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