bad choices and taking unnecessary risks with my life and health. I am perfectly willing to rationalize my behavior even though I would be very upset if someone else was as quick to put me in harm’s way as I can be. Some of the bad choices have become bad habits while others are one time events that put me in no less jeopardy than the ongoing choices of bad habits.

I want to be rescued from the force of bad habits and bad choices at least as much as I want to be delivered from anyone else who is trying to hurt or kill me. In either case I get to take some responsibility. If someone is out to get me, I do well to stay away from them as much as possible. If it is a bad habit that is hurting or killing me, I do well to make a new and better set of choices. However, I don’t turn to God when I have exhausted all my resources. I turn to God even as I am doing everything else I can.

God is great. And God is willing to be present with us when we are caught in the trenches of internal and external conflict. It is those of us who choose to seek God in our lives who are best able to experience the help and deliverance God offers to us. And as we experience God’s presence we are more willing to rejoice and be glad in the presence of God. God has a particular concern for those who cannot take care of themselves. And while God is present in all times and all places, those who seek God are more open to see all the ways God is already at work in our lives and the lives of those around us.

July 18, 2011

Psalm Meditation 578
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 17, 2011

Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
7 Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
12 For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me.
14 Let all those be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt.
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"
16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the LORD!"
17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
(NRSV)

It was said of one of my colleagues that he could brag in such a way that we were all proud to know him. I was reminded of that attitude in this psalm. The psalmist points out, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." I can see the pride in the statement and if that is all there were to the psalm it would simply be bragging. The psalmist goes on to give God much of the credit for the way God is quick to look out for those who lean in God’s direction. The pride the psalmist feels may well be mixed with a sense of wonder at the ways God works through us.

There is also a willingness to witness to the work of God in the life of the psalmist. There are those who are willing to acknowledge the work of God in our lives as long as we don’t have to tell anyone else about it. Somehow we talk ourselves out of telling others about the work of God in our lives for a variety of reasons. The psalmist assures us that it is good to tell the story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to us. Some of us want to tell the story where it will be appreciated by those with similar experience while others are willing to witness to the love of God in any and all situations.

The steadfast love of God is a gift to us. Like the love that anyone gives, it cannot be earned it can only be accepted or rejected. If we reject love from God or anyone else it does not go away. We can’t earn love and we can’t force it on others we simply accept it and give it as a gift. God’s love comes to us whether we know it or not and works in and through us to give us help and deliverance throughout our lives.

July 11, 2011

Psalm Meditation 577
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 10, 2011

Psalm 10
1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor-- let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the LORD.
4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, "God will not seek it out"; all their thoughts are, "There is no God."
5 Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart, "We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity."
7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
8 They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
10 They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."
12 Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, "You will not call us to account"?
14 But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none.
16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.
17 O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
(NRSV)

It is good to be reminded from time to time that many of us are not as downtrodden and oppressed as we see ourselves. Some of us can even be counted among the folks who look for ways to get things that are not ours in ways that do not stand up to the tests of faith and practice to which we hold everyone else. And, some of us who are not actively ‘wicked’ are complicit in the activities of those who are. We are willing to accept the convenience of and deny responsibility for practices and policies that take advantage of others for our direct benefit.

We may be asked to account for the choices we have made that put our concerns for inexpensive and cheap goods and services above the concerns of the folks who earn low wages so that we can pay cheap prices. There are ways to justify our choices and many folks who spend time and energy coming up with those rationales. Good people of good conscience are going to disagree on policies and practices. The difficulty may arise when I disagree with your policies but go along for the sake of convenience over my own sense of justice.

The good thing is that God deals with us with a heart for both justice and mercy. Yes, there is wickedness here; how do we root it out in such a way that a whole person stands in the place of what was once a wickedly conflicted one. God does hear the cries of the meek and does justice for the oppressed. I am also convinced that God seeks out the meekness in the overbearing and the desire for justice in each one of us so that there be no more terror on the earth.

July 4, 2011

Psalm Meditation 576
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 3, 2011

Psalm 129
1 "Often have they attacked me from my youth" --let Israel now say- -
2 "often have they attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long."
4 The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward.
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up,
7 with which reapers do not fill their hands or binders of sheaves their arms,
8 while those who pass by do not say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!"
(NRSV)

Many of us have an unresolved issue or two that has been with us for as long as we remember. It takes very little to bounce us back to the days of the original childhood event. It was traumatic at the time and anything that sparks that memory brings the original feelings right back to the surface. No matter how we brace ourselves against our reaction the terror of the original event comes rushing back and we are helpless children once again, if only for a moment.

The trauma of this psalm is national in scope. Once the original event has happened any other attacks can be much less severe to bring up the same reaction as the original onslaught. Each nation and perhaps each generation has an event that any hint of it’s repetition brings back the original reaction to the event.

