Psalm Meditation 993
Proper 8
June 30, 2019
Psalm 52
1 Why do you boast, O mighty one, of mischief done against the godly? All day long
2 you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery.
3 You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
5 But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous will see, and fear, and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
7 “See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches, and sought refuge in wealth!”
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
9 I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
(NRSV)
It is easy to make this about a politician, supervisor, or boss that makes us crazy. And it may well include each of the folks we picture as we read this. It is just as likely about us. If we have led someone to believe something that is more to our advantage than to theirs, we are among those the psalmist writes about. I have planned which public office holders I would have in mind as I wrote this, and then… and then I read it this morning and discovered it is about us, about me.
It is so easy to think and write about ‘those’ people. There is not much that I can do about them. I can only stand back and wait for God to break them down, snatch them from their dwellings, and uproot them from the land of the living. I can change me. I can learn that, just because I have the power to do something, doesn’t mean it is of God. If I have any part in holding someone else down; if I have any part in spreading lies, even the ones I believe, I am guilty of loving evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth.
Mercifully, once we realize that a psalm like this can include us among the evil doers, rather than among the righteous, we can turn to God in repentance. As we move toward God we will discover that we have taken refuge in God rather than taking refuge in the ‘stuff’ on which we have depended for our safety and security. As our refuge in God becomes more deeply established we will find it less important to boast and lie for the sake of ‘stuff,’ and look more to a deepening sense of the presence of God in all we are and do.
June 24, 2019
LCM
Monday, June 24, 2019
Monday, June 17, 2019
Psalm Meditation 992
Proper 7
June 23, 2019
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)
Marriage used to be for two reasons; family alliances, and heirs. The couple marrying had little to say about their partner, it was all arranged for the sake of the wider family circles. Since the family name was passed on from the male side of the relationship, sons were more desirable than daughters. Females were considered property, passed from one family to another as breeding stock and domestic help. Not the most humane way to treat a daughter or a spouse. Things have changed in a lot of places.
People get married for love, with children as an added benefit. Couples choose to marry for supportive companionship. Couples choose to raise their children together without getting married. A variety of single, couple, and family arrangements exist with and without the support of the broader family. Is each one of these arrangements fulfilling? It certainly can be. There are a variety of definitions of what makes a family, and there is not universal agreement on those definitions. It is possible to be happy and to feel blessed in a family that is outside the one described by the psalmist.
The psalmist starts with the importance of the presence of God in all we do. That is more important than how we define what it means to be a family. When God is present in and around our lives, we have something special to hold onto and to offer to others. The acknowledgment of the presence of God in our lives is a gift we give to everyone around us.
June 17, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Proper 7
June 23, 2019
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)
Marriage used to be for two reasons; family alliances, and heirs. The couple marrying had little to say about their partner, it was all arranged for the sake of the wider family circles. Since the family name was passed on from the male side of the relationship, sons were more desirable than daughters. Females were considered property, passed from one family to another as breeding stock and domestic help. Not the most humane way to treat a daughter or a spouse. Things have changed in a lot of places.
People get married for love, with children as an added benefit. Couples choose to marry for supportive companionship. Couples choose to raise their children together without getting married. A variety of single, couple, and family arrangements exist with and without the support of the broader family. Is each one of these arrangements fulfilling? It certainly can be. There are a variety of definitions of what makes a family, and there is not universal agreement on those definitions. It is possible to be happy and to feel blessed in a family that is outside the one described by the psalmist.
The psalmist starts with the importance of the presence of God in all we do. That is more important than how we define what it means to be a family. When God is present in and around our lives, we have something special to hold onto and to offer to others. The acknowledgment of the presence of God in our lives is a gift we give to everyone around us.
June 17, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Psalm Meditation 991
Trinity Sunday
June 16, 2019
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)
I can see the psalmist doing a happy dance as a part of the writing and the performing of this psalm. When things are going well for us, it is easy to forget how dependent on God we are. It is an excellent reminder to read a psalm that celebrates the presence of God as a no-matter-what presence. The psalmist jumps for joy while celebrating, ‘God has been and will continue to be good to me, even if all the people around me, including my parents, decide to abandon me.’
