Psalm Meditation 1037
Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2020
Psalm 10
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”
7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
8 They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
10 They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
14 But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
(NRSV)
It is easy to see our foes and adversaries as godless fools since we are in enough disagreement with them that our views of God are radically different. In this case, one side sees God as the protector and defender of the poor, while the other side sees God as the cheerleader of the rich and powerful. From the perspective of the poor, the wealthy folks who seem to do whatever they want with no repercussions, are godless. From the perspective of the rich, the poor folks worship a weakling who is of no help in amassing property and power.
This psalm was written by one on the side of the poor. God, YHWH, is the God who supports those who are downtrodden and oppressed. The rich will get their way, for now, because there is no one to stop their greedy pursuits. YHWH, the God of the poor, rarely intervenes in a hurry. YHWH intervenes in the slow arc of salvation history. The rich who amassed great fortunes for the sake of wealth, are rarely remembered by name, and their wealth is dispersed to others at their deaths, if not before. Followers of YHWH continue to follow in the ways that lead to full hearts despite any poverty.
The psalmist knows that the riches of the world are temporary and fleeting. It is much more fulfilling to serve God, to build relationships with others from a variety of backgrounds. In this way we can join the psalmists prayer, “O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.”
April 27, 2020
LCM
Monday, April 27, 2020
Monday, April 20, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1036
Third Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2020
Psalm 85
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
(NRSV)
These are anxious times in which we live and it is tempting to give credit and blame for all this to someone. It must be a punishment from God for all the terrible things those people over there have been doing for all these years. All of us good people are simply caught in the cross-fire between God and the people at fault. There is a long list of biblical warrant for this thinking. When things go bad for us, God is angry with us for something. When things go well for us, God is rewarding us for being such good boys and girls. However, the arc of Scripture has another view that fits more comfortably.
God loves us: three words, nine letters and two spaces. There simple words have taken volumes to explain and illustrate. We are so used to having to earn the love and respect of those around us that we can’t quite grasp that God acts out of love for us. “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.” God is not out to get us, to punish us for all the sins and wickedness of our lives. God chooses to love us and to be a source of peace for us.
We can look for, and find, the angry, vindictive God in Scripture. We can look for, and find, the God who loves us and offers us peace just as easily. The psalmist offers an image of God as one who loves us, revives us, and offers us peace in every time. Yes, there is judgment, however that leads to peace. Years ago I heard the phrase, ‘the Bible is a mirror,’ and at my best I remember that we find what we seek when we look into the Bible. When we look to condemn or be condemned, we can find God’s judgment. When we seek grace, mercy, and peace we find that. It is not that God gives us what we want and need so much as we see what we expect to see because God is bigger and broader than we can imagine.
April 20, 2020
LCM
Third Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2020
Psalm 85
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
(NRSV)
These are anxious times in which we live and it is tempting to give credit and blame for all this to someone. It must be a punishment from God for all the terrible things those people over there have been doing for all these years. All of us good people are simply caught in the cross-fire between God and the people at fault. There is a long list of biblical warrant for this thinking. When things go bad for us, God is angry with us for something. When things go well for us, God is rewarding us for being such good boys and girls. However, the arc of Scripture has another view that fits more comfortably.
God loves us: three words, nine letters and two spaces. There simple words have taken volumes to explain and illustrate. We are so used to having to earn the love and respect of those around us that we can’t quite grasp that God acts out of love for us. “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.” God is not out to get us, to punish us for all the sins and wickedness of our lives. God chooses to love us and to be a source of peace for us.
We can look for, and find, the angry, vindictive God in Scripture. We can look for, and find, the God who loves us and offers us peace just as easily. The psalmist offers an image of God as one who loves us, revives us, and offers us peace in every time. Yes, there is judgment, however that leads to peace. Years ago I heard the phrase, ‘the Bible is a mirror,’ and at my best I remember that we find what we seek when we look into the Bible. When we look to condemn or be condemned, we can find God’s judgment. When we seek grace, mercy, and peace we find that. It is not that God gives us what we want and need so much as we see what we expect to see because God is bigger and broader than we can imagine.
April 20, 2020
LCM
Monday, April 13, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1035
Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2020
Psalm 59
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me.
3 Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths, with sharp words on their lips—for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, O Lord; you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget; make them totter by your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath; consume them until they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
15 They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
(NRSV)
It can be helpful to tell God what to do, not because God will actually do all these things, but because we get our desires out in the open without acting on them right away. We want God to avenge the hurts we have received as we watch our enemies suffer a fate equal to what we suffered from them. As we talk to God we can ask for contradictory punishments for ‘them,’ such as asking that God not destroy them in verse eleven and ask for their total destruction two verses later. As we turn things over to God, we can ask for whatever consequences we like for those who toy with us.
