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