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