Telling God what to do does not equate to any of that actually happening. God allows us to devise any number of scenarios to accomplish the punishment and destruction of our enemies. Talking tough to God is not a problem. God has given us this great gift, to devise solutions to our arguments and adversities. Being able to come up with a plan is not the same as carrying it out, especially if we expect God to do all the heavy lifting while we stand back and gloat over those being punished and destroyed by the power of God.
Feel free to let God know what is on your mind and in your heart. Tell God that you want a particular type of violence and destruction to be visited on those who have done evil to you. Know that God will hear you out, will listen to you until you are exhausted with planning revenge, until you forget what it is that deserves the violence you want visited on those who have hurt you. Rest assured that God will wrap you in arms of steadfast love and mercy. Most of the evil you want to happen won’t happen. “But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”
April 13, 2020
LCM
Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2020
Psalm 59
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me.
3 Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths, with sharp words on their lips—for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, O Lord; you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget; make them totter by your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath; consume them until they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
15 They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
(NRSV)
It can be helpful to tell God what to do, not because God will actually do all these things, but because we get our desires out in the open without acting on them right away. We want God to avenge the hurts we have received as we watch our enemies suffer a fate equal to what we suffered from them. As we talk to God we can ask for contradictory punishments for ‘them,’ such as asking that God not destroy them in verse eleven and ask for their total destruction two verses later. As we turn things over to God, we can ask for whatever consequences we like for those who toy with us.
Telling God what to do does not equate to any of that actually happening. God allows us to devise any number of scenarios to accomplish the punishment and destruction of our enemies. Talking tough to God is not a problem. God has given us this great gift, to devise solutions to our arguments and adversities. Being able to come up with a plan is not the same as carrying it out, especially if we expect God to do all the heavy lifting while we stand back and gloat over those being punished and destroyed by the power of God.
Feel free to let God know what is on your mind and in your heart. Tell God that you want a particular type of violence and destruction to be visited on those who have done evil to you. Know that God will hear you out, will listen to you until you are exhausted with planning revenge, until you forget what it is that deserves the violence you want visited on those who have hurt you. Rest assured that God will wrap you in arms of steadfast love and mercy. Most of the evil you want to happen won’t happen. “But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”
April 13, 2020
LCM
Monday, April 6, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1034
Easter
April 12, 2020
Psalm 134
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
(NRSV)
As I read this these days, my thoughts go to the essential workers in our lives. It seems that those of us who are deemed essential would rather be home, safe and isolated from the folks they feel bound to help. Their personal health and safety is important to them, as is the drive and desire to provide the service to which they have been called.
I imagine that those who stayed in the Temple at night were considered essential workers by those who knew they were there, doing the work that was theirs to do that night. I can also imagine that many did not know that there were people who stayed awake all night to serve the community in the quiet of the night. The psalmist knew they were there and reminded them to take their work seriously by focusing on God as their primary task, and their temple work as another way of focusing on God through service.
Are you an essential worker who would rather be safe at home? Thank you. Wherever you serve, make it a part of your service to focus on the presence of God as you serve the people around you. Those of us who are being served by essential workers do well to thank them at every opportunity. Take their risk seriously, including by staying home if you can and going out only if you must. If we each focus on God we will find a wholesome way through this. “May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.”
April 6, 2020
LCM
Easter
April 12, 2020
Psalm 134
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
(NRSV)
As I read this these days, my thoughts go to the essential workers in our lives. It seems that those of us who are deemed essential would rather be home, safe and isolated from the folks they feel bound to help. Their personal health and safety is important to them, as is the drive and desire to provide the service to which they have been called.
I imagine that those who stayed in the Temple at night were considered essential workers by those who knew they were there, doing the work that was theirs to do that night. I can also imagine that many did not know that there were people who stayed awake all night to serve the community in the quiet of the night. The psalmist knew they were there and reminded them to take their work seriously by focusing on God as their primary task, and their temple work as another way of focusing on God through service.
Are you an essential worker who would rather be safe at home? Thank you. Wherever you serve, make it a part of your service to focus on the presence of God as you serve the people around you. Those of us who are being served by essential workers do well to thank them at every opportunity. Take their risk seriously, including by staying home if you can and going out only if you must. If we each focus on God we will find a wholesome way through this. “May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.”
April 6, 2020
LCM
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