Psalm Meditation 646
Twenty third Sunday of Ordinary Time All Saints Sunday
November 4, 2012
Psalm 143
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued me, crushing my life to the ground, making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the days of old, I think about all your deeds, I meditate on the works of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Save me, O LORD, from my enemies; I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.
11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life. In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
12 In your steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries, for I am your servant.
(NRSV)
For those who are held as hostages or prisoners, one of the important distinctions between them is the sense of hope or meaning they are able to maintain during their captivity. The folks who hold onto something fare much better than those who lapse into a sense of helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness. The psalmist begins to feel the crushing weight of this situation and cries out to God for deliverance. The awareness that there is one on whom we can lean, lightens the burden considerably. When we can call on one who is both outside the current situation and bigger than the current situation we have found a source of comfort and deliverance.
The comfort comes in knowing that we are not alone. When forced by circumstance to bear a burden alone, the solitariness adds to the weight as negative thoughts compound on each other. Sharing a burden makes it lighter. Having a companion as we bear a burden makes the whole situation brighter as we bear it together. As we work together the better we are able to solve the problems that come with our burdens. The crushing weight is eased by the presence of another.
The deliverance comes from knowing that we are not wholly defined by what is going on around us. We are more than our problems and difficulties. We are more than the burdens we bear. We are more than the negatives heaped on us by the people and events that would weigh us down. In the presence of God we remember that we are people of sacred worth, loved by God and by those whose lives are intertwined with ours. We are higher and deeper and broader than any momentary affliction that weighs us down.
The psalmist is burdened by the weight of an adversary and calls on God for comfort. We are reminded that we are not the first to face enemies and adversities and will not likely be the last. We do well to join the psalmist in putting ourselves into the hands of God for companionship and deliverance.
October 29, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Psalm Meditation 645
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 28, 2012
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
While many take comfort in our God as one who will reverse the fortunes of people, I believe that God will equalize the fortunes of people. In a reversal, those who are rich will become poor while the poor will become rich. It doesn’t solve or change anything. In a great equalization the rich and poor will find themselves on equal footing with each other. The first and last will be one and the same. The best way to do that is to make a circle, in which each point is both first and last.
God lifts up the poor from the dust and ashes to sit with the royalty. The poor do not replace the royals, they join them. God is interested in groups and individuals having equal access to God and to each other. The best way to do that is through equality rather than reversal. Those who currently enjoy the advantages of royalty will not be removed, they will be joined by those whom God will lift up to the level of royalty.
I understand that one of the reasons we call God Father is to begin that great equalization. If we are each a child of God then no one can use parentage as an advantage over anyone. As the playing field is leveled, as we recognize the familial bonds that hold us together, we have no reason to withhold resources from one another. As we realize the relationships God has in mind for us, we lift our lives in praise.
October 22, 2012
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 28, 2012
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
While many take comfort in our God as one who will reverse the fortunes of people, I believe that God will equalize the fortunes of people. In a reversal, those who are rich will become poor while the poor will become rich. It doesn’t solve or change anything. In a great equalization the rich and poor will find themselves on equal footing with each other. The first and last will be one and the same. The best way to do that is to make a circle, in which each point is both first and last.
God lifts up the poor from the dust and ashes to sit with the royalty. The poor do not replace the royals, they join them. God is interested in groups and individuals having equal access to God and to each other. The best way to do that is through equality rather than reversal. Those who currently enjoy the advantages of royalty will not be removed, they will be joined by those whom God will lift up to the level of royalty.
I understand that one of the reasons we call God Father is to begin that great equalization. If we are each a child of God then no one can use parentage as an advantage over anyone. As the playing field is leveled, as we recognize the familial bonds that hold us together, we have no reason to withhold resources from one another. As we realize the relationships God has in mind for us, we lift our lives in praise.