The good thing, the psalmist reminds us, is that God is with us and has been with us since before the original event. An awareness of God’s presence in our lives does much to lessen the sense of panic that rises as we are willing to give our reactions over to God. The event does not disappear from our lives as a nation or as individuals. Our reaction to any triggering event will be the same though the severity of it will lessen as we allow ourselves to be comforted by the presence of God.

As we take comfort in God’s presence we will find ourselves less and less willing to withhold the blessing of God from even the most violent of our enemies and adversaries. While not everyone will be willing/able to receive the blessing of God’s presence we will find ourselves more and more willing to give the blessing because of our relationship within the overwhelming love of God.

June 28, 2011

Psalm Meditation 575
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 26, 2010

Psalm 99
1. The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2. The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
3. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
4. Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5. Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
6. Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
7. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
8. O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9. Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy.
(NRSV)

Sometimes the best example is a bad example, as in, “If God will do good things for a person this lowly God will certainly do good things for you.” In this case the psalmist chose to use a few of the best examples. “Since Moses, Aaron and Samuel called on God and followed the rules God gave them, if you want God to pay attention to you it would be good to follow those same rules.” I am convinced that God loves us and cares for us whether we follow that rules or not. I believe that is the nature of God. I also believe that those who follow the rules and laws given by God are more likely to be aware of the presence of God in their lives.

If you want God to love you, then you don’t need to do anything at all. God loves you no matter what. If you want to have a relationship with God then there are things that need to be done for the sake of that relationship. When I ask young couples moving toward a wedding what the rules of their marriage will be they are often at a loss. They believe a marriage doesn’t need rules. So I ask, is it okay for one or both to be unfaithful in the marriage. Either way they answer is one of the rules. Is it okay for one or both to hit the other? Again, either way the answer is one of the rules. My hope for couples is that the answer to both questions is no. The one that leads to the deeper and longer lasting relationship is the right answer.

If you want to be in a relationship with God, pay attention to what God wants out of the relationship just as God pays attention to your wants and needs. Talk to God, keep the rules (that is, listen to God) and participate in worship in some form on a regular basis. (that is, spend some time with some people who are also important to God.) It really is as simple as it sounds. It still takes some time and some practice, however God is there cheering you on and there is a community of folk who also work and sometimes struggle at a relationship with the God of Moses, Aaron, Samuel and countless others.

© June 20, 2010

Psalm Meditation 574
Trinity Sunday
June 19, 2011

Psalm 69:1-4,12-15,29-36
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore?
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help
14 rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me.
29 But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall live there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall live in it.
(NRSV)

A recurrent theme for me these days is that I want to make things more complicated and difficult than they need to be. I am convinced that I am not alone in this. I see a lot of other people doing all the big flashy things to get the attention of God, a friend, a family member, a boss or supervisor and any number of other folks who already have a loving eye turned to us. As a part of this theme verses 30-31 jumped into my lap with a particular urgency this morning. In an attempt to win God’s favor we go as big as we can with our gifts. We keep trying to earn God’s love even as we know that God already loves us beyond our ability to comprehend. What God wants to know is that we return the love that is already being given to us.

We want to give the biggest gift our resources can possibly allow and God wants us to curl up on the lap of the divine and sing a song or say a simple ‘thank-you.’ How would our lives be different if we simply accepted the love that folks, including God, offer to us on a daily basis? My guess is that most of our fears about doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason would disappear and we could simply do and be with the confidence of those who are aware of being deeply loved.

This doesn’t mean life will suddenly get easy; it simply means we would not ever have to worry about whether or not we are loved. We are. We will still have to deal with mistakes and the inappropriate actions of those around us, as well as our own. Already knowing that we are loved we won’t have to go through the gymnastics of covering our mishaps in an effort to protect a reputation. We simply accept our foibles as we accept the love. We fix what we can, make reparations and apologies where needed and move on in the security of the love that fills and surrounds us.

June 13, 2011

Psalm Meditation 573
Pentecost
June 12, 2011

Psalm 39
1 I said, "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 "LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 "And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 "You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more."
(NRSV)

There are times in which talking, especially complaining, simply makes things worse. Once something is said out loud it can be exploited by anyone who wants to add to our misfortune. Once folks know a particular weakness they can poke and prod in that spot until we are completely broken. The psalmist knows not to say anything to other people about what is going on and yet things continue to get worse. Even the comfort of God seems to be withheld from the psalmist. Then it becomes obvious that God is the source of this particular distress and the psalmist falls silent once again.

