Psalm Meditation 754
First Sunday of Advent
November 30, 2014
Psalm 13
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
(NRSV)
As we live out our lives we become the bearers of pain and sorrow to some degree or another. Some seem to bear more than their share while others manage to avoid much of the suffering that goes with being human. Those who suffer will do so for the rest of their lives in some form. Suffering is not something that goes away, it is incorporated into the fabric of our lives. Physical wounds leave their imprint on us forever. Bones heal and flesh scars over, each leaving a mark that serves as a reminder of our injuries.
Emotional and spiritual wounds leave their mark as well. They are not as visible to the eye, perhaps because the wound is felt more deeply than skin and bone. Our temptation is to encourage folks to move past these deeper wounds more quickly, as if the lack of a physical mark makes them less damaging. In truth, these psychic wounds are frighteningly more damaging than any physical one. There are folks who will rehearse their grief, getting stuck at an early stage of the process and refusing to go any deeper. There are others who will mine the depths of grief and find a way to weave it into the lives that lie before them.
The psalmist decides to lean on the steadfast love of God. As is true for the rest of us, the hope is that God will take the suffering away, to make it as if it never happened. I can’t imagine going through life without reminders of suffering. The bittersweet memories, the harsh lessons, the mementos of experiences that are a part of us, even those we hope never to go through again. The steadfast love of God gives us a place to lean, a place to wait, a place to find a way to incorporate suffering into the wholeness of our lives from this day onward.
November 24, 2014
LCM
Monday, November 24, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Psalm Meditation 753
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 23, 2014
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.
19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
20 those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(NRSV)
As a child I could not imagine how my parents knew what I was doing when I was supposed to be sleeping. How did they know I was up when I was supposed to be down, that my eyes were open when they were supposed to be closed, that I was whispering when I was supposed to be quiet? As I became a parent I realized that what felt like sneaking to me as a child was not nearly as sneaky as I thought. With upstairs bedrooms, even a child’s tip toe makes the downstairs ceiling creak and pop. If an adult can perceive the child’s attempt at stealth, how much more aware is God of my activities in any part of my life.
While it can be unnerving to know we are being watched when we would rather we were not, it is deeply comforting to know when we are insecure or otherwise afraid. To know that someone who loves us has eyes and ears open to our situation can give us the courage to move ahead, to take the next step, as our fears work to bring us to a halt. The knowledge that those eyes can see deeper than the surface and the ears hears more than our minds can imagine adds to the sense of comfort in the presence of God.
The psalmist asks that God search for all the wicked parts and pieces of heart and mind so that there is a clear path ahead. It is tempting to believe that we are able to find our way to God on our own strength and power, that we can muscle our way forward through all the trial and temptations and finally win our way to God. The psalmist reminds us that it is God who leads us best, who points out the spots to avoid, who makes it possible for us to find the way into the presence of God.
November 17, 2014
LCM
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 23, 2014
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.
19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
20 those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(NRSV)
As a child I could not imagine how my parents knew what I was doing when I was supposed to be sleeping. How did they know I was up when I was supposed to be down, that my eyes were open when they were supposed to be closed, that I was whispering when I was supposed to be quiet? As I became a parent I realized that what felt like sneaking to me as a child was not nearly as sneaky as I thought. With upstairs bedrooms, even a child’s tip toe makes the downstairs ceiling creak and pop. If an adult can perceive the child’s attempt at stealth, how much more aware is God of my activities in any part of my life.
While it can be unnerving to know we are being watched when we would rather we were not, it is deeply comforting to know when we are insecure or otherwise afraid. To know that someone who loves us has eyes and ears open to our situation can give us the courage to move ahead, to take the next step, as our fears work to bring us to a halt. The knowledge that those eyes can see deeper than the surface and the ears hears more than our minds can imagine adds to the sense of comfort in the presence of God.
The psalmist asks that God search for all the wicked parts and pieces of heart and mind so that there is a clear path ahead. It is tempting to believe that we are able to find our way to God on our own strength and power, that we can muscle our way forward through all the trial and temptations and finally win our way to God. The psalmist reminds us that it is God who leads us best, who points out the spots to avoid, who makes it possible for us to find the way into the presence of God.
November 17, 2014
LCM
Monday, November 10, 2014
Psalm Meditation 752
Twenty third Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 16, 2014
Psalm 62
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3 How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
(NRSV)
For many of us sitting in silence means that no sounds are coming out of our mouths and that we are not physically moving. Our minds are probably racing as we make lists of things we need or want to do, as we run through our list of joys and concerns, as we carry on our side of the conversation with God. Even reciting a centering word or phrase can drown out the God side of our conversation. While we are actually far from it, we give the outward impression that we are sitting silent in the presence of God.
There are folks who can sit in silence, who are present without a personal agenda, who are open to hear what is going on around them, whose centering phrase actually helps them to center themselves in God. These are the folks whose souls wait in silence in the presence of God. They are not letting their minds race, they are waiting to receive what God has to offer. These are the folks who listen to us in such a way that we know we are heard. They don’t interrupt us to get their word in, they may not even say anything until several beats after we have finished our side of the conversation. They have a particular gift of silence and presence.