October 22, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Psalm Meditation 644
Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 21, 2012
Psalm 83
1 O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 Even now your enemies are in tumult; those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against those you protect.
4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5 They conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. (Selah)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, "Let us take the pastures of God for our own possession."
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane.
16 Fill their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.
(NRSV)
While I believe that God answers prayer, I also believe that God has the sense not to answer every prayer by jumping up and doing what we have asked. There are times in which God uses our prayers to teach us about ourselves and to remind us how God works in peoples’ lives. We are very aware that God does not fix things, to make them the way we want them to be. God is more likely to be with us as we live into a situation than to make it the way we wish it were. God is more likely to suffer with us, through the way things are than to make things the way we want them to be. God is more likely to change our hearts than to change the folks around us.
This doesn’t alter the fact that we want our enemies destroyed and that we want God to do it for us. God is happy to hear the needs and wants of our hearts in our prayers. It gives God the opportunity to show us what it means to follow after God’s own heart. God may also open our minds to a new strategy for dealing with our enemies. We may discover ways to protect ourselves, find effective ways to apply the force we have against our enemies, or we may find that we have found a way to turn enemies into allies in some way.
God is not deaf to our prayers. God hears them with an ear toward wholeness, for us and for those around us. God wants us to experience and express the bitterness, rage and vindictiveness that are in our hearts against those we count as enemies. God wants us to trust and know that there is power beyond our own in every situation. God wants to redeem us from our suffering, not by taking it away but by showing us that we are not alone.
October 15, 2012
Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 21, 2012
Psalm 83
1 O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 Even now your enemies are in tumult; those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against those you protect.
4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5 They conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. (Selah)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, "Let us take the pastures of God for our own possession."
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane.
16 Fill their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.
(NRSV)
While I believe that God answers prayer, I also believe that God has the sense not to answer every prayer by jumping up and doing what we have asked. There are times in which God uses our prayers to teach us about ourselves and to remind us how God works in peoples’ lives. We are very aware that God does not fix things, to make them the way we want them to be. God is more likely to be with us as we live into a situation than to make it the way we wish it were. God is more likely to suffer with us, through the way things are than to make things the way we want them to be. God is more likely to change our hearts than to change the folks around us.
This doesn’t alter the fact that we want our enemies destroyed and that we want God to do it for us. God is happy to hear the needs and wants of our hearts in our prayers. It gives God the opportunity to show us what it means to follow after God’s own heart. God may also open our minds to a new strategy for dealing with our enemies. We may discover ways to protect ourselves, find effective ways to apply the force we have against our enemies, or we may find that we have found a way to turn enemies into allies in some way.
God is not deaf to our prayers. God hears them with an ear toward wholeness, for us and for those around us. God wants us to experience and express the bitterness, rage and vindictiveness that are in our hearts against those we count as enemies. God wants us to trust and know that there is power beyond our own in every situation. God wants to redeem us from our suffering, not by taking it away but by showing us that we are not alone.
October 15, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Psalm Meditation 643
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 14, 2012
Psalm 53
1 Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
5 There they shall be in great terror, in terror such as has not been. For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
(NRSV)
Somewhere between no God at all and the God of great terror is the God I know. Though we are sure that we have a complete picture of who God is for us and for others, we are probably mistaken. Our understanding of God is colored by our pre-conceived notions of who and what we believe God to be. God is likely so much bigger than our ability to understand, that we can fit all the statements about who God is throughout human history into the reality of God and still have room for new ideas about God.
God is bigger and broader than our ability to comprehend. If we could definitively categorize who God is and what God does in a given situation, we would have a God that is way too small to meet us where we are. Our concept of God is always tempered by what we bring into God’s presence. When we come angry, our God is angry and out to get all who dare to disagree with even the smallest of divine decrees. When we come to God seeking peace we discover a God who gives us comfort and the energy to bring peace to others despite the obstacles. It is the same God, it is who we are that determines what part of God we see.
