Psalm Meditation 715
Transfiguration
March 2, 2014

Psalm 106:1-13,43-48
1 Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or declare all his praise?
3 Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them;
5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your heritage.
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, so that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes,
    and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress when he heard their cry.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)

The history of salvation is long and repetitive. God saves us and we wander off to do our own thing our own way. We figure we know better than God what is good for us and we go on our merry way to do those things. It’s all fun until we get ourselves into a situation beyond our ability. We cry out for God, who comes to pull us out. We make a promise that we will stay faithful this time, no matter what. God smiles and nods, knowing that we are going to be faithful until the next shiny thing comes along to draw our attention from our promised faithfulness. We know that God is annoyed with us as we wander off, however since we promised to be faithful this time, we don’t want to let God know that we are off the path until we are so far off we can’t possibly get back on our own.

Interestingly, God knows all this. God has been at this salvation history stuff a lot longer than any individual generation has been wandering, promising, calling and promising once more. I am guessing that it is nearly amusing to God that each generation follows the same pattern. In an early seminary class, the professor told us that churches go about ministry all wrong. We put young pups in charge of youth and wait until those same folks are older to have them working with older adults. It should be the other way around. A young pastor should work with older adults, senior citizens, so that when things go wrong the folks can assure the pastor that it is not the end of the world. Learn from this one and move on to the next mistake/learning experience. When those pastors get to be 30 and beyond, they work with youth, so that when things go wrong we can assure those youth that it is not the end of the world. God is the older, more mature person in this, who knows that our wanderings are not the end of the world and that someone might learn something through this.

For our part, there are folks who in each generation who find a way to be faithful. They are the ones who pray for us, who remind us that we are not the first to break a promise to God, who encourage us to cry out to for God way earlier than we actually do. We don’t usually listen to those wise, faithful folks, because we know that we are the first to ever wander this far away from God, so we can’t possibly be worthy of any of God’s care and concern.

And through it all God continues to love us, to invite us back into the fold of faithfulness, to come striding into the midst of our wanderings to guide us gently, safely back. Whether we have stepped one foot off the path or have run headlong into pain, danger or both, God is with us. Yes, it would be wonderful if we could spend a full generation following faithfully, and it may happen someday. In this generation, know that the love of God, the presence of God is with us no matter what.

February 24, 2014