Psalm Meditation 963
First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2018
Psalm 7
1 O LORD my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
8 The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.
17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.
(NRSV)
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God repaid evil with punishment immediately? Well, as long as that punishment did not include us at all. We are okay with swift retaliation against those who have done some evil against us while we appreciate God’s mercy and patience when we are involved in the evil. The difficulty is that each of us is so far from innocence whether we are able to see our guilt or not. Even though the psalmist gives God permission to dole out any deserved punishment most of us are sure that we don’t really deserve the bad things we get.
Perhaps the reason God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love is to give us plenty of time to recognize and repent of our sin. Our goal is to live out the will of God for ourselves and to draw others into that same life of faithfulness. Our methods could be seen as violence against those we want to save. Some folks believe they are doing a butterfly a favor by pulling it out of its cocoon as soon as it opens. We see ourselves as helping the process by speeding it up. It turns out that we do tremendous damage by not letting it come out at its own speed. What if our attempts to get others where we are does damage to their development?
There are evil people in the world. There are people who perform evil acts. And there are people whose actions are evil though their intention is to do good for themselves and people like them, and maybe even for those who see their actions as evil and destructive. God is willing and able to sort out actions from motives. God is willing and able to be patient with each one of us as we come to realize that our best intentions led to evil consequences and we are drawn to repentance. God is willing and able to watch over us as those who have done evil to us realize that their best intentions led to evil consequences and they are drawn to repentance
November 26, 2018
LCM
Monday, November 26, 2018
Monday, November 19, 2018
Psalm Meditation 962
Reign of Christ
November 25, 2018
Psalm 144
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
(NRSV)
A great way to turn an adversary into an enemy is to demonize them. Turn folks into aliens who only deal in falsehood and violence and we are well on our way to having an enemy with whom we need no contact whatsoever. If we can’t bring ourselves to paint ‘those people’ as liars, killers, and cheats we can at least paint them as idiots who wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and slapped them in the face. Currently, we are even doing this with each other. People of other parties and perspectives, people with strong beliefs with which we disagree are branded as evil and alien.
Interestingly, when we meet face to face we can carry on conversations as if we saw the other as mistaken rather than pure evil. It is from a distance that we are able to fire our various slings and arrows. The distance is not always geographic, it can also be in ways that are more psychological than physical. If I already believe that you are one of ‘them’ the barriers I place between us will be insurmountable even by contact.
When we see ‘those’ people as children of God, as redeemed by the same power and presence as ourselves, we begin to heal our rifts and divisions. When we can look past our disagreements to see a person with faults and flaws as well as with hopes and dreams, we see a whole person with whom we have a disagreement rather than an evil presence taking up space in a world that belongs to me and my kind. I am sure that God loves more folks than any one of us believes is possible. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.”
November 19, 2018
LCM
Reign of Christ
November 25, 2018
Psalm 144
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
(NRSV)
A great way to turn an adversary into an enemy is to demonize them. Turn folks into aliens who only deal in falsehood and violence and we are well on our way to having an enemy with whom we need no contact whatsoever. If we can’t bring ourselves to paint ‘those people’ as liars, killers, and cheats we can at least paint them as idiots who wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and slapped them in the face. Currently, we are even doing this with each other. People of other parties and perspectives, people with strong beliefs with which we disagree are branded as evil and alien.
Interestingly, when we meet face to face we can carry on conversations as if we saw the other as mistaken rather than pure evil. It is from a distance that we are able to fire our various slings and arrows. The distance is not always geographic, it can also be in ways that are more psychological than physical. If I already believe that you are one of ‘them’ the barriers I place between us will be insurmountable even by contact.
When we see ‘those’ people as children of God, as redeemed by the same power and presence as ourselves, we begin to heal our rifts and divisions. When we can look past our disagreements to see a person with faults and flaws as well as with hopes and dreams, we see a whole person with whom we have a disagreement rather than an evil presence taking up space in a world that belongs to me and my kind. I am sure that God loves more folks than any one of us believes is possible. “Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.”
November 19, 2018
LCM
Monday, November 12, 2018
Psalm Meditation 961
Proper 28
November 18, 2018
Psalm 57
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.
2 I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
4 I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my path, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody.
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
(NRSV)
Children have a habit of looking parents in the eye as they break the rules they have been given. I have discovered they do the same thing to grandparents. It is annoying, to say the least, and can be dangerous depending on the rule. They can test our promises of love and protection in the same way. When the psalmist writes, “I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey;” I know there are those who have done that in order to see if God will rescue them.
One of my professors in seminary opened a class session with the question, “As parents, how do you know you have lost control of your children?” None of us answered because we didn’t want to admit that we ever lost control of our children so he answered his own question. “You know you have lost control when you have to reach out and physically restrain your children.” He continued, “God does not lose control.” If we happen to lie down among lions, or are forced to lie down among them, God will be with us. If we choose to lie down among lions in order to test God’s presence, God will be with us. No matter what, there will be consequences. God is with us. That does not mean we will be delivered from the consequences of our actions.
