Psalm Meditation 659
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
February 3, 2013
Psalm 86
1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God;
3 be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication.
7 In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, the insolent rise up against me; a band of ruffians seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your serving girl.
17 Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame, because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
(NRSV)
I am sure that there are people with undivided hearts, who revere God in everything they do. I don’t think I know any of those people. The people I know are in a constant battle between our own selfishness and our desire to live as God would have us live. It does not make us bad people: it makes us people. As a part of our survival instinct we keep an eye to our own best interest even as we serve God and others with out actions. Some folks look to their service and see themselves as amazingly godly. Other folks look to their selfish motives and see themselves as hypocritical pretenders in their service to God. Most of us serve with a combination of motives.
Of the folks reading this, my guess is that even though there is a touch of selfishness in everything we do, our aim and desire is to learn the ways of God so that we can come ever closer to an undivided heart with which to serve and revere God. We know that the love of God is a never wavering beacon in our lives that offers us deliverance from all that holds us back, including our own selfish desires and motives. While we will continue to have our selfish motives they will lessen in intensity as we become more practiced in following the ways of God.
As we learn to live as people of God, the threats from outside, as well as from within, will lessen in relation to the power of the love of God at work in us. We will continue to face the threats and dangers in our lives, however they will seem less threatening and less dangerous when seen from the perspective of God and the people of God. We will find grace, strength and comfort in the abiding presence of God.
January 28, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Psalm Meditation 658
Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 27, 2013
Psalm 56
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High,
3 when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they hoped to have my life,
7 so repay them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.
(NRSV)
We like to trust our memories as being accurate, especially as we remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard about or witnessed major historical events. In a similar vein we would like to think that our memories of personal affronts are just as accurate. Research has shown that we are not as good at remembering as we would like to believe. We tend to embellish our memories and add perceptions from others to our own until what actually happened is quite different from the way we remember it happening. All this to say that God keeps track of our lives better than we do ourselves.
God keeps track of the insults we have suffered as well as the insults we have heaped on others. Our tears and the tears we have caused are in God’s record as well. These and other bits of information are at God’s fingertips at any moment. The good thing is that God rarely uses the information as a weapon against us, or others. God doesn’t keep track in order to keep score in the contest between us and them. God keeps account as a corrective to our faulty records. God calls us each to account for our own behavior. It is not a compare and contrast of personal behavior over and against that of another person or group so much as it is our personal behavior compared and contrasted to our memory and perception of that same activity.
The good thing for each of us is that God is quick to offer us credit for the good things and forgiveness for our lapses. Another excellent aspect of God’s love for us is that God doesn’t keep score, at least not the way we do. While God remembers our actions and inactions, the bad things do not cause God to push us away any more than the good things draw us closer to the heart of God. It is the nature of God to love us, pure and simple. We make our own choices as to how we react to the love God offers, however we do not act in ways that force God to love us any more or any less.
January 21, 2013
Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 27, 2013
Psalm 56
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High,
3 when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they hoped to have my life,
7 so repay them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.
(NRSV)
We like to trust our memories as being accurate, especially as we remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard about or witnessed major historical events. In a similar vein we would like to think that our memories of personal affronts are just as accurate. Research has shown that we are not as good at remembering as we would like to believe. We tend to embellish our memories and add perceptions from others to our own until what actually happened is quite different from the way we remember it happening. All this to say that God keeps track of our lives better than we do ourselves.
God keeps track of the insults we have suffered as well as the insults we have heaped on others. Our tears and the tears we have caused are in God’s record as well. These and other bits of information are at God’s fingertips at any moment. The good thing is that God rarely uses the information as a weapon against us, or others. God doesn’t keep track in order to keep score in the contest between us and them. God keeps account as a corrective to our faulty records. God calls us each to account for our own behavior. It is not a compare and contrast of personal behavior over and against that of another person or group so much as it is our personal behavior compared and contrasted to our memory and perception of that same activity.
The good thing for each of us is that God is quick to offer us credit for the good things and forgiveness for our lapses. Another excellent aspect of God’s love for us is that God doesn’t keep score, at least not the way we do. While God remembers our actions and inactions, the bad things do not cause God to push us away any more than the good things draw us closer to the heart of God. It is the nature of God to love us, pure and simple. We make our own choices as to how we react to the love God offers, however we do not act in ways that force God to love us any more or any less.
January 21, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Psalm Meditation 657
Second Sunday After Epiphany
January 20, 2013
Psalm 26
1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.
4 I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
5 I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O LORD,
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8 O LORD, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.
9 Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
10 those in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the LORD.
(NRSV)
In the current state of the world, it is tempting to give in and recognize that evil has won. We might as well sit down and wait for the end to come at the hand of God, at the hands of evil doers, or some combination of the two. If we let ourselves be overcome with cynicism we would be wrong. As people of God we are always right to join the psalmist in the singing of a song of thanksgiving and telling the wondrous deeds of God. Even though, especially because, it is easy to give in to a cynical, defeatist attitude, the way to God is through thanksgiving and a sense of wonder.
