Psalm Meditation 623
Pentecost
May 27, 2012

Psalm 49
1 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it.
8 For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice,
9 that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
10 When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.
12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy, the end of those who are pleased with their lot. (Selah)
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. (Selah)
16 Do not be afraid when some become rich, when the wealth of their houses increases.
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them.
18 Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
19 they will go to the company of their ancestors, who will never again see the light.
20 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
(NRSV)

In the time of the psalmist folks believed that there was a limited supply of wealth so that if one person became wealthy it was at the expense of someone else. The psalmist reminds each of us that whether wealth is limited or unlimited, no one holds it forever. The richest person in the world does not have enough money to buy eternal life. Sooner or later the biggest pile of money and resources will pass from the control of the person who amassed it back into the stream of wealth from which everyone partakes.

The same holds true for those who are wise. Their wisdom will last if they have shared it with others but it will not help them live forever. Those who are wise and those who are foolish will each die. As the money of the wealthy will not buy them eternal life neither the wisdom of the wise nor the foolhardiness of the fool will be enough to earn eternal life. When we depend on our own skills and treasures we have no hope of anything beyond death.

If we can’t buy our way into eternal life or think or act our way into eternity, what can we do to receive eternal life? Life is not about wealth or wisdom, it is about relationship. As we turn ourselves over to a relationship with God we discover that God is waiting to give us the gift of eternal life. It is not through our skills at amassing wealth or wisdom, or our total disregard for our health, wealth and safety that we can find a key to eternity. It is only as a gift from God that we find ourselves redeemed from this life into a fuller life in God. It is not in the ‘stuff’ of this life that we find wholeness, it is in the relationship with God and others that we are given the gift of life.

© May 21, 2012