Psalm Meditation 1176 ¶First Sunday After Christmas ¶January 1, 2023 ¶Psalm 42 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+42&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Sometimes we think we are hungry for something but we don’t quite know what it is. We are aware that our bodies are in need of something and we reach for a snack to meet the need. After eating one thing we realize that was not what we were craving, so we eat something else, and something else until we are stuffed to the gills, and we are still not satisfied. In these cases, the need was not for food, it was for water. Instead of slaking our thirst, we satisfy a non existent hunger. ¶We act in similar fashion in our spiritual lives. We are aware of an emptiness, while having no idea what that emptiness is. We try filling that space with money, with objects, with power. Each of those things satisfies for a moment, and then we crave more, and more, and more. We haven’t really filled our emptiness, we have covered it up. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that all of the stuff in our lives is what we wanted all along. We may not even know that we continue to have an emptiness. ¶The psalmist addresses the emptiness within and offers the exhortation to hope in God. Know that though there is an empty feeling now, God is ready, willing, and able to fill the void with a holy presence. Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and religious philosopher, said, “There is a God-shaped emptiness in the heart of each one of us which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God.” This psalm calls on God to slake the thirst, and satisfy the hunger by filling us with that which only God can fill us. ¶December 29, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1175 ¶Christmas ¶December 25, 2022 ¶Psalm 35 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+35&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶We don’t get involved in conflicts knowing that we are wrong and defending our point of view anyway. Even when we play devil’s advocate to someone else’s argument, it is because we believe another side has to be heard. So we know that the psalmist believes in the cause on this side of the armed conflict. Since I am right, that must mean that the folks who oppose me are wrong. Because that is the case, it is only fair for God to help me beat these others into submission. ¶Since we don’t go to battle of any kind knowing that we are wrong, it must be true of the folks on the other side as well. From our point of view, ‘those people’ are wrong to the point of being on the side of evil. It is also the case that ‘those people’ see us as wrong and evil. So, who is right? It depends on the perspective of those in the conflict. Our starting assumptions determine which direction we take our arguments. When ‘those people’ choose different priorities they will come to different conclusions. There will be enough truth on each side to convince us of the need to cross swords in the defense of our truth. ¶Rather than choosing the way of the psalmist, “My side is right and all the other sides are wrong.” we can choose the way of understanding. Listen to the opposing arguments and the assumptions behind them. We can still disagree even if we totally understand the opposing viewpoint. We can continue to defend our point of view without calling on God to destroy those who disagree. This would be especially handy if it turns out that we are the ones who are mostly in the wrong. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” ¶December 19, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1174 ¶Fourth Sunday of Advent ¶December 18, 2022 ¶Psalm 28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+28&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are people in this world who can comfort us by being present with us in a time of need. They don’t say anything, they don’t do anything, they are purely present. After having been in their presence, and pouring our hearts out to them we feel as if we have been given the best advice anyone could possibly give. What we needed was a sounding board, a person to bounce a thousand ideas off of to see which of those ideas made the most sense when said out loud. We could look back and think that they did not do anything when the truth is they did just what we needed them to do. They were present. ¶The psalmist is convinced that God has turned a deaf ear to the situation. There may have been an expectation of a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder that contained the answer to all the questions in the psalmist’s current situation. The conversation continues with the psalmist asking God to destroy all the folks at the heart of this batch of concerns. However, please leave me where I am while destroying all those wicked others. Once all those distracting sinners are out of the way God can pay the psalmist some much needed attention. ¶God trusts us more than we trust ourselves. Rather than giving us the answer we want to hear, or the one we know is right while still unpleasant, God gives us the time and space to listen to our own good sense to make a decision on our own. God knows that most of us have the good sense to make our own decisions. We have minds and hearts that can sort out the good from the bad, the wise from the simple, and the workable from the aspirational. We use our God given gifts to discover the answer we really wanted God to give us without all the effort on our part. God knows what we can do, and wants us to find that out too. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” ¶December 12, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1173 ¶Third Sunday of Advent ¶December 11, 2022 ¶Psalm 57 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+57&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There is nothing quite so comforting as a song rising in your heart to buoy your spirits, and make the mood lighter. However, there are times in which a song will not rise and a dark mood is made that much darker by the absence of music. Times of tragedy and grief, times of stress, and times of terror are a few of the moments in our lives that rob the music from us. In one particular case for me, I did not notice that I had been bereft of song until it suddenly returned one day. As music rose again I realized how much I had missed it. ¶The introduction to this psalm says it comes from a time in which David was fleeing from Saul. I imagine that David was drained by all the stresses and losses that accompanied falling out of Saul’s favor. In verse seven David is able to muster the wherewithal to say, “My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody.” He pushes himself to raise a song, and in it he finds comfort and the assurance that God is present in this, and every time of David’s life. It isn’t always that easy, which may explain why David is such a model of faithfulness. ¶As David recovers the ability to sing, the companion sense of thankfulness to God rises as well. In thankfulness David can rediscover a sense the steadfast love of God that moves so many of us from our bleak places to a deeper appreciation of the ways God loves and cares for us all the time. “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. “ ¶December 5, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1172 ¶Second Sunday of Advent ¶December 4, 2022 ¶Psalm 50 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+50&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are people who say that God does not need our thanks and praise, God is complete without us. If that is the case, then why are we here at all? While it may be the case that God does not need anything from us, it does not keep God from enjoying a relationship with each one of us, especially those who choose a relationship with God. To set God so far above us that there is no need for anything from us is a way to keep God separate from us so as not to sully God’s hands with our impurity. ¶The strength of a relationship with God comes from God’s willingness to meet us where we are. God may not need our thanks and praise, however it is appreciated. As a parent, I had much more to offer my children than they had to give me. At the same time, when they brought tokens of affection, dandelions, rocks, hugs, and kisses it touched me in a way that can only be experienced. When we offer tokens of our affection and gratitude to God I imagine it is at least that special to God. It is not really the token that is important, it is the affection, the symbol of a relationship between God and us. ¶Even in the midst of an era with a sacrificial system God was not interested in the items being sacrificed, God was interested in the thankfulness, the gratitude, the need of the giver. We offer God our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness as our actual sacrifices. They are the means of connection with God and the people around us. “Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way, I will show the salvation of God.” ¶November 28, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1171 ¶First Sunday of Advent ¶November 27, 2022 ¶Psalm 43 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+43&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶One of my psychologist friends told me that many of the things that upset us most about the people around us are traits and behaviors that are present in us even though we deny them. We see it in people who are in the public eye as they speak out against an activity or lifestyle only to have it discovered that they are active participants in the practice they criticize so vocally. They hate it within themselves and find it easier to rail against those who are more public in their practice than to make the effort to change themselves by claiming the life they live in secret. ¶The psalmist asks for deliverance from those who are deceitful and unjust. Without judging the psalmist, I wonder how many of us have taken a stand against something of which we too are guilty. Or do we see ourselves as accepting of all people, with the exception of the races and types of people who offend or frighten us? We say we take refuge in God while we mean that we hide behind God. We quote Scripture out of context to justify our beliefs and practices that fly in the face of the sovereignty of God and the sacred worth of others. ¶The psalmist cries out for the light and truth of God. It is a good thing to do. It helps if we will include ourselves in the number we hope to receive that light and truth. As the light and truth of God