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