Psalm Meditation 820
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 6, 2016
Psalm 24
1 The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah
(NRSV)
Each person benefits from the creative power of God in a variety of ways though it is ‘those who seek the face of the God of Jacob’ who are best able to notice. Those who believe that they receive as they achieve will look for ways to give credit to themselves for the good things that come their way. Those who believe that it is all a matter of luck will find ways to ascribe good luck to those who receive good things and bad luck to those who end up with little or nothing. Those who look to God will see blessings coming in a variety of ways to a variety of people.
The blessings do not change according to how we believe they come to us, however out attitude about those blessings will be colored by the perceived source. If we believe we get what we deserve for our hard work or lack thereof, we will be quick to judge those who do not live up to the standards we set for ourselves. If we believe it is all a matter of luck we will find a way to justify our blessings or lack as a simple turn of luck. If we believe that what we have comes from God we will be grateful for the providence and willingly offer it to others as a part of God’s bounty to all.
I have yet to come to terms with why some of us receive a lot and others receive so little. I am convinced that those with lots have a responsibility to share with others as generously as we have received. I am aware that the more one has the more reluctant one is to share with others without some experience of what it is like to be without for even a brief time. As people of God we are called upon, no matter what our station in life, to offer a portion of what we have to others. It is not a display of largesse, giving presents or money to a large number of people, on our part, it is a way of raising the gates so the King of glory may come in.
February 29, 2016
LCM
Monday, February 29, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
Psalm Meditation 819
Third Sunday in Lent
February 28, 2016
Psalm 128
1 Happy is everyone who fears the LORD , who walks in his ways.
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD .
5 The LORD bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
(NRSV)
The cynic in me wants to argue with the first two verses, at the very least. I know that not every person of faith has enough to eat and the lives of those people are not very happy. Then I read it all again. There is no promise that there is enough or that the happiness of people of faith lives up to my definition of happiness. There are folks who don’t have enough by my standards who are content with what they have. It is not a sit back on their heels and never have another worry contentment. Theirs is a contentment of knowing that they are in the hands of God, no matter what.
Their happiness is not based on what they have so much as their awareness that they are in the hands and heart of God when the world is good to them and when it is not. This happiness has much more to do with what God thinks of them, how God treats them and loves them than what the rest of the world thinks of them. Yes, more stuff might be nice, especially necessities like enough food and water for everyone, however God’s gifts and presence are more important than the stuff of life.
The psalmist does not recommend that we surrender our necessities or that we give up our ‘enough’ so that we are able to depend more fully on God. The psalmist is calling us to depend on God so that we can more easily see how much is enough. As we place our emphasis on the presence of God we discover a sense of contentment that has very little to do with how much stuff we have and more to do with the quality of our relationships with God and with the people around us.
February 22, 2016
LCM
Third Sunday in Lent
February 28, 2016
Psalm 128
1 Happy is everyone who fears the LORD , who walks in his ways.
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD .
5 The LORD bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
(NRSV)
The cynic in me wants to argue with the first two verses, at the very least. I know that not every person of faith has enough to eat and the lives of those people are not very happy. Then I read it all again. There is no promise that there is enough or that the happiness of people of faith lives up to my definition of happiness. There are folks who don’t have enough by my standards who are content with what they have. It is not a sit back on their heels and never have another worry contentment. Theirs is a contentment of knowing that they are in the hands of God, no matter what.
Their happiness is not based on what they have so much as their awareness that they are in the hands and heart of God when the world is good to them and when it is not. This happiness has much more to do with what God thinks of them, how God treats them and loves them than what the rest of the world thinks of them. Yes, more stuff might be nice, especially necessities like enough food and water for everyone, however God’s gifts and presence are more important than the stuff of life.
The psalmist does not recommend that we surrender our necessities or that we give up our ‘enough’ so that we are able to depend more fully on God. The psalmist is calling us to depend on God so that we can more easily see how much is enough. As we place our emphasis on the presence of God we discover a sense of contentment that has very little to do with how much stuff we have and more to do with the quality of our relationships with God and with the people around us.
