Psalm Meditation 907
All Saints Sunday
November 5, 2017
Psalm 75
1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2 At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck.”
6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
(NRSV)
As we participate in arguments based in religious doctrine and practice we are quick to judge those with whom we disagree. People on every side are willing to cast insults at those in opposing camps. We may be accurate in our assessments without them being helpful. We have drawn our battle lines, formed our alliances, and gathered our arsenals of weapons and ammunition to volley back and forth among ourselves. We have demonized and dehumanized our opponents and enemies to make it easier to do battle against ’them.’
Through it all we each know that God is on the side of right and goodness and justice; you know, ‘my side.’ I have watched myself go ballistic on people at the first hint of a long standing disagreement, even if the fireworks are only internal. I shut out their arguments without even hearing them anymore, just as I assume they do to me. “God and I are right and the rest of you are wrong. You will stand in the presence of God to drink the foaming/poison wine while I stand by and watch.” If only we could be so sure.
Our history proves that all sides have faults and flaws in argument and practice. We hate some people with a stunning self-righteousness and exploit others with amazing condescension. Likely as not we each hold a piece of the truth. Once the flame dies down to ash we will discover that the flame has refined a nugget of truth from our respective arguments. We will also find that God has a word of judgment for those on every side. Each of us will be required to stand before God to drink the foaming wine in order to kill off that which is belligerent and evil within us. We will continue to burn hot with controversy on every side as God watches over this human family with a mix of pride and sadness.
October 30, 2017
LCM
Monday, October 30, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
Psalm Meditation 906
Proper 25
October 29, 2017
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)
These days just about everything is awesome. The current wisdom is that if everything is awesome then, in reality, nothing is. It isn’t really that easy. To say that something is awesome does not make it so. It may be cool/groovy/gnarly/neato but that does not mean that it inspires awe, takes our breath away, and leads us to a life altering sense of wonder. It is more likely that we overuse the word and by doing so have robbed it of some of the depth of meaning that the psalmist had in mind when declaring God to be awesome.
While we may overuse the word there are still times, events and beings who inspire us in memorable ways. The phrase I learned in seminary is, mysterium tremendum—being in the presence of something/someone holy. While in the presence of holiness we are both drawn by a sense of wonder and repelled by a sense of fear, so all we can do is stand and tremble. This mysterium tremendum is what the psalmist means when calling God awesome.
All manner of things will be declared awesome until a different word gets called into service. Awesome will also continue to describe the experiences that take our breath away and fill us with heart pounding excitement. God will be awesome, cool, neato, as one who meets us in our daily lives. God will also be awesome as the one who touches us to the depths of our souls when we encounter the God of history, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus.
October 23, 2017
LCM
Proper 25
October 29, 2017
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)
These days just about everything is awesome. The current wisdom is that if everything is awesome then, in reality, nothing is. It isn’t really that easy. To say that something is awesome does not make it so. It may be cool/groovy/gnarly/neato but that does not mean that it inspires awe, takes our breath away, and leads us to a life altering sense of wonder. It is more likely that we overuse the word and by doing so have robbed it of some of the depth of meaning that the psalmist had in mind when declaring God to be awesome.
While we may overuse the word there are still times, events and beings who inspire us in memorable ways. The phrase I learned in seminary is, mysterium tremendum—being in the presence of something/someone holy. While in the presence of holiness we are both drawn by a sense of wonder and repelled by a sense of fear, so all we can do is stand and tremble. This mysterium tremendum is what the psalmist means when calling God awesome.
All manner of things will be declared awesome until a different word gets called into service. Awesome will also continue to describe the experiences that take our breath away and fill us with heart pounding excitement. God will be awesome, cool, neato, as one who meets us in our daily lives. God will also be awesome as the one who touches us to the depths of our souls when we encounter the God of history, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus.
October 23, 2017
LCM
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Psalm Meditation 905
Proper 24
October 22, 2017
Psalm 125
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time on and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
There are things we know are wrong and we do them anyway. There are things that seem right as we do them and they turn out wrong somewhere along the line. There are things that are right and we do that right thing. Sometimes the wrong things are a momentary lapse in judgment and sometimes they are strokes of mean-spiritedness that we choose for some reason. The psalmist believes that evil is caused by a spirit/demon wielding power over us. I believe that we have been given freewill to choose good or evil and sometimes we make evil, painful choices.
Once we dwell in the presence of God we find ourselves less willing to make the evil choice and more compelled to make the evil choice right when we discover the damage done to any other precious child of God. Sometimes we miss the damage and sometimes we live with a mistaken definition of who are precious in God’s sight and who are not.
The definition of who God surrounds like the mountains of Jerusalem is tricky. We have a tendency to believe that God and we agree on who is held dear in God’s protective, loving arms. I can only hope that we are much too narrow in our scope and that God is much more broad than we can imagine or grasp. “Peace be upon Israel!”
LCM
October 17, 2017
Proper 24
October 22, 2017
Psalm 125
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time on and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
There are things we know are wrong and we do them anyway. There are things that seem right as we do them and they turn out wrong somewhere along the line. There are things that are right and we do that right thing. Sometimes the wrong things are a momentary lapse in judgment and sometimes they are strokes of mean-spiritedness that we choose for some reason. The psalmist believes that evil is caused by a spirit/demon wielding power over us. I believe that we have been given freewill to choose good or evil and sometimes we make evil, painful choices.
