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