God doesn’t force us to be something we are not. If we are impatient God does not make us wait until we have cultivated patience. God finds a way to sneak a word or phrase into our lists, slips a name or face into our joys and concerns, is patient with us in the midst of our impatience. Over time the presence of God will likely change us a bit. We will be able to open up a slightly larger space for God to work in us and through us as the years fly past us. We will find ourselves better able to open ourselves to the steadfast love of God in a wider variety of times and places. We will find ourselves seated firmly on the bedrock of God’s saving presence even as we fidget and squirm in our impatience.
November 10, 2014
LCM
Twenty third Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 16, 2014
Psalm 62
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3 How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
(NRSV)
For many of us sitting in silence means that no sounds are coming out of our mouths and that we are not physically moving. Our minds are probably racing as we make lists of things we need or want to do, as we run through our list of joys and concerns, as we carry on our side of the conversation with God. Even reciting a centering word or phrase can drown out the God side of our conversation. While we are actually far from it, we give the outward impression that we are sitting silent in the presence of God.
There are folks who can sit in silence, who are present without a personal agenda, who are open to hear what is going on around them, whose centering phrase actually helps them to center themselves in God. These are the folks whose souls wait in silence in the presence of God. They are not letting their minds race, they are waiting to receive what God has to offer. These are the folks who listen to us in such a way that we know we are heard. They don’t interrupt us to get their word in, they may not even say anything until several beats after we have finished our side of the conversation. They have a particular gift of silence and presence.
God doesn’t force us to be something we are not. If we are impatient God does not make us wait until we have cultivated patience. God finds a way to sneak a word or phrase into our lists, slips a name or face into our joys and concerns, is patient with us in the midst of our impatience. Over time the presence of God will likely change us a bit. We will be able to open up a slightly larger space for God to work in us and through us as the years fly past us. We will find ourselves better able to open ourselves to the steadfast love of God in a wider variety of times and places. We will find ourselves seated firmly on the bedrock of God’s saving presence even as we fidget and squirm in our impatience.
November 10, 2014
LCM
Monday, November 3, 2014
Psalm Meditation 751
Twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 9, 2014
Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments.
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.
7 They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
(NRSV)
For many of us our heroes are folks who have accomplished something noteworthy, something a large portion of the world has noticed. They may be rich, famous, influential or a combination of some of these or other celebrated characteristics. We have another list as well. It is the list of folks who have helped us in some way, especially a way that required sacrifice on their part. They have given us a piece of themselves along with any resources they may have offered. These two groups of folks are often at odds with one another.
Our heroes tell us to get all we can for as long as we can and don’t worry about any cost that doesn’t accrue directly to us. That is, don’t hesitate to step on or over someone as long as there is a sizable payoff on the other side. Our mentors, saints if you will, are ever mindful of the effect actions have on others. The reason they have taken us under their wings in the first place is because of their willingness to invest in others at the cost of their own fame and fortune. Perhaps the reason the student often surpasses the teacher is due to the teacher’s willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the student.
The psalmist celebrates these saints who give freely to those who have needs beyond their current resources. The wicked, who were synonymous with the rich, get upset when people give away perfectly good resources that could benefit the holder of that wealth more than the person who receives it. The fact that the saints calculate wealth in a whole different type of economics is lost on those who see wealth in terms of money and property. It comes down to a question of which will make a person happy for the long term. Some believe that happiness comes from wealth, fame and influence, while other believe that happiness comes from richness of relationships. The psalmist chooses to celebrate relationships.
November 3, 2014
LCM
Twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 9, 2014
Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments.
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.
7 They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
(NRSV)
For many of us our heroes are folks who have accomplished something noteworthy, something a large portion of the world has noticed. They may be rich, famous, influential or a combination of some of these or other celebrated characteristics. We have another list as well. It is the list of folks who have helped us in some way, especially a way that required sacrifice on their part. They have given us a piece of themselves along with any resources they may have offered. These two groups of folks are often at odds with one another.
Our heroes tell us to get all we can for as long as we can and don’t worry about any cost that doesn’t accrue directly to us. That is, don’t hesitate to step on or over someone as long as there is a sizable payoff on the other side. Our mentors, saints if you will, are ever mindful of the effect actions have on others. The reason they have taken us under their wings in the first place is because of their willingness to invest in others at the cost of their own fame and fortune. Perhaps the reason the student often surpasses the teacher is due to the teacher’s willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the student.
The psalmist celebrates these saints who give freely to those who have needs beyond their current resources. The wicked, who were synonymous with the rich, get upset when people give away perfectly good resources that could benefit the holder of that wealth more than the person who receives it. The fact that the saints calculate wealth in a whole different type of economics is lost on those who see wealth in terms of money and property. It comes down to a question of which will make a person happy for the long term. Some believe that happiness comes from wealth, fame and influence, while other believe that happiness comes from richness of relationships. The psalmist chooses to celebrate relationships.
November 3, 2014
LCM
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