Psalm Meditation 1185 ¶Second Sunday in Lent ¶March 5, 2023 ¶Psalm 69 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+69&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶It only takes a small group of people who hate you to make you feel as if it is everyone. Many of us will experience and remember negatives much more deeply than we do positives. If it gets intense and prolonged we even begin to believe all the negative hype and gossip that floods our psyches. This is probably why bullied teens, especially, can be pushed to suicidal thoughts if not actions. Without a solid support system, intense bullying becomes dangerous to the point of being deadly. ¶Once one person succumbs to the onslaught of bullying, it emboldens the bullies to focus on another of a similar group. If someone can be separated from their support system by luring them into the bully group they become susceptible to the same abuse as the previous victim. The psalmist is feeling the strain of being pulled from a group of God seekers to the vulnerable position of having no support from the seekers or the bullies. The psalmist does not want any of the seekers group to be shamed into leaving the group for the sake of the false friendship and support of the bully group. ¶When the people of God can continually offer our support to those who are vulnerable, we may be able to save them from the abusive bullying that is becoming prevalent in so many areas of the country, and perhaps the world. As we are willing and able to offer the steadfast love of God to all those around us we may be able to keep people safe by loving both bullies and victims. Surviving victims of bullying may want their bullies to be destroyed by violent means. God offers what is always offered, to destroy our enemies by making them allies in some form. “For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own who are in bonds.” ¶February 27, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1184 ¶First Sunday in Lent ¶February 26, 2023 ¶Psalm 62 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+62&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶One of the most difficult things to do is to wait for God, especially to wait in silence. Our inclination is to jump in wanting to fix things ourselves. We are not very patient when it comes to our own pain and suffering. We want it all to go away immediately, if not sooner. So we rant and rave and maybe even yell at God to keep the promise to protect us from all harm and pain of any kind. We do not want to be shaken from our confident security for even a moment. ‘It must be a test because I have done nothing to deserve this kind of suffering.’ ¶And yet, we do suffer. We suffer losses, failures, headaches, heartaches, as well as the physical pains that are a part of any kind of active life. What we do with our suffering tells more about us than the sufferings we endure. Some people are ground down and eroded by their suffering; every incident takes a toll on them that presses them more deeply into their pain. Others are able to lean into the presence of God in a way that keeps them from collapsing into the pit of despair. Yes, it is painful and yet there seems to be a light at the end of every tunnel. ¶It is the awareness of the abiding, steadfast love of God that offers the glow of hope in the lives of these people. They are rattled, and they are supported by God and the people of God so that they do not collapse into hopelessness. It isn’t the amount of ‘stuff’ they have, or what they lack that helps them stand firm, it is the beloved community that holds them up in even the deepest trial or tragedy. ¶February 20, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1183 ¶Transfiguration Sunday ¶February 19, 2023 ¶Psalm 55 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+55&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are a lot of situations in which we would like to run and hide, run as far as we can and hide as deeply in some safe place as we can. It is not a permanent solution, however it can give us the chance to collect ourselves, get some distance and perspective, and search for ways to meet this obstacle in some helpful, hopeful way. The choice to escape is a compelling one, and a helpful one, as long as it is not the final choice. ¶Eventually we have to face the fear, and the cause of it, especially if that cause is a friend/former friend. The psalmist begins that confrontation with the former friends and then hopes to lurk in the background shadows as God does the real dirty work of consigning everyone to Sheol. They have turned so maliciously and unexpectedly on our psalmist that giving them over to God seems the best way to deal with the situation at hand. ¶The good thing is that God is not as mean spirited as we can be. God will treat our enemies with the same love given to us. It isn’t right or fair to our minds, however God is the one who wants to lead us in the paths of righteousness. When we call for fire and brimstone, God shows light and love to our enemies. When we ask for mercy, God reminds us that we are not without guilt, and then shows us mercy. In every situation God will sustain us and love us beyond measure. ¶February 13, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1182 ¶Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany ¶February 12, 2023 ¶Psalm 48 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+48&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Verse 9 jumps out for me today. God’s love has been a theme in my reading and thinking recently, so “We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.” captures my psyche today. A one word definition of steadfast is ‘unwavering.’ Our puritanical roots would have us believe, in the words of a Jonathan Edwards sermon, ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,’ “God is hanging you like a spider over the pits of Hell…” It is so deeply ingrained in us that we have trouble believing anything other than that God is angrily watching and waiting for us to sin so that we can be punished. ¶What if God actually loves us gently and unwaveringly, more intent on teaching, leading, and loving us rather than punishing us? The God of steadfast love wants to cradle and comfort us in times of our biggest and most shame-filled errors and realizations. God wants us to know that we are neither the first nor the last to make this mistake, or to be this kind of person, and that we are loved for who we are rather than in spite of who we are. What difference would it make in the way we treat ourselves, and others, to know that we are loved by God no matter what. ¶Ponder how our lives would be radically different if we knew deep down that the love of God is a gift rather than something we earn by our thoughts, words, and deeds. And what if God did not intend for each of us to fit into the same mold, rather that we are made to be parts of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together to make a picture of our little piece of creation. “...tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever.” ¶February 6, 2023 ¶LCM