Psalm Meditation 828
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 1, 2016
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)
I first heard it in reference to one of my older colleagues, “He can brag in such a way that you are proud to know him.” That is not usually the case with people. Those who brag and boast are some of the most difficult to live around since they are some of the least likely to be able to live as they say they do. While they do all the things they say they do, they also have this large piece of pride, to the point of arrogance, between them and the good deeds that they carry on about. Every now and then, though, one meets a person who says how they behave in the presence of God in a way that is humble and genuine.
We can’t know which kind of person the psalmist is; humble and genuine or annoying and arrogant. It is probably just as well. If the psalmist is one of those annoying, arrogant types it is easy to dismiss the psalm as the boasting of a hypocritical zealot. If the psalmist is humble and genuine it is easy to dismiss the psalm as an impossible ideal limited to those whose personality type lends itself to this kind of faithfulness and righteousness.
Since we don’t know the psalmist we can aim ourselves in the direction the psalm leans. We can do our best to err on the side of keeping the love of God in the forefront of our awareness. With the love of God before us we can find ourselves avoiding the temptation to sit on the sidelines and complain about how things are being done without contributing our best effort. We can keep ourselves from being a part of the group that thinks some people deserve the evil that comes to them and join in devising new ways to make those folks suffer. In place of those things we join in acts of worship, witness and thanksgiving to God. We live with integrity and grace in the presence of God.
April 25, 2016
LCM
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
Psalm Meditation 827
Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2016
Psalm 76
1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)
The leader of the workshop asked for two volunteers; one who loved rollercoasters and one who hated them. He sat them each in a chair, held their shoulders while he pulled, pushed and twisted each one through an imaginary ride. Afterward he asked each of them to describe the physical reactions they experienced. The one who loved rollercoasters had elevated heartbeat, rapid breathing and sweaty palms. When asked to put a name to the reactions, excitement was the word. The one who hated rollercoasters reported the same reactions. The word in this case was fear. The point of the exercise was to let us know that fear and excitement produce the same physical response. Sometimes dealing with emotion is a matter giving it the positive rather than the negative label.
As we experience the awesomeness of God we will name it fear when we see God as an enemy, adversary or oppositional force. When we see God as one who loves us and stands with us we will name the awesomeness of God as excitement. Either way of experiencing the awesome presence of God may cause our knees to buckle and leave us on the ground unable to rise. In fear we will feel devastated and defeated by our incapacity. In excitement we will lay trembling in anticipation of the good things that are happening around us and within us.
There are those who believe that fear is always the correct response to being in the presence of God. The God of judgment will treat us harshly because we are sinners who deserve to be expelled from the presence of God as contamination of the purity of all that is of God. There are those who believe that the correct response is always excitement as we enter God’s presence. Since we are beloved children of God we have nothing to fear as we are scooped up into the loving arms of God. The reality is that we do well to stand in God’s presence trembling with fear and excitement mixed together. We will find ourselves caught between wanting to run away and wanting to run into the arms of God because we are sinners who are deeply and unconditionally loved.
April 18, 2016
LCM
Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2016
Psalm 76
1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)
The leader of the workshop asked for two volunteers; one who loved rollercoasters and one who hated them. He sat them each in a chair, held their shoulders while he pulled, pushed and twisted each one through an imaginary ride. Afterward he asked each of them to describe the physical reactions they experienced. The one who loved rollercoasters had elevated heartbeat, rapid breathing and sweaty palms. When asked to put a name to the reactions, excitement was the word. The one who hated rollercoasters reported the same reactions. The word in this case was fear. The point of the exercise was to let us know that fear and excitement produce the same physical response. Sometimes dealing with emotion is a matter giving it the positive rather than the negative label.
As we experience the awesomeness of God we will name it fear when we see God as an enemy, adversary or oppositional force. When we see God as one who loves us and stands with us we will name the awesomeness of God as excitement. Either way of experiencing the awesome presence of God may cause our knees to buckle and leave us on the ground unable to rise. In fear we will feel devastated and defeated by our incapacity. In excitement we will lay trembling in anticipation of the good things that are happening around us and within us.
There are those who believe that fear is always the correct response to being in the presence of God. The God of judgment will treat us harshly because we are sinners who deserve to be expelled from the presence of God as contamination of the purity of all that is of God. There are those who believe that the correct response is always excitement as we enter God’s presence. Since we are beloved children of God we have nothing to fear as we are scooped up into the loving arms of God. The reality is that we do well to stand in God’s presence trembling with fear and excitement mixed together. We will find ourselves caught between wanting to run away and wanting to run into the arms of God because we are sinners who are deeply and unconditionally loved.
April 18, 2016
LCM
Monday, April 11, 2016
Psalm Meditation 826
Fourth Sunday of Easter
March 17, 2016
Psalm 25
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who are they that fear the LORD? He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13 They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.
(NRSV)
Sadly, I am more offended when I am looked on as evil by others than when I am quick to call out the evil of others. I can only imagine the smile that creeps onto the face of God when we call each other names and set each other apart as ‘them’ and ‘those people.’ When one of our own commits a questionable act we are quick to defend them as misunderstood and to invoke the steadfast love of God for this child of God. When someone from any one of ‘those people’ does the same thing we are just as quick to call down the wrath and judgment of God on this wantonly treacherous person.