The love of God reaches from the heights to the depths and on every side of us. We can doubt it and ignore it. We can test it to disprove it. We can test it until we learn to trust it. No matter what, God is with us, offering us steadfast love and presence. God does not save us by snatching us out of harm’s way, God saves us by being with us and loving us in every situation in which we find ourselves. “For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.”
November 12, 2018
LCM
Proper 28
November 18, 2018
Psalm 57
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.
2 I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
4 I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my path, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody.
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
(NRSV)
Children have a habit of looking parents in the eye as they break the rules they have been given. I have discovered they do the same thing to grandparents. It is annoying, to say the least, and can be dangerous depending on the rule. They can test our promises of love and protection in the same way. When the psalmist writes, “I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey;” I know there are those who have done that in order to see if God will rescue them.
One of my professors in seminary opened a class session with the question, “As parents, how do you know you have lost control of your children?” None of us answered because we didn’t want to admit that we ever lost control of our children so he answered his own question. “You know you have lost control when you have to reach out and physically restrain your children.” He continued, “God does not lose control.” If we happen to lie down among lions, or are forced to lie down among them, God will be with us. If we choose to lie down among lions in order to test God’s presence, God will be with us. No matter what, there will be consequences. God is with us. That does not mean we will be delivered from the consequences of our actions.
The love of God reaches from the heights to the depths and on every side of us. We can doubt it and ignore it. We can test it to disprove it. We can test it until we learn to trust it. No matter what, God is with us, offering us steadfast love and presence. God does not save us by snatching us out of harm’s way, God saves us by being with us and loving us in every situation in which we find ourselves. “For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.”
November 12, 2018
LCM
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Psalm Meditation 960
Proper 27
November11, 2018
Psalm 94
1 O LORD, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind, does he not chastise?
11 The LORD knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.
12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.
(NRSV)
We like to see ourselves as the protagonists, the ones God will rescue from the evil oppressors. God will take our weakness and turn it into strength. God will take our victimhood and allow us to rise up as conquerors. God will take our precarious footing and place us on steady ground. That is the way we like to look at these psalms. What if these are written by and for the people we readily take advantage? We if this psalm is written by those we fail to notice, and if we do notice we discount them as inconsequential? What if we are the bad guys?
Most of us are able to look up and see people with more power and influence than we ever hope to wield. We see those who can buy and sell us and we feel as if we are victims because of our lack. We feel oppressed because someone up there can tell us what to do. We feel righteously indignant because there are those whose independence makes us feel dependent. We look up and see that ‘those’ people need lessons in how to treat people like us. We could, and don’t look down to see those who are looking up at us with the same sense of oppression.
While we like to be the ones God rescues from the bad and reckless big people, many of us are bad and reckless to those who look up at us from lower rungs on the ladder of wealth and power. Each of us does well to consider how those with less than we might see us. Are we seen as kind and generous or angry and stingy? Are we seen as gentle and understanding or as insistent bullies? Are we perceived as those who lead people to God or those who drive people to God? Are we the good people we see ourselves to be or as those in need of discipline and training at the hand of God? Do we look to God for strength or do we stand against God in iniquity?
November 7, 2018
LCM
Proper 27
November11, 2018
Psalm 94
1 O LORD, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind, does he not chastise?
11 The LORD knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.
12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.
(NRSV)
We like to see ourselves as the protagonists, the ones God will rescue from the evil oppressors. God will take our weakness and turn it into strength. God will take our victimhood and allow us to rise up as conquerors. God will take our precarious footing and place us on steady ground. That is the way we like to look at these psalms. What if these are written by and for the people we readily take advantage? We if this psalm is written by those we fail to notice, and if we do notice we discount them as inconsequential? What if we are the bad guys?
Most of us are able to look up and see people with more power and influence than we ever hope to wield. We see those who can buy and sell us and we feel as if we are victims because of our lack. We feel oppressed because someone up there can tell us what to do. We feel righteously indignant because there are those whose independence makes us feel dependent. We look up and see that ‘those’ people need lessons in how to treat people like us. We could, and don’t look down to see those who are looking up at us with the same sense of oppression.
While we like to be the ones God rescues from the bad and reckless big people, many of us are bad and reckless to those who look up at us from lower rungs on the ladder of wealth and power. Each of us does well to consider how those with less than we might see us. Are we seen as kind and generous or angry and stingy? Are we seen as gentle and understanding or as insistent bullies? Are we perceived as those who lead people to God or those who drive people to God? Are we the good people we see ourselves to be or as those in need of discipline and training at the hand of God? Do we look to God for strength or do we stand against God in iniquity?
November 7, 2018
LCM
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