Psalm Meditation 553
Third Sunday After Epiphany
January 23, 2011

Psalm 35 selected verses
1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me!
8 Let ruin come on them unawares. And let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall in it--to their ruin.
9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his deliverance.
10 All my bones shall say, "O LORD, who is like you? You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them."
11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is forlorn.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,
14 as though I grieved for a friend or a brother; I went about as one who laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning.
15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; ruffians whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing;
16 they impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O LORD, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions!
22 You have seen, O LORD; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me!
23 Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense, for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.
27 Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, "Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant."
28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all day long.
(NRSV)

It is good that there are psalms available for times like these. When it seems that we are being unjustly accused by folks with the power and authority to make those accusations stick it is good to know that someone has had that feeling before us. It is also good to have a psalm like this so that we have words available to us that are not about either giving up or seeking vengeance. Even though the psalmist is asking God to avenge this series of hurtful acts it still takes the revenge away from us and puts it in the hands of God where it rightly belongs.

God knows both sides of the story in a way that none of the rest of us can. God sees our acts and knows how and why we did them. God also knows the acts and hearts of the folks coming against us. It is possible to justify thoughts and actions when we are convinced that the recipients of those thoughts and actions are acting out of the same decision making system that motivates us. God knows the inner workings of folks on both sides of the question. In many cases it seems that when we take the time to understand the other a lot of our assumptions are unfounded.

Turning the whole situation over to God allows the one who knows all the sides to sort out what is going on for the sake of a resolution on the personal and cosmic scale. Even the desire that the others fall into the pit they have dug then becomes a situation of understanding what it is like to be misunderstood by those even more power and authority.

God does not know us for the sake of gathering ammunition against us. God knows us out of love for us; all of us. God continues to prod us, cajole us and invite us into relationships with those like ourselves as well as with those who have made and will make other choices for any number of reasons.

January 17, 2011