Psalm Meditation 701
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 24, 2013

Psalm 97
1 The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God.
9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 The LORD loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
(NRSV)

In the midst of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, I remember what a shock it was to hear that the Soviet Union was geographically larger than the US. How could the best country in the world not also be the biggest. Through the years I have discovered that the biggest is not always the best and mine is not always better than that of another. Sometimes that other is better, sometimes worse and sometimes simply different.

When it comes to God I have also had a change of heart and mind. The older I get the more radical becomes my monotheism. Rather than worrying about whether one or another religious faith worships the same God I worship, I am inclined to believe that there is only one God who is experienced and interpreted differently from person to person and faith to faith. So, for me, the worshippers of other gods have chosen to split attributes of God into multiple parts to make God more comprehensible.

I would like to think that our conception of God is the most complete and comprehensive. At the very least it is the one most meaningful to me. So whether there is a nation that is larger than my own, this is home for me. It is the one best suited to my current set of needs, wants and wishes. Whether there is one God or a panoply, the one God of the Bible, Yahweh, is the one in whom I will rejoice and the one to whom I will give thanks.

November 18, 2013