illuminate us we find ourselves moving closer to the holy hill, the dwelling place of God. If we get to the place in which we feel that we have received all the light and truth we will ever need, rest assured that we are more deeply in need of light and truth than ever. ¶November 25, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1170 ¶Reign of Christ ¶November 20, 2022 ¶Psalm 36 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+36&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are folks who are so full of themselves they imagine that if they have deceived themselves they have managed to deceive us. Or, to give them a bit more credit, they imagine that they are so skilled at deception that those around them will be caught up in whatever they suggest. While there are people who will believe in them and follow them wherever they go, there are plenty of folks who see through them and wonder how others can believe anything that comes from a particular deceiver. ¶The steadfast love of God overarches all that is, available to any and all who are open to receive it. The psalmist glorifies the love of God in hopes that we will open ourselves to receive this gift that God gives to each of us. By accepting God’s love we open ourselves to the healing abundance and refuge that is a part of who God is. Being open to receive the love of God opens us to wonders we would otherwise miss. Seeing is one thing, experiencing wonder at the sight is quite another. ¶If you find yourself hanging on every word that comes from the mouth of another person you may be caught up in a web of deception. None of us has the whole unvarnished truth. We do well to run every ‘truth’ through the filters of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. The current atmosphere in the United States that gives politicians and one extreme arm of Christianity the final say in who God is and what God thinks about the world and the people in it does damage to the height, depth, and width of God’s love for each and all of us. ¶November 14, 2022 ¶LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/

Psalm Meditation 1169 ¶Proper 28 ¶November 13, 2022 ¶Psalm 29 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+29&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶A term I learned in seminary is, ‘the efficacious word.’ It means, saying it makes it so. A couple of near examples are: ‘When I say ‘jump’ you ask how high!’ and ‘Make it so, Number One.’ They are almost example because a true efficacious word does not need to be explained, it happens. “Let there be light, and there was light.” is truly an efficacious word. God is not the only one who makes things happen with a word, however when I use the term, I am usually thinking of God. ¶The psalmist marvels at the variety of ways the voice of the LORD makes things happen in the world and the rest of Creation. With a word God can either calm or roil the waters of the earth. God can rattle the earth and break giant cedar and oak trees. As we watch all this unfold all we can do is look with eye popping, open mouthed awe. We are awed by the power and majesty of God as well as the recognition that God loves us and is attentive to our needs. ¶The God who can strip a forest bare and shake the ground around us with a word cares enough about us to give us the strength to face all that comes our way. Experience shows that God does not give us each enough strength to face our trials. Rather God surrounds us with people who have resources we lack and gives us what those around us need. As we join together to meet each other’s needs we find ourselves at peace even in the face of storms. ¶November 7, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1168 ¶All Saints Sunday ¶November 6, 2022 ¶Psalm 22 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+22&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶If I say, “Aaaaas youuuuuu wiiiiiish,” or, “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die.” many of us will instantly think of the movie ‘The Princess Bride.’ Those two lines will remind us not only of the scenes in which those lines are spoken, but the whole movie. When Jesus spoke the first line of this psalm from the cross, the effect was the same for those witnesses who were familiar with Hebrew Scripture. One of my First Testament professors said, “Given his circumstance, his economy of language is understandable.” Jesus did not have to recite the whole psalm to bring it to the minds of those who knew it. ¶If we do not know it as the first line of the psalm, we see it as a cry of despair and abandonment, Jesus feeling the full weight of the world pressing down on his wrists and ankles. But there is more to the story. Yes, there is the despair, even wondering why God helped people in the past and not ‘me’ in this time of pain and suffering. There is also the word of hope that God will rescue and redeem those who are faithful in times of affliction and death. God will provide for those unable to provide for themselves for any number of reasons. ¶In our times of despair and abandonment God is with us. We may be hard pressed to say where God is, however God is with us in the good, the bad, and the in between times. A statement in Latin attributed to the Delphic oracle says, “Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit.” “Bidden or not bidden God is present.” It reminds us that we don’t have to call on God or even believe in God for the divine presence to be at work in and around us. Especially this week of All Saints it is good to remember that we are not abandoned or forsaken even in our suffering. ¶November 2, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1167 ¶Proper 26 ¶October 30, 2022 ¶Psalm 51 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Many of us have that list of actions and inactions that have done damage to those around us. They gnaw at us for years at a time. If we are lucky we can find a way to resolve the situation and atone for our sin. We join the psalmist in asking God to forgive us and cleanse us from the feelings of guilt and shame. The plea for forgiveness becomes a regular part of our prayer life. ‘If only God could forgive me, I would be better able to seek the forgiveness of others, as well as forgive those who I feel have wronged me.’ ¶Yes, God wants us to look at ourselves honestly to see where we are in need of forgiveness and redemption. God also wants us to let go of things that haunt us as if they were dreadful sins. I discover that in a lot of cases God has already offered me forgiveness and, because I feel unworthy, I have been unable to open myself to it. Confession is good for the soul as long as we can let go of our guilt in order to make room for forgiveness. And forgiveness does not remove the consequences of our actions, only the crippling guilt. ¶God has created a clean heart for each of us and is ready to put that new and right spirit within us, if we will make room for it by letting go of the broken hearts to which we cling so desperately. God wants an open and wholesome relationship with each one of us. We don’t need to clutter it up with bargains and promises, simply be in the presence of God. ¶October 24, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1166 ¶Proper 25 ¶October 23, 2022 ¶Psalm 44 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+44&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶I believe that God has more important things to do than move us around like marionettes on the stage of the world, so there is no script or detailed plan for the lives we live. God gives us choices and exerts influence on us to choose the one that leads to a deepening relationship with God and those around us. God is aware that we are free to make choices that lead us away from God as much as we are choices that lead us closer. There is likely some disappointment when we move away, however there is no loss of love for us. ¶This means that God is not the one who fights our battles for us, or leaves us to suffer and die alone when our choices lead away from God. The good thing about this is that God is always with us whether we are aware of that presence or not. The downside is that God is not responsible for our actions. God does not do things to us or for us; God is with us. In times of trouble, God may open our hearts and eyes to those who are ready, willing, and able to help us out. In good times God may open our hearts and eyes to those in need of something we have to offer. ¶Despite the psalmist’s calling on God to give us victory rather than letting us get broken and abandoned, I do not believe God works that way. The way of God is to move us in directions that lead to deepening relationships with all those around us, including God. We are responsible for our own thoughts and actions, while God is responsive to us in every time and place, guiding us in the way that leads to abundant life and steadfast love. ¶October 18, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1165 ¶Proper 24 ¶October 16, 2022 ¶Psalm 37 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+37&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶The history of the word ‘fret’ traces from Old English to Germanic and means to ‘eat up.’ I imagine and hope that I am not the only one who has ever eaten myself up with worry or envy over what someone else has received or achieved when I ‘deserved’ it more than they. I have also fretted about someone else taking things from me through an evil machination, even if it was not mine to begin with. Fretting does nothing to accomplish our goals and robs us of the energy we need to be productive as we eat ourselves up with worry. ¶The psalmist tells us to worry less about the achievements of others, especially those who have achieved things through dishonest means. While those who use selfish and dishonest means to get what they want, their gains do not last. Eventually they are found out and any good reputation they have had falls apart in the clear light of day. The psalmist reminds us to commit ourselves to the LORD since what we give and receive in a relationship with God lasts longer and does more good than any amount of selfish acts. ¶There are faithful people who have a little and there are faithful who have a lot. The important thing for each of them is the relationship with God that has been formed and nurtured in the course of a lifetime. As people of faith we learn to help those in need and to rejoice with those who have abundance that they use to help others. The mark of faithfulness is not in our possessions as much as it is in our relationships. ¶October 11, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1164 ¶Proper 23 ¶October 9, 2022 ¶Psalm 30 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+30&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Much of what happens to us is based on our actions, reactions, and attitudes. Some folks can jump off of buildings, land properly, and run off to the next obstacle. The rest of us will land badly, break at least one bone, and never stand as we did before. It has to do with what we take into the experience with us. If we have worked our way up to the otherwise impossible feat we have a much better chance of pulling it off successfully than if we make the jump haphazardly, tense up instead of relax, and miss the mark in some dangerous foolhardy way. ¶The psalmist is grateful that God has “drawn me up and did not let my foes rejoice over me.” Did God act as a special favor to the psalmist, or did the psalmist’s faithfulness and regular faith practice play a part in the help God was able to give? There was an existing relationship between the psalmist and God that allowed God’s activity to be anticipated and experienced. We can’t expect God to act in a certain way, however we can anticipate that God will be with us in a way that will be calming and helpful. ¶I believe that God is not in the habit of stepping in to stir the pot in order to save us from our own foolishness. God is with us and available to us. If we have formed a relationship with God, we will be more likely to notice where and when God is active in and around us. Knowing that God is with us gives us the courage to do the right thing, even if will be painful for us. “Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!” ¶October 4, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1163 ¶Proper 22 ¶October 2, 2022 ¶Psalm 23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶In high school I helped in a daycare center during my long lunch break. There was a brother and sister who would not lie still for nap time. I volunteered to help them get to sleep. I laid on the floor had one of the siblings lie on either side of me with a head on my bicep. I put a hand on each chest and held them still until they wearied themselves off to sleep. It rarely took more than a couple of minutes. I slowly moved one arm so the child’s head did not bump on the hard floor and then lifted the other head gently while I moved my arm. I could then go back to school with plenty of time before my next class. ¶As adults we rarely have to be made to take naps. As children we resist naps for reasons available only to children. So when the psalmist says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures,” I think of the reluctance children have to nap as I read that line of the psalm. I know other versions translate the line differently, however we have ‘makes’ in this case. God not only provides us a place, God makes that place safe through watching care. Knowing that God is with us allows us to rest peacefully and find restoration in the pastures to which God leads us. ¶No matter what, we are in the presence of God. God does not keep us from the dark valleys or the presence of evil. God does give us comfort as we face the less than perfect, less than desirable parts of our lives. Each of us will come to the end of life at some point, even then we are not abandoned by God. We continue to enjoy God’s providence and to live in God’s presence. “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.” ¶September 26, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1162 ¶Proper 21 ¶September 25, 2022 ¶Psalm 16 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+16&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are times in our lives in which we wonder why we have to go through some of the things we endure. There are events that bring us to question why we have faith in God if this is what happens to us when we do. We feel beat down, abandoned, and wondering how we are hanging on to life and sanity through all this. We are both jealous of and enraged by all those whose lives seem to run smoothly all the time. What makes them so special that they never have to suffer as we currently are? ¶The psalmist doesn’t say that life will be perfect when we cast our lot with God. The statement the psalmist makes to God is, “I have no good apart from you.” We all suffer; it seems to be wrapped up in what it means to be alive. People and things around us are lost to us in a variety of ways and we are left to carry on without them. It is hard to the point of being unbearable. Imagine how much worse it would be without the presence of God, and the people of God surrounding us with love, concern, and help. ¶As the times and events of our lives go sour for us, we do well to remember that God is with us no matter what. God is as present with us in the times of suffering as in the good times. While these times are painful, we can rest assured that God is with us, offering steadfast love and comfort to us. While we may not, should not, rejoice in every situation, we know that God’s loving presence will bring us to a time in which we are able to rejoice. ¶September 22, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1161 ¶Proper 20 ¶September 18, 2022 ¶Psalm 45 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+45&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Of course the king deserves these accolades and compliments, because he is the king. There may be a touch of extravagant flattery, however for the most part the king deserves to hear all of these good things about himself and his bride. Leaders of all ages deserve the acclaim that the people offer, especially if that leader is somehow one of us. Certainly God smiles on leaders who serve God by ruling the people fairly. ¶If these same kinds of compliments are pointed toward us we are quick to deflect them, discount them, and ignore them. Despite our unwillingness to accept those compliments, in the eyes of God we are each special and have our own set of skills and gifts that set us apart from the those around us. Even our uniqueness is not what causes God to love us. God loves us because it is the nature of God to love each of us with the same steadfast love that every other person receives. ¶We deserve the compliments sincerely given to us, because we are beloved children of God. Most of us are not celebrities, known by many beyond our ability to know in return. That does not make us any less special in the eyes of God. The lowliest to the loftiest is known and loved by God as an individual of sacred worth. ¶September 13, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1160 ¶Proper 19 ¶September 11, 2022 ¶Psalm 38 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+38&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶To be disciplined, as in punished, by someone we love and respect is worse than being punished by someone whose opinion of us does not matter as much. Our first inclination is to believe that the one punishing us has lost respect for us and does not like or love us as much as we have come to expect. The psalmist is concerned that God is more intent on punishment than on the teaching aspect of discipline, and that thought is more damaging than the punishment itself. ¶If God’s love for us has lessened in any way because of our actions, we have reason to be troubled because of our sin. Because we tend to see God as human, only bigger, we read our own thoughts and experiences into our view of God. If we sometimes let our anger get the better of us as we are punishing someone, how much more will God do that with us when we have done something that deserves discipline and punishment? ¶God is not like us only bigger. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Even when God is angry and wrathful there is a measured response to our action and inaction. God’s intent is to teach us, and to love us in every form of discipline, including punishment. When we realize that, we willingly wait for God, to protect us from those who lash out at us in anger, to protect others when we lash out at them, and to bring us each to the wholeness of salvation. ¶September 5, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1159 ¶Proper 18 ¶September 4, 2022 ¶Psalm 31 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+31&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶One of my brothers-in-law once told me that several people on his team would come into his office and plop into a chair, obviously ready to vent about something. Before they got too wound up he would ask them, “Do you want me to fix this, or do you want me to hear it?” Once he had that settled, he could listen with the proper mindset. There are times we go to someone else so that we can hear ourselves say it out loud, knowing that there is a sympathetic ear focused on us. Other times we want advice and counsel to face a challenge that seems beyond us. ¶The psalmist turns to God for a listening ear as well as for protection from the slings and arrows that seem to be on every side. ‘If only there were someone who would listen to my fears and offer me comfort and protection from all that is going on around me.’ The psalmist is aware that God has been that listening ear as well as a fortress and refuge for many in the sweep of salvation history. Trusting in God to act in our own lives moves us closer to the refuge God offers to us. ¶God is not a helicopter parent, hovering over us to protect us from the slightest insult or injury. God is more like a free range parent, allowing to go where we will and do what we will with a few boundaries. God is also present and available to us at any time and place. As we turn to God for refuge we are given comfort as well as encouragement to go back into the world as soon as, maybe even a little before, we are ready to face the world and God’s abundant goodness in it. ¶August 29, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1158 ¶Proper 17 ¶August 28, 2022 ¶Psalm 24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+24&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Years ago, a friend and I hiked up a mountain in Colorado. It was not steep enough for us to need ropes, gear, or skill. What I remember about that climb is how inaccessible the peak of the mountain was to us. Every time we reached what we thought was the peak, there was more mountain above us. At some point we decided that anything higher was probably a new mountain and contented ourselves with the height we had achieved. At that point I do not recall having either clean hands or a pure heart. I recall being ready to rest. ¶I believe the hill of the LORD is much the same. We work and climb and rest as we are able at the time. Every time we reach what appeared to be the top just a moment ago is simply a pointy spot on the side of the hill. I don’t think we get to the point where we can truthfully say that we have reached the top, that we have done all that God requires of us so that we can sit down and rest. There is always another bit of hill or mountain ahead of us. Fortunately for us, there are points along the climb at which God offers us a gift that makes the journey so far worth the effort. ¶The gifts from God aren’t for having accomplished something nearly as much as they are for showing up and being attentive enough to see that a gift is headed our way. Those who are in it for the gifts as well as those who don’t believe that there are gifts, let alone a God to give them are likely going to miss out on anything that God gives. Those who receive God’s gifts have not been rooting around to dig up buried treasure, or climbing as if they can reach the peak on their own. They are putting in their best effort while be open to and aware of the presence, and presents, of God. ¶August 22, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1157 ¶Proper 16 ¶August 21, 2022 ¶Psalm 17 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+17&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Word and phrase meanings and origins have been a fascination of mine for most of my life, so, “Guard me as the apple of the eye“ caught my attention. Without going too far down a rabbit hole, I found two sources. For Shakespeare the apple of the eye was the pupil. They had no other name for it, it is sort of apple shaped, so that seemed a fitting name for it. In Hebrew the phrase translates as, ‘the little person of the eye,’ the reflection one sees as someone looks at you. To be the apple of one’s eye is to be the sole focus of the one who sees you. ¶To be the apple of the eye of God is really something. Since God is so far beyond us, we have no comprehension of how it happens, however God has a way of seeing each of us as if and because we are the most important person to God in every moment. God is not looking at us to judge us, to find fault and error in any part of our lives. God is looking at us with a love that is deeper and more intense than any love we can offer to God or any one else. ¶When the psalmist asks to be guarded as the apple of God’s eye, it is already happening. The only thing left is for the psalmist to realize that God is already offering all the love and attention the psalmist could possibly use. And the rest of the psalm will also come to pass but not because of God. These adversaries will continue to pursue their worldly aims while ignoring the presence of God. God continues to offer the love and attention to everyone, even to those who choose to ignore it. ¶August 16, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1156 ¶Proper 15 ¶August 14, 2022 ¶Psalm 11 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+11&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Some of us will have heard, and said, “People don’t neighbor the way they used to.” And while there is a kernel of truth, there is just as much that is not true. Many who say this are thinking back to a time in which the folks who lived around us were just like us. We could neighbor with them because we had so many characteristics and behaviors in common. So, many of us do not neighbor with the folks who live near us because the neighborhood has become much more diverse than it was originally. ¶We continue to neighbor with ‘our kind’ of people. We have to travel a ways to get to our ‘neighbors,’ to enjoy the company of people with whom we have something in common. The psalmist tells us that, “...the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” It serves as a reminder that God enjoys the company of people who enjoy the company of God. Do we get to brag about being in God’s in-crowd? Not really. Folks who brag about anything are not usually in as ‘brag-able’ a place as they claim. ¶While we may be among those who enjoy the company of God, it is important to remember that God invites and welcomes all who will come. We are not special due to any effort on our part nearly as much as we are made special by the steadfast, abiding love of God. So, rather than feel good about our special place in the presence of God, we do well to live as if God has a place for each person. When we live as neighbors of God, we can more readily invite folks into God’s presence. ¶August 8, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1155 ¶Proper 14 ¶August 7, 2022 ¶Psalm 39 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+39&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Many of us have a love/hate relationship with God. We know that God loves us, cares for us, and wants what is best for us. The difficulty lies in the knowledge that what is best for us is not always pleasant. Things as simple as naps and baths were once battle grounds for us, thinking we were too old for such trivialities as rest and cleanliness. How many of us who fought those naps and baths with tears and tantrums look forward to both a bath/shower, and a nap these days? What does God ask us to do or endure that seems terrible at the time, yet afterward seems to have turned out well? ¶The psalmist wants to be delivered from the bonds of sin without any suffering, as if that is possible. Many of our sinful habits carry a hefty price for us to be free of them. Some exact a physical price, some a spiritual cost, and others drain us physically as well as spiritually. A statement that has been helpful to me through the years is, “Every action has a cost and a promise.” We have to weigh which is greater as we make our choice. Sometimes we choose the one with the high cost in hopes that there will be a worthy promise at the end. It is painful when we discover we have made the wrong choice. ¶I imagine that the gaze of God is a parental look, the one that stops us in our tracks and makes us want to evaluate every life choice we have made up to this moment. Once caught in the gaze, we know we will never smile or laugh again for as long as we live. It is only as our parent looks away that we see any hope for the future. Having endured that gaze to its end we see that it has love and concern as a part of it. At our best, the angry gaze is not the final expression. In the case of God, anger is certainly not the final word. The love, care and concern that God has for us holds us far longer than any anger on God’s part. ¶August 2, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1154 ¶Proper 13 ¶July 31, 2022 ¶Psalm 32 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+32&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶When my brothers and I had established homes of our own, we began to tell stories of our teenage indiscretions at a family meal. After each story, mom would respond with some form of, “I know.” We had tried so hard to act normal, and yet she knew. I am sure she did not know all of our indiscretions, however she knew enough. I imagine that most of us were not as sneaky as we thought, and at least one parent was not as clueless as we hoped. These confessions did not reveal our sin so much as put them out in the open for discussion, and perhaps, forgiveness. ¶The psalmist believes that God is unaware of our transgressions until we acknowledge and confess them to God. The silence of the psalmist does not keep the knowledge of the sin away from God so much as it drives a wedge of secrecy between us and God. While we may think we are keeping secrets from God we are only walling off that portion of ourselves from God’s steadfast and forgiving love. It wreaks more havoc on our bodies, minds, and spirits than even remotely keeping it from God. ¶As we confess our indiscretions and sins to God, we open ourselves to the abundant stores of love and forgiveness that God has for us. While we pretend that we are perfect and have no need of forgiveness, there is a wall of our own construction that keeps us from receiving the fullness of God. As long as we attempt to hide the harshness we carry inside toward ourselves and others, we keep it from being placed in God’s hands where it can dissipate and disappear from our lives in the steadfastness of God’s love for us. ¶July 26, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1153 ¶Proper 12 ¶July 24, 2022 ¶Psalm 25 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+25&version=NRSVUE Please follow this link to read the psalm first. (NRSV) ¶The adage, “Never meet your heroes, you will always be disappointed,” is good advice. We usually discover that they have some habit, tic, or quirk that is extremely annoying to us. We may also discover that they do not behave or believe what we would have expected from our limited exposure to them. It may appear super easy to learn from them or to get to know them until we actually get the opportunity to do so. ¶The psalmist wants to grow closer to God, and the same warnings apply. The God we think we know, may not be the God we will meet as we delve into prayer, study, and experience. The way of God is difficult, as it requires humility, love, and faithfulness. God points us in the direction of loving those who do not deserve it, and need it desperately. God also asks us to look to ourselves, to see our faults as well as our strengths so that we can correct our faults and build on strengths for the building up of the realm of God. ¶Feel free to meet heroes, knowing that they may be very different from what we expect them to be. Know too, that you are likely someone’s hero and they are or will be disappointed that you do not live up to their expectations. Feel free, as well to meet God for the sake of learning to live in love and faithfulness. It is hard work that is worth the effort to live into the covenant God offers to us. ¶July 18, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1152 ¶Proper 11 ¶July 17, 2022 ¶Psalm 18 ¶https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+18&version=NRSVUE ¶This long psalm is as good a time as any to post a link instead of the psalm. I continue to encourage you to read the psalm first. ¶I once met someone who treated me as if I were the only person in the room. As I watched him greet other people at the event, I noticed he treated each of them with the same singular focus. I saw it and still see it as an enviable people skill. As David praises God in this psalm, it seems to be for that same focus on his need for deliverance. With everything else that demands God’s attention, there is time and energy to meet David in his time of great need. ¶It is easy, in times of stress and peril, to believe that we are alone. We imagine ourselves abandoned by any source of help on which we normally lean. If we do think to call on God, it is likely that we will not include the introductory praise of this psalm. It is also possible that the ascription of praise was not how David began his prayer in his darkest hour. It was an addition put in as the psalm was written down after the fact. ¶The important thing is to cry out to God when there is a need. It does not have to be ‘right,’ it does not have to be in formal biblical language, it doesn’t need language at all. The necessary part is to call on and rely on God for presence with us, no matter what. We may get the answer we were expecting, with all the T-s crossed and I-s dotted. We may get something radically different from what we asked for and expected God to do. Either way, we know that God is with us. ¶July 11, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1151 ¶Proper 10 ¶July 10, 2022 ¶Psalm 12 1 Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; the faithful have disappeared from humankind. 