Because we tend to find that which we seek, our picture of God will be tempered by who we are and what we bring into our relationship with God. The anger of God is a part of God, the peace and comfort of God are a part of God. I am most comfortable with the God of relationships, who brings what we need at any given time into our life together. Love and comfort, as well as anger and judgment are just a few of the characteristics God brings into the relationship with us. What we feel from God, what we find in God will be tempered by who we are and what we bring to the relationship at any given moment.
October 8, 2012
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 14, 2012
Psalm 53
1 Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
5 There they shall be in great terror, in terror such as has not been. For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
(NRSV)
Somewhere between no God at all and the God of great terror is the God I know. Though we are sure that we have a complete picture of who God is for us and for others, we are probably mistaken. Our understanding of God is colored by our pre-conceived notions of who and what we believe God to be. God is likely so much bigger than our ability to understand, that we can fit all the statements about who God is throughout human history into the reality of God and still have room for new ideas about God.
God is bigger and broader than our ability to comprehend. If we could definitively categorize who God is and what God does in a given situation, we would have a God that is way too small to meet us where we are. Our concept of God is always tempered by what we bring into God’s presence. When we come angry, our God is angry and out to get all who dare to disagree with even the smallest of divine decrees. When we come to God seeking peace we discover a God who gives us comfort and the energy to bring peace to others despite the obstacles. It is the same God, it is who we are that determines what part of God we see.
Because we tend to find that which we seek, our picture of God will be tempered by who we are and what we bring into our relationship with God. The anger of God is a part of God, the peace and comfort of God are a part of God. I am most comfortable with the God of relationships, who brings what we need at any given time into our life together. Love and comfort, as well as anger and judgment are just a few of the characteristics God brings into the relationship with us. What we feel from God, what we find in God will be tempered by who we are and what we bring to the relationship at any given moment.
October 8, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Psalm Meditation 642
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 7, 2012
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.
(NRSV)
As a child I asked my dad why this psalm would say that the Lord is my shepherd and then say that I do not want that relationship. As gently as he did just about everything, he explained that it did not meant that I did not want the Lord as my shepherd, it meant that I had everything I would ever need. Once I understood that part I was ready to ask God for all the ‘stuff’ I ever wanted. It turns out that the psalmist does not have that in mind either.
With the Lord as my shepherd I find myself content with where I am and what I have. I may continue to strive for more and better in various aspects of my life. If, however, I never achieve anything and continue to have the Lord as my shepherd I will have a sense of contentment that folks who strive for and achieve all the other desires of their hearts, except having the Lord as their shepherd, I will probably have a richer life than they.
Given the choice between having all the stuff one would ever want, except a relationship with God, and having it the other way around, it seems one would be far better off with a relationship. Add in a relationship or two with loving people and the sense of contentment far eclipses that of anyone who has all the ‘stuff’ they have ever thought they needed for any reason.
October 1, 2012
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 7, 2012
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.
(NRSV)
As a child I asked my dad why this psalm would say that the Lord is my shepherd and then say that I do not want that relationship. As gently as he did just about everything, he explained that it did not meant that I did not want the Lord as my shepherd, it meant that I had everything I would ever need. Once I understood that part I was ready to ask God for all the ‘stuff’ I ever wanted. It turns out that the psalmist does not have that in mind either.
With the Lord as my shepherd I find myself content with where I am and what I have. I may continue to strive for more and better in various aspects of my life. If, however, I never achieve anything and continue to have the Lord as my shepherd I will have a sense of contentment that folks who strive for and achieve all the other desires of their hearts, except having the Lord as their shepherd, I will probably have a richer life than they.
Given the choice between having all the stuff one would ever want, except a relationship with God, and having it the other way around, it seems one would be far better off with a relationship. Add in a relationship or two with loving people and the sense of contentment far eclipses that of anyone who has all the ‘stuff’ they have ever thought they needed for any reason.
October 1, 2012
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