In verses 7-9 the dance stops. There is a moment of prayerful reflection as the psalmist is reminded that we can’t take the presence of God for granted. Even in faith that God will not turn away, the psalmist stops to ask God to be a constant presence in the life of the psalmist. No one likes to be taken for granted, and I imagine that God is no exception. While God may not get as hurts as we do, it is still unpleasant for God for us to assume anything about the presence of God.
The happy dance starts again, slowly as the psalmist recognizes how unconditional the love of God is. The taken-for-grantedness has changed to a desire to be in the presence of God as a student, a disciple, as one who wants to revel in the presence of God. The celebration begins by soaking up as much of the glory, majesty, and unassumedness of God as humanly possible. “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
June 10, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Trinity Sunday
June 16, 2019
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)
I can see the psalmist doing a happy dance as a part of the writing and the performing of this psalm. When things are going well for us, it is easy to forget how dependent on God we are. It is an excellent reminder to read a psalm that celebrates the presence of God as a no-matter-what presence. The psalmist jumps for joy while celebrating, ‘God has been and will continue to be good to me, even if all the people around me, including my parents, decide to abandon me.’
In verses 7-9 the dance stops. There is a moment of prayerful reflection as the psalmist is reminded that we can’t take the presence of God for granted. Even in faith that God will not turn away, the psalmist stops to ask God to be a constant presence in the life of the psalmist. No one likes to be taken for granted, and I imagine that God is no exception. While God may not get as hurts as we do, it is still unpleasant for God for us to assume anything about the presence of God.
The happy dance starts again, slowly as the psalmist recognizes how unconditional the love of God is. The taken-for-grantedness has changed to a desire to be in the presence of God as a student, a disciple, as one who wants to revel in the presence of God. The celebration begins by soaking up as much of the glory, majesty, and unassumedness of God as humanly possible. “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
June 10, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Psalm Meditation 990
Pentecost
June 9, 2019
Psalm 102
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.
3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
6 I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.
7 I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the Lord will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
21 so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “do not take me away at the midpoint of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations.”
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence.
(NRSV)
When I am distressed I question everything. Do I have a place in the world, does God love me, is there a God? Those are just a few of the questions that have a connection with the psalm. The distress clouds all my thoughts and leads me down paths that color everything the darkest shade possible.
I push myself to remember good things that God has done in my presence, past and present. Sometimes it is a bad thing as I think that God has done those thing in the past, and is doing those things for people around me. That must mean that God is done with me, since I am going through this distressing situation by myself. Other times it is a good thing as I am able to anticipate those same kinds of good things in the future. The God who has claimed me as a child, loves me and will care for me as I have been cared for in the past.
Distress can be brutal as it darkens our perception of all around us. Our hope is to look to God, to see that in our darkest moments we are not alone. We have the support of God who is with us no matter what. We may have something to learn, we may have a price to pay for an action of our own or someone else, we may be the victim of something random over which we have no control. God endures and holds us in loving and powerful hands.
June 6, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Pentecost
June 9, 2019
Psalm 102
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.
3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
6 I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.
7 I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the Lord will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
21 so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “do not take me away at the midpoint of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations.”
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence.
(NRSV)
When I am distressed I question everything. Do I have a place in the world, does God love me, is there a God? Those are just a few of the questions that have a connection with the psalm. The distress clouds all my thoughts and leads me down paths that color everything the darkest shade possible.
I push myself to remember good things that God has done in my presence, past and present. Sometimes it is a bad thing as I think that God has done those thing in the past, and is doing those things for people around me. That must mean that God is done with me, since I am going through this distressing situation by myself. Other times it is a good thing as I am able to anticipate those same kinds of good things in the future. The God who has claimed me as a child, loves me and will care for me as I have been cared for in the past.
Distress can be brutal as it darkens our perception of all around us. Our hope is to look to God, to see that in our darkest moments we are not alone. We have the support of God who is with us no matter what. We may have something to learn, we may have a price to pay for an action of our own or someone else, we may be the victim of something random over which we have no control. God endures and holds us in loving and powerful hands.
June 6, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
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