Psalm Meditation 625
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 10, 2012

Psalm 109 (selected verses)
1 Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me, even while I make prayer for them.
5 So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 They say, "Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand on his right.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin.
8 May his days be few; may another seize his position.
9 May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.
11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
12 May there be no one to do him a kindness, nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.
15 Let them be before the Lord continually, and may his memory be cut off from the earth.
16 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come on him. He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.”
20 May that be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life.
21 But you, O Lord my Lord, act on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.
30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
(NRSV)

How do we handle ourselves when we are falsely accused? Some of us join the psalmist in heaping everything bad thing that comes to mind on those who are wishing us ill. We stomp and rant about our innocence and humility in the face of bad things, all while hoping that God will turn the tables in such a way that our accusers receive the punishments they hoped to inflict on us. Some of us accept the accusations with humility, knowing that when we stand before God we will be vindicated. The rest of us fall somewhere in between with a mix of resentment and acceptance.

Some of us will do the same things even when we are rightly accused. Because we have rationalized our behavior into something good, we are appalled that anyone would accuse us of wrong-doing. We wrap ourselves up in self-righteous God talk and refuse to see that there is at least a kernel of truth in the accusations coming our way. We want God to protect us, not only from the big meanies out to get us, we also want protection from ourselves. Somewhere below the surface we are aware that our protests and pleas of innocence are a sham. We can only hope to be judged by a loving and forgiving God rather than by our peers.

Either way the voice and presence of God are in and around us, leading us to forgiveness for ourselves and others, as well as repentance when we are wrong and humility when we are in the right. God is with us, no matter what. Whether I am among the poor and needy, or the nasty and vindictive I can give thanks that God desires justice and harmony whether it comes now or in a long slow arc. The whys and wherefores of God’s loving presence are beyond our comprehension, nevertheless we give thanks and praise in the midst of the throng.

© June 4, 2012