I, for one, am grateful that our understanding of God has changed from one who punishes on a whim to one who is with us in good times as well as in bad times. God asks us to learn something when things go badly for us but God does not cause bad things to happen to us. Since we live with the consequences of our choices, as well as the choices of those around us we can more easily call on God as a source of ever-present comfort in times of suffering.

Whether God is the cause of our suffering or an ever present source of comfort in the face of suffering we can join the psalmist in turning to God in times of suffering. The psalmist turns to God with a request for peace, knowing that it is important to be in a positive relationship with God in order to have an abundant life. We know that the relationship with God is the source of abundant life as we go through various challenges and opportunities. The important part is the awareness that God is with us, no matter what.

June 6, 2011

Psalm Meditation 572
Seventh Sunday of Easter
June 5, 2011

Psalm 9
1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you.
4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.
5 You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O LORD. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
19 Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD; let the nations know that they are only human. Selah
(NRSV)

There is tremendous comfort in knowing we are not alone in almost any circumstance. To know that there are those who agree with us, who share our joy as well as our pain, who stand with us in the face of unrelenting forces, who call us to account, can be a great source of peace for us. There is a sense of trepidation in cases in which we may feel ourselves called to be that source of comfort and peace for those who do not have the power to speak for themselves. God leans toward those who are oppressed and invites us to do what we can to ease the oppression they feel.

We do go about remembering the needy in different ways. Some want to pull everyone up from the top of the economy while others work to a middle ground for all and still others work to push the most needy up to a level that allows them to meet their own needs. The important part is to give hope to those who have no hope and to serve to remind ourselves and others that God wants each of us to have a sense of abundance in our lives that is based in relationship rather than in stuff.

In all of this we are not alone. We are surrounded by those who have more and those who have less than we have ourselves. Even when we get to the point of the needy being remembered and the poor having hope there will be those who have more and those who have less in any number of categories. The psalmist invites us to lean toward remembrance and hope for each other and to move in the ways that lead us, each and all, closer to the ways of God.

May 30, 2011

Psalm Meditation 571
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 29, 2011

Psalm 128
1 Happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways.
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
5 The LORD bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!
(NRSV)

It has not been that long ago that a large family was very important. Children gave the family a dependable work force in the family business and having many children was a guarantee that at least some would live to maturity to carry on the family name and business. With industrialization most of us don’t own or operate our workplace so we have less stake in the survival of the business. With advances in medicine as well as an awareness of global population figures the reasons to have large families are also less compelling.

The psalm continues to speak to us. We continue to enjoy the fruit of our labor in a lot of ways. In a depressed and depressing economy we may not get the financial rewards we had hoped, however we continue to take pride in the work we are able to do. Some are able to continue doing the work they did in a booming economy even though they may have less money to show for that same work. Others have found new areas of labor and some struggle to find a place with any reward in this troubled time. Hopefully, each of us can find something that gives meaning to our lives.

When rewards for work are scarce it may also be more difficult to find joy in family. There are so many extra worries when money and other resources are stretched tight. As we struggle, it is possible to find a haven in the bonds of family. As we are able to look for ways that God’s blessings touch us we can see that love of God and family can help us through even the worst of times; especially the ones that try all our resources.

God is with us and does make our burdens lighter by that holy presence. As the economy improves we may find that we can continue to do with fewer things so that we are better able to keep the joy we discovered in the company of God and each other in the rich relationship of faith and trust.

May 23, 2011

Psalm Meditation 570
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 22, 2011

Psalm 98
1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
2 The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
(NRSV)

Other places in scripture it says the day of judgment is going to be a rough day. The psalmist sees it as a party. The psalm itself appears to be celebrating a military victory of some kind and the psalmist may well be looking to God’s final victory as a very similar day of jubilation. Is the day of judgment going to be a good people on one side and the bad people on the other or is God more subtle than that? It is entirely possible that each one of us will be found with good and bad stirred up together in our motives and actions in every aspect of our lives.

So who wins? Does God base our salvation on a balance sheet of good and bad actions with a small tip of the scale based on whether our motives were good or bad over and against what actually came of those motives? Good action that sprung from bad motives will be slightly weighted to the bad side of the balance. Bad action that came out well will be weighted to the good side. At the end we see where the balance needle ends up and that is our final judgment. That would be fine if we believe that our actions determine whether we win or lose. Can we do enough to earn salvation?

I am pretty sure that it will be intimidating to stand before God, knowing it is judgment day. It will likely go hardest for those of us who believe we have to prove ourselves worthy of the saving love of God. I believe that the love of God will tip the balance toward the side of celebration. Does God’s love give us each a free pass? Either way is possible. It does seem that the more readily we place ourselves within the bounds of God’s love right now that more likely it is that we will receive and appreciate the love of God each time we are in a position to accept it.

May 16, 2011