2 They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a deceitful heart they speak. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail; our lips are our own—who is our master?” 5 “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the LORD; “I will place them in the safety for which they long.” 6 The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. 7 You, O LORD, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever. 8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among humankind. (NRSV) ¶I take a cold comfort in realizing that this psalm is thousands of years old, and we have yet to be overrun by evil people, even when it feels as if we have been. I have a strong memory of my dad, in one of his sermons, quoting Socrates, “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” Both of these remind us that, though we feel as if we are living in the worst of times, we probably are not. ¶We do need to take evil seriously as it continually sprouts and festers among us, including in each one of us. People continue to lie, flatter, and say and do things for personal advantage with no thought to those outside the personal ‘in group.’ And while it is easy and tempting to see, to judge, the evil in others, we really can’t change their behavior. The ones we can change are ourselves. Rather than judging others from the outside, we do well to deal with ourselves from the inside. ¶In all of this, God will always be on the side of the poor and needy, the oppressed and downtrodden. While we like to put ourselves in that position, so that we have favored status with God, the truth is that many reading, and certainly the one writing, this are guilty of despoiling the poor, keeping the needy in want, and participating in the oppression of others. Because God looks out for those who cannot take care of themselves, we do well to be ready to receive discipline, to learn new ways of living in the world, so that we can join God in keeping folks safe, and free, from oppression. ¶July 4, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1150 ¶Proper 9 ¶July 3, 2022 ¶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) ¶The first image that came to me is of someone curled into a fetal position, cowering in a dark corner, waiting for someone to come and scoop them up in a protective embrace. It takes a powerful person to pull this off. Many of us feel that we are too big for anyone to be able to scoop us up and protect us. This may be why it is such a helpful image of the love and power of God in our lives. The love seeks us out, looking into every dark and scary place until we are found. The power lifts us up and carries us to safety as if we were no burden at all. ¶In times like these, we want it known that if we have ever made anyone feel as small as we do, we are very sorry and will accept any punishment that fits our actions. We never want anyone to feel badly because of anything we have said or done to make them feel that way. As we are willing to accept the punishment of God, we want all who have made us suffer, to bear the punishment they deserve for the harm they have done to us. May they be caught in the webs and traps they have laid out for others ¶Of course, God is not one to wreak vengeance on anyone. The love of God is not reserved for those who love God in return, who repent with remorse and tears. The love of God comes to each of us, no matter what. We may not be open to or willing to receive God’s love, however, God loves us just the same. So we can wish all the devastation and destruction we can ever imagine onto our enemies at the hand of God, that does not mean it will happen. As we look to God for answers to our prayers and wishes for the destruction of our enemies, God is just as likely to point us in ways that allow us to see them as brothers and sisters, loved and lovable. ¶June 27, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1149 ¶Proper 8 ¶June 26, 2022 ¶Psalm 33 1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. 2 Praise the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made and all their host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, 9 for he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 12 Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. 13 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind. 14 From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth— 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. 18 Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield. 21 Our heart is glad in him because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (NRSV) ¶Steadfast love is one of those words/phrases that has become a ‘church’ word, something we use only in religious contexts. The current word that means about the same thing is unconditional love. It means that there is nothing we can do to earn this kind of love, and there is nothing we can do to make someone stop loving us. This kind of love is a gift. It is the kind of love to which we all aspire in our most deeply held relationships. It is more easily said than done. ¶God loves us. God loves you. God loves me. There are folks who keep themselves from being open to God’s love in a variety of ways, however that does nothing to keep God’s love from surrounding us. Those who are open to God’s love are the ones best able to receive it and pass it on to others. God points us in the direction of righteousness and justice for all people. Striving for righteousness and justice is how we live out the love that God gives to us, for all to share. ¶With all that God is and does, from being the creative force in the world to frustrating the plans of those whose greed and selfishness opposes the divine plan, God’s love for us stands firm. Empire, systems that govern by violence, fear, and oppression, stand only for a moment. The realm of God, based in righteousness, justice, and steadfast love, stands forever. “Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” ¶June 20, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1148 ¶Proper 7 ¶June 19, 2022 ¶Psalm 26 1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you. 4 I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD, 7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and telling all your wondrous deeds. 8 O LORD, I love the house in which you dwell and the place where your glory abides. 9 Do not sweep me away with sinners nor my life with the bloodthirsty, 10 those in whose hands are evil devices and whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me and be gracious to me. 12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the LORD. (NRSV) ¶The good part about avoiding worthless, hypocritical, wicked evildoers is that we are unlikely to be influenced by them. We can continue in our innocence and purity to the end of our days. We live as those who are already in the presence of God, waiting for the day we are presented with our robes and wings, with a pass key into the pearly gates. We get to keep our clothes and our hands clean, since we refuse contact with anything that might leave a stain on us. ¶The difficult part of sitting with worthless, hypocritical, wicked evildoers is that those prone to judgment will come to number us among the folks in these categories. We will be judged as ‘less than’ by all the folks who live the ivory tower existence of innocence and purity. Our hands are dirty, our clothes are stained and disheveled, and we are more readily tempted to take the easy way, knowing that it leads where no one really wants to go. ¶Interestingly, God demonstrates in word and action a willingness to live and work among those we can so easily look down on. We hear and see that the place for God’s people is in and among those most in need of rescue from the easy way out. We can offer our ‘thoughts and prayers’ to those in need, however we are our best selves when we also offer our hearts and hands to change the systems that keep folks in a position of need. There is a place for purity and innocence. There is an important place for dirty hands, doing the work of God among those most in need of God. ¶June 13, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1147 ¶Trinity Sunday ¶June 12, 2022 ¶Psalm 19 1 The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and nothing is hid from its heat. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can detect one’s own errors? Clear me from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. (NRSV) ¶I have learned that the things that annoy and anger us the most in others are the things that we ourselves do without owning the action. We can cluck our tongues at those who do the things on our list, and never notice that we may have just done that very thing. These are among “one’s own errors,” from which the psalmist asks to be clear. Is it even possible to be cleared of all those sins we commit without noticing them in ourselves? ¶The psalmist includes a list of ways to keep ourselves as pure as possible in the presence of God. They are various ways of exhorting us to learn and live the laws, decrees, precepts, commandments, fear, and ordinances of God. Each of these are synonyms for the ways God wants us to live as people and children of God. As we learn and, more importantly, incorporate God’s instruction into our daily lives, we become our best selves in the world. ¶Rather than spending our energy scolding and clucking our tongues at those around us, as they violate the teachings of God, we do well to look to our selves. If we must concentrate on others, what is it about their actions that annoys us, how am I guilty of the same thing, and what shall I do instead? “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” ¶June 8, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1146 ¶Pentecost ¶June 5, 2022 ¶Psalm 13 1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I bear pain in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD because he has dealt bountifully with me. (NRSV) ¶Wouldn’t it be nice if God would get it together to answer our prayers the way we want them answered and on our timeline? When things don’t fall into place for us, we assume that God has not answered our prayers. In most cases, we want a specific outcome and God answers by being present with us no matter what happens. As discombobulating as that answer can be, in the long run, the presence of God is a more lasting answer than our specific request. ¶God does not count victory or success in the same manner that the world does. So, our enemies and adversaries may seem to prevail over us. They get to win because they have ticked all the right boxes as far as the world is concerned. As we remain faithful in the face of adversity, we discover that the steadfast love of God is sweeter and more lasting than the victories that the world relishes. ¶Prices are paid that are too high, sacrifices are made that seem to gain nothing, friends are lost over issues that seem weighty at the time and end up being trivial. Each one of these feels devastating at the time and we wonder if we will ever recover. And yet, we persist. By the power of the presence of God in our lives, we are able to pick ourselves up and move on to the next challenge, willing to risk out of the abundance of the love of God at work in our lives. “I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD because he has dealt bountifully with me.” ¶May 31, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1145 ¶Seventh Sunday of Easter ¶May 29, 2022 ¶Psalm 8 1 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4 what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (NRSV) ¶Somehow, those of us from European backgrounds in particular, have taken the gift of, “dominion over the works of your hands” as entitlement to use any part of creation as we see fit. We have abused and damaged so much of the world we have been given, it is likely we will be called upon to answer for the ways we have lived in the world we were supposed to have cared for. I am sure we each have a list of the ways everyone else has abused our home planet without taking responsibility for our own actions. ¶In at least some tribal societies, the community leader owns everything within the group. A part of exercising dominion over people is to care for their needs out of the resources held for the sake of the whole group. When that happens, all is well and the people of the community are happy to keep the leader in place. When the leader takes on an attitude of entitlement, and hoards the community resources for selfish gain, the community is forced to rebel for the sake of all, over against the one. ¶God has given us dominion over the earth, not as an entitlement, rather as a responsibility. We are to care for the earth’s resources for the benefit of all with whom we share this place. God’s majesty continues in every arc and corner of creation, continues to let us exercise dominion over creation when we do it well and when we don’t. “O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” ¶May 23, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1144 ¶Sixth Sunday of Easter ¶May 22, 2022 ¶Psalm 4 1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. 4 When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. 6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O LORD!” 7 You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. 8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety. (NRSV) ¶There is something good and fun about eating and drinking to excess. It seems such a good idea at the time, to take in all the goodness that a particular celebration has to offer. As we fall deeper and deeper into the hole of excess, the consequences seem to matter less and less. It is all just fun and games for the time being. It is only after the fact, when the consequences of our actions rear their ugly head, that we realize that the fun of food and drink does not last. ¶The psalmist prefers the gladness that comes from being in a relationship with God. It is difficult, to be sure, however it does not weigh us down the way eating and drinking do. Faithfulness in relation to God leads to a gladness that is more about being fulfilled than merely being filled. Being in the presence of God gives us a sense of wholeness that a life of excess can only pretend to give. ¶Being aware of the presence of God in and around us gives us a sense of peace that nothing else can give. To know that we are heard and held when nothing seems to be going our way is a great source of comfort and peace. The fleeting nature of the gladness brought about by excess food and drink cannot compare to a relationship with God. “I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.” ¶May 17, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1143 ¶Fifth Sunday of Easter ¶May 15, 2022 ¶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) ¶Does God’s protection and shelter actually keep us from going through difficult times, keep us from experiencing grief, pain, loss, etc.? That has not been my experience of God. I know people who claim that God can, will, and does keep them from all suffering and loss. And all is well with them until they go through a rough patch. At the first sign of suffering these folks are either going to move to a deeper experience of God or abandon God all together, ‘since he can’t even keep me from suffering like he promised.’ ¶Many of us experience the protection and sheltering of God as keeping us from despair in the face of suffering, loss, and tragedy. Yes, we will go through the valley of the shadow of death, on the fringes or the depths. We may face actual, physical adversaries, or spiritual, mental, emotional conflicts. During those times we will know that God is with us, holding our hearts and lives in steadfast love and care. The events will not change, however we will not be alone as we go through the storms and trials that are a part of life. ¶God chooses to be with us, to abide (take up residence) with us. In every trial and adversity, the temptation is to give up and fall into depression and despair. We feel as if we have been abandoned and left to fend for ourselves. The presence of God allows us to know that we are not alone, that we are not suffering on our own. The presence of God shines a light into the darkness of our lives, giving us a new, deeper and stronger hope that moves us closer to God. “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” ¶May 12, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1142 ¶Fourth Sunday of Easter ¶May 8, 2022 ¶Psalm 20 1 The LORD answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah 4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans. 5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. 7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright. 9 Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call. (NRSV) ¶I know there are families, congregations, and businesses, just to name a few, who are torn apart by infighting and competition among members. Most of us like to win when there is competition and rivalry in the groups of which we are a part. There are some who will do anything to keep from losing. And when they do lose, they will find or make a way to make themselves look and feel good and the others in the group look and feel bad. Infighting takes the shape of sniping at each other, sabotaging anything the other does, and generally being a thorn in each other’s side. It doesn’t have to be this way. ¶The psalmist offers this bit of cheerleading, placing the ruler into the care of God for help and protection. Yes, this is directed to the ruler, and it offers us a way to treat each other. Rather than sniping and hoping for the worst possible outcome for those we see as rivals, we can cheer each other on for the sake of the whole group. We don’t need to agree with them, or even like them; we can still support what they do for the good of the group. It is possible that our pet project and their pet project each have merit, and a chance to succeed if we allow the process to move forward with our prayers for success. ¶When our focus is on doing the work of God, rather than on outdoing those around us, we will find that God can prosper multiple plans and ideas at the same time. When our energy is directed to doing all the good we can we have no time to worry about which of us is better than the other, only whether we are being faithful. If we can do all this while cheerleading our group and those around us, we will ’rise and stand upright’ together for the glory of God in the world. ¶May 3, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1141 ¶Third Sunday of Easter ¶May 1, 2022 ¶Psalm 14 1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. 3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one. 4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD? 5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous. 6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge. 7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. (NRSV) ¶In Hebrew, the meaning of the word ‘fool’ means more than the English, ‘stupid.’ It can also mean ‘wicked’ and the rest of the psalm points toward that meaning. And while we are at it, let’s say that YHWH is looking down on the fools in humankind rather than painting us all with the broad brush of doom and destruction. Though we tend to look at everyone who is not ‘us’ as evil and God forsaken, God is not as exclusionary as we can be. ¶These fools are likely those who make God in their own image, who justify all of their ideas and actions as being in line with the will of God. “Do you want to exclude and demonize a group of people, even rationalize their death and destruction? Boy, do we have the deity for you. We will continue to call this deity YHWH since we are already used to that name, And we will use that name to justify all sorts of evil against others to make ourselves more comfortable. We can even find a single verse in the Bible to show we have the right and responsibility to carry out our plans” ¶God has a soft spot for the poor. So if you are on the side of those who have the power to make the rules, it is important to make sure that as many as possible benefit from those rules. Sadly, many who make the rules are surrounded by those who benefit, and are blind to those who do not. Does this rule fit into the whole arc of God’s salvation history or did someone have to look a while to find that proof text for this rule? ¶April 25, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1140 ¶Second Sunday of Easter ¶April 24, 2022 ¶Psalm 9 1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 3 When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you. 4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. 