Politics and theology generate a great deal of passion for and against a given point of view. It is interesting that we are quick to defend our own party and viewpoint in a discussion or argument, before we hear the viewpoints of ‘others.’ On more than one occasion I had a heated argument with a seminary classmate only to discover that we were in agreement on everything but the vocabulary of our discussion. We had to talk and listen long enough to realize that we were not as ‘other’ as we were determined to believe.
“All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.” My sense is that many of our newsworthy arguments are not over right vs wrong, righteous vs sinful, or patriotic vs unpatriotic so much as they are over emphasis, vocabulary and priorities. It is important to have the discussions, even when they turn to arguments, as long as we continue to listen to others and look for the steadfast love of God in the arguments and in the people.
April 11, 2016
LCM
Fourth Sunday of Easter
March 17, 2016
Psalm 25
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who are they that fear the LORD? He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13 They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.
(NRSV)
Sadly, I am more offended when I am looked on as evil by others than when I am quick to call out the evil of others. I can only imagine the smile that creeps onto the face of God when we call each other names and set each other apart as ‘them’ and ‘those people.’ When one of our own commits a questionable act we are quick to defend them as misunderstood and to invoke the steadfast love of God for this child of God. When someone from any one of ‘those people’ does the same thing we are just as quick to call down the wrath and judgment of God on this wantonly treacherous person.
Politics and theology generate a great deal of passion for and against a given point of view. It is interesting that we are quick to defend our own party and viewpoint in a discussion or argument, before we hear the viewpoints of ‘others.’ On more than one occasion I had a heated argument with a seminary classmate only to discover that we were in agreement on everything but the vocabulary of our discussion. We had to talk and listen long enough to realize that we were not as ‘other’ as we were determined to believe.
“All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.” My sense is that many of our newsworthy arguments are not over right vs wrong, righteous vs sinful, or patriotic vs unpatriotic so much as they are over emphasis, vocabulary and priorities. It is important to have the discussions, even when they turn to arguments, as long as we continue to listen to others and look for the steadfast love of God in the arguments and in the people.
April 11, 2016
LCM
Monday, April 4, 2016
Psalm Meditation 825
Third Sunday of Easter
April 10, 2016
Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
(NRSV)
From what I know about myself and the people around me, we spend a lot of time worrying about things over which we have no control. We worry about what other people are doing, what they are saying and what they might be thinking. We worry about what is going on around us. We want to believe that we can exert some control over people and events in our area. The psalmist reminds us that we don’t. We can worry and fret about what is happening whether we are active in the situation or not. Recognizing the active presence of God in our lives has a lot to do with how we deal with all that is going on in our lives.
One of our current worries is that the world around us in changing. Those of us who have been in the majority are losing that status as the state of the world changes. Some of the changes are the ordinary pendulum swings of taste as well as shifts of the moral compass as one generation leaves the running of the world to the next. We can fight the changes, and some of them are important to dispute, we can accept them with a shrug of the shoulders or we can accept them as appropriate changes in the way of the world, and there are some of those too. Through it all some will struggle to find God at work in the world while others will see more easily where God is at work.
In the midst of our anxiety we do well to recognize that we do not own the world. It is given to us in trust by a God who loves us. We are caring for the world as stewards; holding it as responsible care takers for God and builders and improvers for the next generations. Tempting as it may be to suck all the resources out of the world, the creation, for our own benefit, we do well to leave a good bit of this trust for the sake of those who come after us. For some it will be for our own children, for each of us it will be for the children of God.
April 4, 2016
LCM
Third Sunday of Easter
April 10, 2016
Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
(NRSV)
From what I know about myself and the people around me, we spend a lot of time worrying about things over which we have no control. We worry about what other people are doing, what they are saying and what they might be thinking. We worry about what is going on around us. We want to believe that we can exert some control over people and events in our area. The psalmist reminds us that we don’t. We can worry and fret about what is happening whether we are active in the situation or not. Recognizing the active presence of God in our lives has a lot to do with how we deal with all that is going on in our lives.
One of our current worries is that the world around us in changing. Those of us who have been in the majority are losing that status as the state of the world changes. Some of the changes are the ordinary pendulum swings of taste as well as shifts of the moral compass as one generation leaves the running of the world to the next. We can fight the changes, and some of them are important to dispute, we can accept them with a shrug of the shoulders or we can accept them as appropriate changes in the way of the world, and there are some of those too. Through it all some will struggle to find God at work in the world while others will see more easily where God is at work.
In the midst of our anxiety we do well to recognize that we do not own the world. It is given to us in trust by a God who loves us. We are caring for the world as stewards; holding it as responsible care takers for God and builders and improvers for the next generations. Tempting as it may be to suck all the resources out of the world, the creation, for our own benefit, we do well to leave a good bit of this trust for the sake of those who come after us. For some it will be for our own children, for each of us it will be for the children of God.
April 4, 2016
LCM
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