Once we dwell in the presence of God we find ourselves less willing to make the evil choice and more compelled to make the evil choice right when we discover the damage done to any other precious child of God. Sometimes we miss the damage and sometimes we live with a mistaken definition of who are precious in God’s sight and who are not.
The definition of who God surrounds like the mountains of Jerusalem is tricky. We have a tendency to believe that God and we agree on who is held dear in God’s protective, loving arms. I can only hope that we are much too narrow in our scope and that God is much more broad than we can imagine or grasp. “Peace be upon Israel!”
LCM
October 17, 2017
Monday, October 9, 2017
Psalm Meditation 904
Proper 23
October 15, 2017
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)
One of the curses and blessings of the written word is that we cannot hear the attitude of the writer. It is a curse because as we provide our own inflection and tone of voice we may misread completely the intent of the original writer. I can read this psalm as a whiny complaint by one who is annoyed at the way life is going in this moment. I can read it as a brag by one who feels as if a privileged status is being threatened. I can read this as a petition to God for help and presence in the face of a disconcerting situation.
It is a blessing because we are able to provide our own inflection and tone of voice. If I am dealing with one of the situations above I can read this psalm in that voice and have it speak to me in some way. If I have a different set of concerns, and can hear this psalm in a voice that allows this psalm to speak to me and for me, I have the gift of this psalm available to me in my current state of heart and mind.
We get to bring ourselves into the reading whether that reflects the intent of the psalmist or not. It seems that the Bible is a mirror; it reflects the person who looks into it at a given day and time. A psalm that has been mere words in the past may be the one that touches a deep place in heart or mind at this reading. A psalm that has been deeply meaningful may not be as moving this time. Without the notes and annotations to let us into the mind of the original psalmist/writer, we cannot know the meaning and purpose of the psalm. We get to co-create with the author the meaning of any given psalm in the moment it is read and heard for the glory of God.
, 2017
LCM
Proper 23
October 15, 2017
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)
One of the curses and blessings of the written word is that we cannot hear the attitude of the writer. It is a curse because as we provide our own inflection and tone of voice we may misread completely the intent of the original writer. I can read this psalm as a whiny complaint by one who is annoyed at the way life is going in this moment. I can read it as a brag by one who feels as if a privileged status is being threatened. I can read this as a petition to God for help and presence in the face of a disconcerting situation.
It is a blessing because we are able to provide our own inflection and tone of voice. If I am dealing with one of the situations above I can read this psalm in that voice and have it speak to me in some way. If I have a different set of concerns, and can hear this psalm in a voice that allows this psalm to speak to me and for me, I have the gift of this psalm available to me in my current state of heart and mind.
We get to bring ourselves into the reading whether that reflects the intent of the psalmist or not. It seems that the Bible is a mirror; it reflects the person who looks into it at a given day and time. A psalm that has been mere words in the past may be the one that touches a deep place in heart or mind at this reading. A psalm that has been deeply meaningful may not be as moving this time. Without the notes and annotations to let us into the mind of the original psalmist/writer, we cannot know the meaning and purpose of the psalm. We get to co-create with the author the meaning of any given psalm in the moment it is read and heard for the glory of God.
, 2017
LCM
Monday, October 2, 2017
Psalm Meditation 903
Proper 22
October 8, 2017
Psalm 27
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, LORD, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
(NRSV)
Children have an interesting way of getting and staying close to the people they find interesting. They fasten themselves to that person and study and copy their actions and mannerisms. They want to spend as much time as possible with the person who intrigues them. They want to act as much like the person as they possibly can. (It turns to stalking when the power dynamic shifts to the one doing the copying.) The psalmist wants to get close enough to see and follow the ways God acts.
When we copy another’s mannerisms for long enough they become our mannerisms. When we copy the way another behaves often enough it becomes the way we behave. When we copy the words and phrases of another they become our words and phrases. In some cases the change is slow and subtle and in others it is a quicker transformation. Whether intentional or accidental, slow or fast, we do become what we imitate. The psalmist chooses to imitate God and to walk on the level path.
We have so many choices for how to behave and what to say and do. More than one of those ways is called the way of God. While I believe there are multiple routes to God due to our various starting points, I am convinced that not everyone who claims to know the way to God can lead us to the God of the Bible. God continues to seek after us, as a mother and father seek us out to take us into their arms of love.
October 2, 2017
LCM
Proper 22
October 8, 2017
Psalm 27
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, LORD, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
(NRSV)
Children have an interesting way of getting and staying close to the people they find interesting. They fasten themselves to that person and study and copy their actions and mannerisms. They want to spend as much time as possible with the person who intrigues them. They want to act as much like the person as they possibly can. (It turns to stalking when the power dynamic shifts to the one doing the copying.) The psalmist wants to get close enough to see and follow the ways God acts.
When we copy another’s mannerisms for long enough they become our mannerisms. When we copy the way another behaves often enough it becomes the way we behave. When we copy the words and phrases of another they become our words and phrases. In some cases the change is slow and subtle and in others it is a quicker transformation. Whether intentional or accidental, slow or fast, we do become what we imitate. The psalmist chooses to imitate God and to walk on the level path.
We have so many choices for how to behave and what to say and do. More than one of those ways is called the way of God. While I believe there are multiple routes to God due to our various starting points, I am convinced that not everyone who claims to know the way to God can lead us to the God of the Bible. God continues to seek after us, as a mother and father seek us out to take us into their arms of love.
October 2, 2017
LCM
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