February 22, 2016
LCM
Monday, February 15, 2016
Psalm Meditation 818
Second Sunday in Lent
February 22, 2016
Psalm 73
1 Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 They are[d] like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.
(NRSV)
In this political season it is easy for us to identify the arrogance of the candidates with whom we disagree. All we need do is look at them, listen to them awhile and their arrogance jumps out at us. Sometimes we are able to identify the arrogance in the candidates with whom we agree. It may take a bit more effort to get through the pleasing words and phrases even though we know it takes a tremendous amount of ego, bordering on arrogance, to be willing to run for public office. Are we willing to hear past the pleasing words to find the threats against those on the outside of our party, nation or people.
On our own we will have difficulty separating out the wheat from the chaff, the promises from the threats, the possible from the rhetoric. We will find a way to hear with our hearts when we join the psalmist in going into the sanctuary of God. In the presence of God we find a new set of eyes and ears, a humbleness of heart and life that makes it possible to get through the trappings of politics, to walk past the fear mongering and finger pointing, to get to the place in which God speaks of freedom from oppression and seeking justice for each and all.
Whether we enjoy politics or seek to avoid it as much as possible, we do well to echo the psalmist, “But for me it is good to be near God.” As we make our way to the presence of God we will find that we see and hear and experience our lives, and the lives of those around us differently. In the presence of God we find a new perspective, a new way of living in the world. We find a way to honor every aspect of creation.
February 15, 2016
LCM
Second Sunday in Lent
February 22, 2016
Psalm 73
1 Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 They are[d] like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.
(NRSV)
In this political season it is easy for us to identify the arrogance of the candidates with whom we disagree. All we need do is look at them, listen to them awhile and their arrogance jumps out at us. Sometimes we are able to identify the arrogance in the candidates with whom we agree. It may take a bit more effort to get through the pleasing words and phrases even though we know it takes a tremendous amount of ego, bordering on arrogance, to be willing to run for public office. Are we willing to hear past the pleasing words to find the threats against those on the outside of our party, nation or people.
On our own we will have difficulty separating out the wheat from the chaff, the promises from the threats, the possible from the rhetoric. We will find a way to hear with our hearts when we join the psalmist in going into the sanctuary of God. In the presence of God we find a new set of eyes and ears, a humbleness of heart and life that makes it possible to get through the trappings of politics, to walk past the fear mongering and finger pointing, to get to the place in which God speaks of freedom from oppression and seeking justice for each and all.
Whether we enjoy politics or seek to avoid it as much as possible, we do well to echo the psalmist, “But for me it is good to be near God.” As we make our way to the presence of God we will find that we see and hear and experience our lives, and the lives of those around us differently. In the presence of God we find a new perspective, a new way of living in the world. We find a way to honor every aspect of creation.
February 15, 2016
LCM
Monday, February 8, 2016
Psalm Meditation 817
First Sunday in Lent
February 14, 2016
Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
(NRSV)
The hand of the master and mistress are where servants receive both praise and punishment. My guess is that servants were more likely to be the recipients of punishment than praise. A servant or slave was likely treated as invisible until a mistake was made or a fault was found. At those moments that servant was going to be on the receiving end of a backhand slap across the face. It was a good idea to keep an eye on the hand of one’s master or mistress in order to anticipate the punishment.
The psalmist’s request for mercy for God is recognition that God is much more willing to be merciful than any other master or mistress. It is also an opportunity to lament to God the treatment received at the hands of all the others in authority. Then, as now, there are those who, if they see them at all, will look with disgust or pity on those they see as beneath them. While there are always those willing to give themselves over to those who offer the remotest chance to rise above those around them, the psalmist and others are weary of being treated as invisible pets and property.
When we find our worth in God we discover that we no longer need to bind ourselves to those who take advantage of our effort on their behalf and give us little to no acknowledgement of our contribution. In God we discover that we are each of infinite worth as we are. In God we discover that all of us together are of infinite worth as well. The individuals are bound into communities of sacred worth and loved by God beyond measure no matter what.
