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
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 18, 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
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
Monday, July 11, 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
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
Monday, July 4, 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
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
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