Psalm Meditation 1115 ¶ Proper 26 ¶October 31, 2021 ¶Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. (NRSV) ¶When under attack by enemies, we are not likely to focus on who else is around. We get this tunnel vision that zooms in on the recognized threat and ignores all other input. We miss any hidden threats as well as any allies who were not present at the beginning of this particular event. We feel lost, abandoned, and isolated. ¶The psalmist assures us that God is with us. A figurative table of comfort foods is set before us as a reminder that this enemy threat is not the last word. Win or lose, God is with us providing a comforting, non-anxious presence as an alternative to our fear and anxiety in the presence of our enemies. ¶Making the time to feel and relish the presence of God gives us an awareness that we are not alone, that we are loved and cared for in this and every situation of our lives. Win or lose, stand or fall, we are open to the comfort and restoration of God’s abiding presence in our lives. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” ¶October 25, 2021 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1114 ¶ Proper 25 ¶October 24, 2021 ¶Psalm 98 1 O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. 2 The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. 8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy 9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. (NRSV) ¶It is not that God has ever forgotten the steadfast love in which we are held, it is that in this instance we too are reminded that God loves us and is faithful to us. In those moments in which we feel especially loved and cared for, we think of the love we receive as being remembered in a special way. The psalmist also uses this instance as a way of stressing to any doubters that we are held firmly and steadfastly in the heart of God. Seen through the eyes of love, things that appear coincidental are now seen as acts of love. ¶Remember when we thought our parents conspired to make our lives boring, by not letting us do any of the fun, adventurous things that all the other people our age were doing? Through an adult lens, we can see that it was their love for us that drove them to the decisions they made wanting ‘what’s best for you.’ Even if we continue to believe they were wrong, we may see that the decision was made out of love rather than a desire to ruin our lives. ¶God loves us, is faithful to us, and wants what is best for us, even if we don’t see it as the best option at the moment. God does not have the fear and self-preservation responses that lead some of us adults to err on the side of caution. So, when we listen to God, we know that what we are hearing really is in our best interest. When we attend to the word of God as we perceive it, we can join the whole of Creation in making a joyful noise with all the resources we have available to us. ¶October 19, 2021 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1113 ¶Proper 24 ¶October 17, 2021 ¶Psalm 72 1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. 2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. 3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. 4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. 5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. 6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. 7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. 8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. 11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. 12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. 13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. 14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. 15 Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long. 16 May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. 17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy. 18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. 20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended. (NRSV) ¶Many of us want what the psalmist wants here; to be governed by people who look out for all of the people they have been entrusted with governing. We want to know that someone is concerned with justice for all, with leading the nation into prosperity, and keeping greedy folks from crushing those who are unable to defend themselves. We have a variety of thoughts on what all of this means, however we do want those who govern us to do so with the interests of all the people in their heart and mind. ¶No matter where we are we want to know that the nation in which we live is the best in a variety of ways. And while we can’t each live in the best place on earth we find ways to make it the place we like the best. We want to believe that our nation is the most biggest and most powerful no matter how much evidence there might be to the contrary. Israel of the psalmist’s day was neither a political nor military powerhouse in the area, despite the psalms that state otherwise. ¶At our best, we will continue to depend on God to point us to and provide those who will lead us in the best of directions. We will pray that our leaders follow the direction they receive from God, even when we do not see the hand of God at work in their lives. We will pray for those who agree with us, as well as for those with whom we disagree, enemies included. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.” ¶October 11, 2021 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1112 ¶Proper 23 ¶October 10, 2021 ¶Psalm 147 1 Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre. 8 He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. 12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. 14 He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat. 15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down hail like crumbs—who can stand before his cold? 18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow. 19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel. 20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord! ¶(NRSV) ¶‘Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in the country.’ This has been said for as long as I can remember to scold us for being less than the body of Christ, as far as including others, when we gather for worship. We do tend to gravitate to people with whom we share common traits and concerns. While each congregation has some outliers, folks who almost-but-not-quite fit the general make up of the congregation, we gather with ‘our people’ for worship. It is not that we don’t welcome others, or that we actively discourage people from attending with us, our style of worship does not speak to them as it does to us. ¶One of my colleagues describes a gathered congregation as, ‘a unity of shared suffering.’ Those of us who are dealing with a particular set of issues will gather for support and comfort into the presence of God. Most of the time we don’t realize our particular set of concerns and needs, let alone being aware that our list is not shared by every other congregation. We are convinced that everyone and anyone would be totally comfortable in our worship service and wonder why other congregations do things so differently. ¶The psalmist says it this way, “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.” Any congregation is going to be a gathering of outcasts of a particular type. We may or may not know what type of outcasts make up our own congregation even though we can probably pick out some reason that another congregation gathers the type of people they do. We gather to worship where we feel we belong. That sets us apart in that God has gathered us, it doesn’t mean we are the only ones God has gathered. We can find and make ways to work together in the world so that those who don’t have a place can sense where God is leading them to gather. ¶October 4, 2021 ¶LCM