5 You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. 6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples. 12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13 Be gracious to me, O LORD. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death, 14 so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance. 15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught. 16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah 17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. 19 Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you. 20 Put them in fear, O LORD; let the nations know that they are only human. Selah (NRSV) ¶When a fight breaks out, it is likely that a crowd will gather. In some cases the crowd gathers before the fight starts to egg on and encourage the fighters. Imagine that God is in the circle and we are interested onlookers. We want God to defend our honor, to destroy those who have picked on us for far too long with no relief in sight. Now that God is on the scene we are getting ourselves all pumped up for the beating that God is about to hand down to everyone who has ever crossed us. ¶It is an intriguing image, and not likely to play out. God is not one for weapons of violence, preferring the making of new relationships over the making of enemies. We join many generations of God’s people who have turned God into one of us by ascribing our own violent tendencies to God. We do this for no other reason than to justify our violence and brutality against our enemies. When Jews and Christians were underdogs in the world, there was reason to stand up for ourselves with some force. Now that Christians are such a large and powerful force perhaps it is time for us to make ourselves in God’s image rather than continuing to squeeze God into our own. ¶God continues to execute judgment on all people. God judges the evil within each one of us as well as the righteousness that each of us holds within us. When we want our enemies destroyed, we usually mean those outside of us. God calls us to root out and destroy the evil within ourselves to make room for more and more righteous thoughts and actions that lead us to be ever more righteous folk. ¶April 19 , 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1139 ¶Easter ¶April 17, 2022 ¶Psalm 5 1 Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my sighing. 2 Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you. 5 The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. 7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. 8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. 9 For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield. (NRSV) ¶The problem I see in this psalm, at least this time through, is the willingness of the psalmist to make righteousness a contest. ‘I am so much better than all of those other people because I depend on your righteousness and all of those other folks depend on lies, destruction, and flattery.’ When I judge myself by my internal intentions and judge others by their actions I have set up a situation in which I win and you lose—every time. ¶That might be okay if God only listens to me and my opinions on who is evil and who is good. The difficulty is that God knows the heart of each of us, our intentions, rationalizations, and excuses for why I should have favored status with God while everyone else deserves harsh judgment. So, while I believe you deserve to be punished and I deserve leniency because my heart was right even though things didn’t work the way I wanted them to, you believe that you deserve credit for intention and I deserve punishment for my actions. ¶Perhaps each of us has missed something in the life and heart of the other. So, instead of making righteousness a contest, we each could concern ourselves with our own actions and intentions. In the event we are in a position to judge another we do well to do it with as much mercy and grace as we would hope to receive ourselves. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield.” ¶April 11, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1138 ¶Palm/Passion Sunday ¶April 10, 2022 ¶Psalm 2 1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling 12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him. (NRSV) ¶I remember being very upset when I learned that the United States is not the largest country in the world. Having been taught that we are the best/grandest nation, we must also be the biggest. Knowing this about myself makes me wonder how many other nations tell their citizens that their nation is the best/grandest in the world. That the psalmist knows that the rulers of the surrounding nations want to be free of the bonds and cords imposed on them by Israel leads me to believe that the indoctrination is widespread. Especially since one of my seminary professors informed us that Israel was never much of a military power. ¶Whether we are strong or weak, rich or poor, big or small it is a good plan to look to YHWH for help and direction. Though the psalmist knows that God is on our side and will crush all of our enemies, that is seeing God as one of us, one like us, with the same friends and enemies that we have. God does not choose sides in our petty squabbles over ‘stuff.’ God encourages us to love each other, to look for ways to care for one another, and to move in the direction that leads us closer to God. ¶While we are quick to find ways to justify God being on our side over against those with whom we disagree, God does not work that way. We are called and led to serve God by serving each other. Watching our enemies be broken into tiny little pieces is a great revenge/punishment fantasy, but that is all it is if we expect God to do that for us. In serving God we are called to serve those we love as well as those who seem unlovable. “Happy are all who take refuge in him.” ¶March 7, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1137 ¶Fifth Sunday in Lent ¶April 3, 2022 ¶Psalm 21 1 In your strength the king rejoices, O LORD, and in your help how greatly he exults! 2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head. 4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever. 5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. 6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. 8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind. 11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows. 13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power. (NRSV) ¶Wouldn’t it be great to have connection with a powerful being who could do anything except refuse to do your bidding? This is the kind of God the psalmist wishes for the king to have, with a saying-it-makes-it-so bravado. We do have a tendency to act, think, and behave as if God is ready, willing, and able to be such a being for us. If we ask with enough faith, God will grant us whatever we ask, foolish and ill-thought out though it may be. At the very least, our prayers should be answered with the speed and accuracy we expect, with a little room for something better than we requested. ¶I hope we all know that God does not work that way. Even David did not get all for which he asked. Prayer is answered just as often with a redirection of our request and concern. The petition we lift to God may be answered with an assurance that God is with us, even though what we have asked for does not happen. God is not a genie who pops out of a bottle to grant our first three wishes. God is a loving presence whose goal and gift is to lead us in the way that leads us closer to God in our thoughts, attitudes and actions. ¶The prayers that are answered best are the ones that ask that we be pointed in the direction that leads to the love of God in all we are and do. That direction is seldom easy, it is certainly not the way of the world. It is the way that leads away from selfish desire toward a generosity of spirit. “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.” ¶March 28, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1136 ¶Fourth Sunday in Lent ¶March 27, 2022 ¶Psalm 15 1 O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? 2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; 3 who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; 4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the LORD; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 5 who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved. (NRSV) ¶Sometimes we make promises with the expectation that we will not have to do anything to keep those promises. And if we do have to keep our side of a promise, bargain, or bet, we find a way to weasel out of it with an excuse or rationalization that clears us of the debt as far as we are concerned. It will not haunt us or keep us up at night because we have been able to erase any sense of debt on our part. ¶The psalmist tells us that we need to keep those promises or stop making them if we have any intention of being in the presence of God. Sometimes keeping our oaths and promises can be painful. Marriage vows, ordination vows, other professional oaths and promises call for sacrifices from time to time. While we would rather do things our own way and for our own benefit, we do have to do things that go against our selfish desires for the sake of honoring our vows, oaths, and promises. ¶Though we tend to make it sound difficult to end up in the presence of God, the psalmist tells us that God wants us to be good to others, to be honest with the people around us, refuse to put up with evil things from others, and take our vows, oaths, and promises seriously even if we end up getting hurt somehow because of it. All of this built on a base of wanting to be as much like God as we possibly can be. ¶March 22, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1135 ¶Third Sunday in Lent ¶March 20, 2022 ¶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) ¶The