My dad taught me to be a short range pessimist and a long range optimist. That is, things rarely work out the way we want them to at the time, however in the long run it will work itself out. I do have a cynical, defeatist attitude for the short term. I do believe that things have a way of working out - eventually. It is possible to find writings of philosophers in every age who have commented on the terrible shape of the world and our relationships with each other, even in our families. At the same time, we discover that the dire predictions included in their descriptions have not come true. We continue to live on as groups of people who lean toward destruction and continue to survive and thrive.
A most helpful corrective to our cynical leanings is to sing a song of thankfulness and tell of the wondrous works of God. So, give up on the world and all the people in it, especially the ones close by who insist on driving you crazy on a daily basis. However, don’t give up on God, or God’s ability to redeem those people, and us, from the clutches of our leaning toward foolishness and destruction. Yes, we will go through various trials. Yes, we will be overwhelmed from time to time. Yes, God is with us through it all, moving our feet to level ground.
January 14, 2012
Second Sunday After Epiphany
January 20, 2013
Psalm 26
1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.
4 I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
5 I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O LORD,
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8 O LORD, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.
9 Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
10 those in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the LORD.
(NRSV)
In the current state of the world, it is tempting to give in and recognize that evil has won. We might as well sit down and wait for the end to come at the hand of God, at the hands of evil doers, or some combination of the two. If we let ourselves be overcome with cynicism we would be wrong. As people of God we are always right to join the psalmist in the singing of a song of thanksgiving and telling the wondrous deeds of God. Even though, especially because, it is easy to give in to a cynical, defeatist attitude, the way to God is through thanksgiving and a sense of wonder.
My dad taught me to be a short range pessimist and a long range optimist. That is, things rarely work out the way we want them to at the time, however in the long run it will work itself out. I do have a cynical, defeatist attitude for the short term. I do believe that things have a way of working out - eventually. It is possible to find writings of philosophers in every age who have commented on the terrible shape of the world and our relationships with each other, even in our families. At the same time, we discover that the dire predictions included in their descriptions have not come true. We continue to live on as groups of people who lean toward destruction and continue to survive and thrive.
A most helpful corrective to our cynical leanings is to sing a song of thankfulness and tell of the wondrous works of God. So, give up on the world and all the people in it, especially the ones close by who insist on driving you crazy on a daily basis. However, don’t give up on God, or God’s ability to redeem those people, and us, from the clutches of our leaning toward foolishness and destruction. Yes, we will go through various trials. Yes, we will be overwhelmed from time to time. Yes, God is with us through it all, moving our feet to level ground.
January 14, 2012
Monday, January 7, 2013
Psalm Meditation 656
Baptism of the Lord
January 13, 2013
Psalm 145
1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
(NRSV)
Current polling shows that we have a growing number of folks who respond to the question of religious affiliation with the word, none. This gives rise to some pretty serious hand wringing among folks whose livelihood is based on the religious affiliation of the masses. There is more at stake than financial concerns. Folks are concerned that we may be seeing the end of the influence of religion on everyday life and maybe even the end of organized religion as we know it. I find that I do not share the concerns. While the numbers may be shrinking, the influence may be waning, I do not see the end of organized religion.
One generation continues to “laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts,” in such a way that the seed is planted and some of those who hear respond in the same way folks have responded for generations. The story continues to be told and heard, and passed on from one generation to another. As the story is told and heard, it also takes root in the lives of those who hear and experience those mighty acts of God.
Numbers of folks active in congregations may continue to shrink. People of faith may lose control of the reins of political power. Faith groups may lose some of the advantages to which we have become accustomed. However, the power of faith will continue to touch the lives of people in life changing ways. Faith will be able to speak with the voice of those on the outside of the halls of power, which is when God is able to speak most eloquently. We will continue to be able to speak the praise of God in the way we live our lives.
January 7, 2013
Baptism of the Lord
January 13, 2013
Psalm 145
1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
(NRSV)
Current polling shows that we have a growing number of folks who respond to the question of religious affiliation with the word, none. This gives rise to some pretty serious hand wringing among folks whose livelihood is based on the religious affiliation of the masses. There is more at stake than financial concerns. Folks are concerned that we may be seeing the end of the influence of religion on everyday life and maybe even the end of organized religion as we know it. I find that I do not share the concerns. While the numbers may be shrinking, the influence may be waning, I do not see the end of organized religion.
One generation continues to “laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts,” in such a way that the seed is planted and some of those who hear respond in the same way folks have responded for generations. The story continues to be told and heard, and passed on from one generation to another. As the story is told and heard, it also takes root in the lives of those who hear and experience those mighty acts of God.
Numbers of folks active in congregations may continue to shrink. People of faith may lose control of the reins of political power. Faith groups may lose some of the advantages to which we have become accustomed. However, the power of faith will continue to touch the lives of people in life changing ways. Faith will be able to speak with the voice of those on the outside of the halls of power, which is when God is able to speak most eloquently. We will continue to be able to speak the praise of God in the way we live our lives.
January 7, 2013
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