Psalm Meditation 1011
All Saints Sunday
November 3, 2019
Psalm 55
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me; I am troubled in my complaint. I am distraught
3 by the noise of the enemy, because of the clamor of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
7 truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech; for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
12 It is not enemies who taunt me—I could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—I could hide from them.
13 But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend,
14 with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked in the house of God with the throng.
15 Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.
16 But I call upon God, and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.
18 He will redeem me unharmed from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah will hear, and will humble them—because they do not change, and do not fear God.
20 My companion laid hands on a friend and violated a covenant with me
21 with speech smoother than butter, but with a heart set on war; with words that were softer than oil, but in fact were drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
23 But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
(NRSV)
Friendship is a wonderful thing; to have a person or group to share important and unimportant events, to bear one another’s burdens, to know each other’s secrets, to be the shelter from the storm for each other. There are the surface friendships in which we gather around an event or interest without really knowing each other very well. Even then, if we need help in that event or interest we know one of our friends will step up to help us. There are the deeper, long lasting friendships that grow into relationships that last through all the changes that individuals go through, including attitudes and inclinations.
When a friendship goes bad it is a terrible thing. The psalmist appears to be dealing with a friendship that has gone deeply sour. Not only is there a sudden distance, the rogue friend is now using information garnered from years together to inflict significant damage to the psalmist. I have an image of two people who sit next to each other in the sanctuary out of habit. In the midst of the psalm, verses 12—14, the psalmist turns to that neighbor knowing it is that person who has been spreading information that had been offered in confidence. From this moment the relationship that took years to build is ended. The psalmist calls on God to be judge against this person who has taken advantage of a friend for selfish reasons.
Tempting as it can be to turn on a friend for the sake of gain in another camp, it is not really worth the price everyone has to pay. The one betrayed loses a friend and perhaps a reputation. The betrayer gains something new that is often short-lived, as a new group of friends recognizes how readily the betrayer will compromise a friendship. God is a great friend, a model for human friendships. While the friendship of God is wonderful, we do well to cultivate and cherish friendships among ourselves. If we find that we are growing apart, we can allow the drift to continue or recommit ourselves to the relationship. We can turn a friend into an enemy by treachery and betrayal, however, the psalmist cautions against it.
October 28, 2019
LCM
Monday, October 28, 2019
Monday, October 21, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1010
Proper 25
October 27, 2019
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(NRSV)
We expend a lot of energy comparing ourselves to each other as if our lives are a competition, especially those we don’t know well. When someone talks about being at their lowest we find comfort in knowing that our lowest was deeper than theirs. If that someone does have a deeper low than ours we content ourselves knowing that they are probably crazy, at least they were at that lowest point. We have trouble empathizing with those outside of our circle of friends and family so it is easier to compete with them.
Even though my deepest point is different from yours, and our deepest point is different from theirs, we have already reached our lowest point so far. Some of us may go lower yet, others have already hit their lowest point. Each of us has a point of contact with the psalmist. We have a place in the timeline of our lives that is the depths from which we were sure we could not rise alone. In that time we identify with the psalmist, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” Since we can’t rise from this point alone we put our hope in the presence of God.
At that lowest point we feel disgusting, angry, and unloved, or as a friend said it, we feel, ‘helpless, hopeless, and worthless.’ In turning to God we find steadfast love that is uncompromising and unconditional in seeing each of us as persons of sacred worth. As that love touches us we begin to feel again. We know that we are loved, held, and redeemed from this worst moment so far. We know that we could hold our own in the competition for the lowest of low points. We also know that whether or not our lowest is the definition of ultimate suffering or not, we are loved beyond measure and redeemed from the depths.
October 21, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Proper 25
October 27, 2019
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(NRSV)
We expend a lot of energy comparing ourselves to each other as if our lives are a competition, especially those we don’t know well. When someone talks about being at their lowest we find comfort in knowing that our lowest was deeper than theirs. If that someone does have a deeper low than ours we content ourselves knowing that they are probably crazy, at least they were at that lowest point. We have trouble empathizing with those outside of our circle of friends and family so it is easier to compete with them.
Even though my deepest point is different from yours, and our deepest point is different from theirs, we have already reached our lowest point so far. Some of us may go lower yet, others have already hit their lowest point. Each of us has a point of contact with the psalmist. We have a place in the timeline of our lives that is the depths from which we were sure we could not rise alone. In that time we identify with the psalmist, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” Since we can’t rise from this point alone we put our hope in the presence of God.
At that lowest point we feel disgusting, angry, and unloved, or as a friend said it, we feel, ‘helpless, hopeless, and worthless.’ In turning to God we find steadfast love that is uncompromising and unconditional in seeing each of us as persons of sacred worth. As that love touches us we begin to feel again. We know that we are loved, held, and redeemed from this worst moment so far. We know that we could hold our own in the competition for the lowest of low points. We also know that whether or not our lowest is the definition of ultimate suffering or not, we are loved beyond measure and redeemed from the depths.
October 21, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1009
Proper 24
October 20, 2019
Psalm 30
1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
(NRSV)
As parents, when we are dealing with a child due to unacceptable behavior, it is not the child that draws our ire, it is the behavior. As children being disciplined, punished, or scolded we take the whole situation quite personally, knowing that we are personally disliked by the parent on the other side of our situation. We curl up and withdraw or stand firm and defiant. Either way, we have taken this as personal judgement against us as people. In the heat of the moment we do not feel like persons of sacred worth, we feel more like scolded puppies.