February 8, 2016
LCM
First Sunday in Lent
February 14, 2016
Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
(NRSV)
The hand of the master and mistress are where servants receive both praise and punishment. My guess is that servants were more likely to be the recipients of punishment than praise. A servant or slave was likely treated as invisible until a mistake was made or a fault was found. At those moments that servant was going to be on the receiving end of a backhand slap across the face. It was a good idea to keep an eye on the hand of one’s master or mistress in order to anticipate the punishment.
The psalmist’s request for mercy for God is recognition that God is much more willing to be merciful than any other master or mistress. It is also an opportunity to lament to God the treatment received at the hands of all the others in authority. Then, as now, there are those who, if they see them at all, will look with disgust or pity on those they see as beneath them. While there are always those willing to give themselves over to those who offer the remotest chance to rise above those around them, the psalmist and others are weary of being treated as invisible pets and property.
When we find our worth in God we discover that we no longer need to bind ourselves to those who take advantage of our effort on their behalf and give us little to no acknowledgement of our contribution. In God we discover that we are each of infinite worth as we are. In God we discover that all of us together are of infinite worth as well. The individuals are bound into communities of sacred worth and loved by God beyond measure no matter what.
February 8, 2016
LCM
Monday, February 1, 2016
Psalm Meditation 816
Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
February 7, 2016
Psalm 28
1 To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
(NRSV)
Every now and then, prayer feels as if I am simply talking to myself, as if it goes no farther than from my heart and head to my own ears. In these times prayer becomes exasperating and exhausting. The psalmist seems to be going through one of those times here. We say the words, we go through the motions and we don’t feel as if there is any response. As in so many other situations, the first step in dealing with the problem is to admit/confess that we have a problem so that we can more easily face it.
A part of the concern in not being heard in prayer is the fear that we may be becoming one of ‘those people,’ the people for whom God is either a non-entity, or worse, an enemy. Either way, we become the kind of people who know all the right words to say to gain the trust of those around us so that we can more readily take advantage of their trust. Not only do we not want to become that kind of person, we want God to deal with those people in such a way that they are not able to do damage to anyone else ever again.
Once we realize that God is the one who can, and does, deal with the people we don’t want to become, we also realize that we are not talking to ourselves. God continues to listen, to hear and to respond even when we are unable to notice. It may be along the lines of modern phone connections that are so crisp and clear it can sound as if the connection has been broken if the person at the receiving end of the call is thinking about a response or soaking in the seriousness of what has just been said on the sending end. By asking the question aloud about God’s presence we are able to tell that the connection is open and that God continues to be our strength and shield.
February 1, 2016
LCM
Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
February 7, 2016
Psalm 28
1 To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
(NRSV)
Every now and then, prayer feels as if I am simply talking to myself, as if it goes no farther than from my heart and head to my own ears. In these times prayer becomes exasperating and exhausting. The psalmist seems to be going through one of those times here. We say the words, we go through the motions and we don’t feel as if there is any response. As in so many other situations, the first step in dealing with the problem is to admit/confess that we have a problem so that we can more easily face it.
A part of the concern in not being heard in prayer is the fear that we may be becoming one of ‘those people,’ the people for whom God is either a non-entity, or worse, an enemy. Either way, we become the kind of people who know all the right words to say to gain the trust of those around us so that we can more readily take advantage of their trust. Not only do we not want to become that kind of person, we want God to deal with those people in such a way that they are not able to do damage to anyone else ever again.
Once we realize that God is the one who can, and does, deal with the people we don’t want to become, we also realize that we are not talking to ourselves. God continues to listen, to hear and to respond even when we are unable to notice. It may be along the lines of modern phone connections that are so crisp and clear it can sound as if the connection has been broken if the person at the receiving end of the call is thinking about a response or soaking in the seriousness of what has just been said on the sending end. By asking the question aloud about God’s presence we are able to tell that the connection is open and that God continues to be our strength and shield.
February 1, 2016
LCM
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