Psalm Meditation 629
Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 8, 2012

Psalm 80
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;
11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted.
16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
(NRSV)

It seems to be a pretty subtle difference to distinguish between causing something and allowing it to happen, however it is also a powerful distinction. For the ancient Israelites God caused the difficulties and defeats that came as a result of the people wandering away from the path set out for them by God. When the people turned away from God the trials and tribulations they faced were due to the direct action of God in the lives of the people. God caused their enemies to attack them and then stood back and did not participate in the battle, removing any possibility of success or victory from the army of Israel.

In order to be restored to the good graces of God the people had to repent and renew their allegiance to God and the ways of God. At that point God would return and restore the fortunes and power of the people and the nation. It was a very human viewpoint. God was viewed through the same lens as any other ruler, with human temperament that had to be appeased. As our relationship with God matured, so too did our concept of God’s presence mature.

These days folks are more likely to see God as having given us the freedom to choose our course of action and to accept the consequences of those actions. God does not cause the calamities of sin so much as God allows us the freedom to act. Since every act has a cost and a promise we reap both the consequences and rewards of our actions. God continues to desire a relationship with us, especially one in which we choose to be faithful to God to the best of our ability.

July 2, 2012