The psalmist points out that being disciplined by God puts us in a similar situation. We feel as if we are being punished more than we deserve, we feel as if it is our personhood being judged as unworthy, and we are tempted to turn away from God since we are not worthy anyway. The psalmist says, “[God’s] anger is but for a moment; [God’s] favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” It is a reminder that God does not hate us, God loves us. Even when we have done something sinful, God continues to love us. It is God’s love for us that leads to our discipline.
God is not out to destroy us through punishment, God is out to teach us through discipline. Any correction can feel like a personal attack; most corrections are out of love, whether it be God or another doing the correcting. Even though we may feel pain in the moment, there is good that can come out of being disciplined/taught. “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”
October 13, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Proper 24
October 20, 2019
Psalm 30
1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
(NRSV)
As parents, when we are dealing with a child due to unacceptable behavior, it is not the child that draws our ire, it is the behavior. As children being disciplined, punished, or scolded we take the whole situation quite personally, knowing that we are personally disliked by the parent on the other side of our situation. We curl up and withdraw or stand firm and defiant. Either way, we have taken this as personal judgement against us as people. In the heat of the moment we do not feel like persons of sacred worth, we feel more like scolded puppies.
The psalmist points out that being disciplined by God puts us in a similar situation. We feel as if we are being punished more than we deserve, we feel as if it is our personhood being judged as unworthy, and we are tempted to turn away from God since we are not worthy anyway. The psalmist says, “[God’s] anger is but for a moment; [God’s] favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” It is a reminder that God does not hate us, God loves us. Even when we have done something sinful, God continues to love us. It is God’s love for us that leads to our discipline.
God is not out to destroy us through punishment, God is out to teach us through discipline. Any correction can feel like a personal attack; most corrections are out of love, whether it be God or another doing the correcting. Even though we may feel pain in the moment, there is good that can come out of being disciplined/taught. “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”
October 13, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 7, 2019
Psalm Meditation 1008
Proper 23
October 13, 2019
Psalm 105
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
16 When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord kept testing him.
20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes,
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land.
33 He struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number;
35 they devoured all the vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength.
37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold, and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45 that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)
What is the best thing that has ever happened to you and where did you see God present in that? Some will say, “Jesus” and leave it at that. Others will not be able to come up anything at all. For the psalmist that series of event is what we know as the exodus from Egypt, along with some introduction of how the people got there. By the phrasing of the psalm it is obvious that the psalmist wasn’t even around for the events themselves, however the events touched in the psalm were defining moments for the people with whom the psalmist lives, works and worships. The original participants in these exodus events probably agree with the psalmist as far as the import of the events lifted up by the psalmist, however I know they did not have the same perception of the events as the psalmist has. The psalmist leaves out the conflict and the harsh words that were spoken between God, Moses, and the people.
Years alter our memories. Conflicts that have since worked out for good are remembered as less intense than they actually were. As the stories are passed on to the next generation a lot of the heat of the original confrontation is forgotten in the telling and re-telling. The psalmist remembers that God provided quail when the people requested sustenance without mentioning the unkindness that passed between God, Moses, and the people as the request was made. The psalmist remembers that it was God who provided what was needed rather than remembering the emotion that was part of the original situation.
We may remember that there was anger, raise voices, and threats without those parts of the event being worth mentioning in the telling of the story. We will remember that it was a world changing event while knowing, even though it felt like it at the time, it was not the end of the world. As our lives change, there are events that are the end of the world as we know it, and we make new ways to define and live in the world. My hope is that you find the presence of God in each life altering event.
October 7, 2019
LCM
Proper 23
October 13, 2019
Psalm 105
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
16 When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord kept testing him.
20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes,
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land.
33 He struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number;
35 they devoured all the vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength.
37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold, and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45 that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)
What is the best thing that has ever happened to you and where did you see God present in that? Some will say, “Jesus” and leave it at that. Others will not be able to come up anything at all. For the psalmist that series of event is what we know as the exodus from Egypt, along with some introduction of how the people got there. By the phrasing of the psalm it is obvious that the psalmist wasn’t even around for the events themselves, however the events touched in the psalm were defining moments for the people with whom the psalmist lives, works and worships. The original participants in these exodus events probably agree with the psalmist as far as the import of the events lifted up by the psalmist, however I know they did not have the same perception of the events as the psalmist has. The psalmist leaves out the conflict and the harsh words that were spoken between God, Moses, and the people.
Years alter our memories. Conflicts that have since worked out for good are remembered as less intense than they actually were. As the stories are passed on to the next generation a lot of the heat of the original confrontation is forgotten in the telling and re-telling. The psalmist remembers that God provided quail when the people requested sustenance without mentioning the unkindness that passed between God, Moses, and the people as the request was made. The psalmist remembers that it was God who provided what was needed rather than remembering the emotion that was part of the original situation.
We may remember that there was anger, raise voices, and threats without those parts of the event being worth mentioning in the telling of the story. We will remember that it was a world changing event while knowing, even though it felt like it at the time, it was not the end of the world. As our lives change, there are events that are the end of the world as we know it, and we make new ways to define and live in the world. My hope is that you find the presence of God in each life altering event.
October 7, 2019
LCM
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