who are poor are generally seen as an easy mark for those who want to find someone to exploit. They have enough to survive while not having enough to defend themselves from those for whom too much is not enough. They can’t hire anyone to defend them so they are ripe for exploitation. Governments, corporations, and wealthy individuals make promises and programs that look good on paper while they use bait and switch tactics to keep folks oppressed and needy. ¶Many who are poor have something that those who have more money do not have. They have a supportive community that lives with the assurance that being exploited is not the final outcome. Those who live in poverty are more likely to have faith in one who will deliver them from exploitation and oppression. The psalmist calls on YHWH to bring divine deliverance to those who are most in need, and to break the power of those who have taken advantage of them in so many ways. ¶One of my instructors in seminary told our group, “In all my years, I have never met anyone who made too much money by their own accounting.” While we are tempted to call ourselves poor so that we can more easily ask God to make us rich, we do better to look for any of the ways we exploit others directly and indirectly. “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.” ¶March 14, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1134 ¶Second Sunday in Lent ¶March 13, 2022 ¶Psalm 6 1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 3 My soul also is struck with terror, while you, O LORD—how long? 4 Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise? 6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eyes waste away because of grief; they grow weak because of all my foes. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror; they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame. (NRSV) ¶It has been a long two years, and the stresses have not subsided; only changed faces. We have had our fearsome encounters with Covid 19, we have dealt with differing opinions and practices on how to deal with this disease. We have angered each other as we were too cautious or too cavalier to suit each other. We have been vaccinated and boosted or refused to have anything to do with a vaccine. As we have turned a corner on the disease front, we face the prospect of a war that will do no one any good in the long run, except for any lessons we may learn for the future. ¶The psalmist has reached a breaking point. Terror of body and soul leads to a leap of faith into the arms of God, depending on the steadfastness of God’s love to be the source of deliverance from all that threatens body and soul. The belief of the system is that death is final, and keeps one from being able to remember and praise God, so there is a touch of bargaining/bribery here to convince God to grant deliverance from death and Sheol. And yet, at this breaking point the psalmist knows that God has heard and accepted this prayer for deliverance. ¶We each know or know of someone who has died of Covid. We may know or know of someone with relatives or other connection to Ukraine or Russia. I believe that God does not choose sides, especially based on politics and geography. God loves each of us and stands ready to catch us when we make that leap toward deliverance. I also believe that God will catch us whether we live or die, whether we are on the right or the wrong side of history, whether we love God or not. I believe God comforts us in our times of terror out of a steadfast and abiding love for each of us. ¶March 8, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1133 ¶First Sunday in Lent ¶March 6, 2022 ¶Psalm 3 1 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying to me, “There is no help for you in God.” Selah 3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. 4 I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. 6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! Selah (NRSV) ¶I had every intention of writing about the internal foes we face on a regular basis; and then Russia invaded Ukraine. I see a people facing a formidable foe with faith, courage, and a sense of community that we don’t often see in modern war. Too often people find themselves defeated before the first shots are fired. The slow, steady build up of soldiers, armaments, and vehicles was likely meant to intimidate and discourage the Ukrainian people. It may have done the opposite, giving them time to rally their courage, resources, and resistance to any and all attacks. ¶The people of Ukraine are sustained by faith, family, and the broader solidarity that rises as a nation faces a foe with a deep sense of connection to the land, to freedom, and to each other. This is the sensibility that the psalmist lifts up with an assurance that God is with those who strive together for freedom from oppression at the hands of any who threaten neighbors, friends and family. The psalmist knows that, in some form, God is at work against those with wicked intentions. ¶Pray for those who stand against foes whose greed and selfishness would run roughshod over those who are charting their own course to the future, freedom, and self-determination. “Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! Selah” ¶March 1, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1132 ¶Transfiguration Sunday ¶February 27, 2022 ¶Psalm 1 1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; 2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. 3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (NRSV) ¶Many of us can get one hundred compliments in a day along with one disparaging comment, and the one we remember is the discount. That one remark can ruin a day and stick with us far longer than any number of compliments. Those disparaging remarks burn themselves into our psyches and leave us wounded and gasping. Our thoughts are of revenge, to hurt that person as deeply as they have hurt us. Whether the critique is true or not, we want to find a way to get back at them for their brutality. ¶The psalmist tells us that God is not like us. God can and does hear our thanks and praise and soaks it all in. The remark that is meant to insult God is received, processed, and acted on appropriately by God. None of the evil intent is kept to fester. God has taken what is helpful and is ready to move on in steadfast love. ¶The psalm does invite us to be counted among the righteous so that we can continue to move in the ways that lead to God. That way is a fulfilling and sustaining way, as wholesome as a tree growing near a constant source of water and other nutrients. We are not left to wonder if we will ever experience steadfast love, we are held in an ever-flowing stream of it. As we live into the presence of God we may find that the insults of others, intended or not, are opportunities for growth and change. ¶February 21, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1131 ¶Seventh Sunday After Epiphany ¶February 20, 2022 ¶Psalm 75 1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds. 2 At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. 3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah 4 I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn; 5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck.” 6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up; 7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. 9 But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted (NRSV) ¶We do judge each other, it is part of the fun of being human. We judge by looks, actions, wealth, family ties, neighborhood, skin color, and any other criteria we might use to set ourselves apart from each other. We might judge someone to be better, worse, or equal to us. However, none of these categories are at issue with the judgment that God executes. The judgment of God concerns our fitness for living in the presence of God. ¶While we might decide that one person is going to Hell and another is going to Heaven, it is not we who have the final say in that question. God is the one who determines and decides where each of us is bound. The psalmist gives us the clue that those who see themselves as having earned their place and boast of it, are likely mistaken. God is inclined to honor those who see themselves as a part of something beyond themselves, rather than those who see the rest of us as their servants and inferiors. ¶The psalmist, using God’s voice, urges us to righteousness rather than wicked boastfulness. I am pretty sure we will not stop judging each other in any number of ways, however it does seem good to keep ourselves from judging for ourselves who has God’s favor and who does not. Doing that keeps us out of God’s favor according to the psalmist, and that is not where any of us wants to be. “...I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.” ¶February 14, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1130 ¶Sixth Sunday After Epiphany ¶February 13, 2022 ¶Psalm 150 1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (NRSV) ¶I was taught that the difference between praise and thanksgiving is the difference between being and action. We praise someone for who they are and thank them for what they have done. I have discovered that we don’t always use the words according to this definition. We praise pets and children for their accomplishments and thank them for actions. The psalmist asks us to praise God for being God as well as for mighty deeds. The important part is to praise God. ¶Some of us may be tempted to gather up all the instruments and activities and attempt to do them all at once as our act of praise. It may even be possible. Here it is important to remember that the psalmist did not have individuals in mind as this psalm was being written. The psalms were primarily written for the worshipping community. We are each free to choose the instrument with which we are most comfortable. ¶Remember the Sunday School rhythm sets of tambourines, maracas, blocks, and triangles? You could take your favorite if you were first in line, or whatever was left as the line and choices thinned out. While we may not get our favorite instrument, we were still able to make a joyful noise of praise as we marched around the room, or sat in our rows. At that age, our interest and intent was to make the most or the best noise/sound on our instrument. As we age and mature we become more intent on praising God. We may or may not get better with our instrument, but our praise deepens and broadens as we experience the presence of God in our lives. “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” ¶February 7, 2022 ¶LCM