Psalm Meditation 1193 ¶Fourth Sunday of Easter ¶April 30, 2023 ¶Psalm 53 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+53&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶It is easy to pass judgement on those with whom we disagree. These days we can find folks on any side of a question ready to brand those with whom they disagree as fools, and worse We brand others as deluded sheep who follow along innocently behind leaders we see as wrong. One way to look at this is to imagine a favorite book, play, or movie as if it were told from the other side of the action. Suddenly, your favorite protagonist is now the villain when the story is told from the perspective of those we have so readily despised in the original version. As we are able to do this, we begin to see that things are not always as cut and dried as we would like them to be. ¶The psalmist says that God looks on us and wonders if there is any wisdom at all among those made in God’s image. The psalmist sees ’those people’ as the ones God plans to reform or destroy, however we each have attitudes and behaviors that could use adjustment, especially in our dealings with those with whom we disagree. It is interesting that we see ourselves as on the side of God and ’those people’ on the side of evil. In a play about the American Civil War, there is a scene in which two generals readying to face each other on the battlefield pray the same prayer that God will be will ’us’ and help us to destroy ’them.’ ¶As we begin to cast judgement on those with whom we disagree, we do well to pause and ask ourselves if they have any goodness on their side. Are we guilty of some sin in the past that they are finally in a position to avenge? Have we judged someone as evil when they are simply different? Is God on our side alone or does God love them as intensely as God loves us? Is it possible that God would rather teach us to wring the evil out of ourselves than pick which one of us deserves to be eradicated from the presence of God? ¶April 24, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1192 ¶Third Sunday of Easter ¶April 23, 2023 ¶Psalm 46 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+46&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are times in which I am overwhelmed with fear for all that is going on around me. When that happens I am grateful for the folks who can calm me by their example of trust in God. When I am able to be that calming presence people tell me how glad they are that I was with them in their time of trial. Whether on the giving or receiving end it is good to know that someone can lead others to remember that God is a place of, to use the alternate translation, “refuge and strength, a well proved help in trouble.“ ¶Because we are human, with our foibles and frailties, we can’t always be the one to remain calm in crisis. We each have our fears that make us nearly useless in the face of them. It is good that God has made us in such a way that most of us enjoy the company of others. When one falters, another can buoy up the group until such time that it falls to another to be the one to hold us in the presence of God. We each in turn lead the way as we make our way ever closer to, “the holy habitation of the Most High.” ¶If I believe that I am the only one who can be in the lead, I am bound to fail, as is any one of us who believes the same thing. Sometimes the best gift we can give another is to admit our weakness and depend on the strength they may or may not know they have to lead us forward. While we may often need a loud and forceful person in the lead, the psalmist reminds us that just as often we need to, “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations; I am exalted in the earth.” ¶April 17, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1191 ¶Second Sunday of Easter ¶April 16, 2023 ¶Psalm 75 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+75&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Sometimes we pass judgment on others based on something besides what is just, right, and fair. We let our opinions be swayed by how well we know those on one side or another, how much we agree with one side or the other, or some arbitrary characteristic of those on one side or the other. I know that it is a good idea to make the best impression possible when going to court. I was part of a court case to determine fault in an automobile wreck in which I was involved. I wore a suit, the folks on the other side wore torn jeans. The other driver was found at fault, not just because of how we were each dressed. I don’t believe it hurt to be well dressed and polite to the judge. ¶God is not as influenced by our looks and behavior. God sees much more deeply than surface appearance and our behavior in a given moment. Also, God is not out to punish us when we slip or jump off the ‘straight and narrow.’ God is much more interested in teachable moments that help us get back on track than berating us for each and every misstep along the way. The psalmist uses the examples of the boastful and wicked to let us know that neither is a good choice for those who wish to follow God. In these cases in particular, boasting and wickedness contain their own punishment as folks discover that those who boast rarely have room to do so, and the wicked will be caught up in their wickedness eventually. ¶We are free to judge each other in whatever way we see fit. However, ours is not the final judgment. It is God who has the last word; the word that puts down or lifts up. It is God’s intent to lift us up as much as possible. ¶April 10, 2023 ¶LCM lcmanifold@gmail.com http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/

Psalm Meditation 1190 ¶Easter ¶April 9, 2023 ¶Psalm 68 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+68&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶A friend and I walked home from a youth group activity in the dark, without telling anyone we were leaving. As we walked our conversation turned to not being frightened because we were together. He was comforted by height, and I was comforted by his scrappy nature. Between the two of us, we were a force to be reckoned with. Until we got home, of course. Then we had to answer for our foolishness of going away without telling anyone that we were leaving. The important part here is that we felt safe in each other’s company. ¶The psalmist is grateful for the company that God offers to those who need it most. There were no systems in place to care for those with no family. To know that each person was a part of the family of God gave the community a reason to help. As a part of the same family, each was responsible for every other person. To know that the greatest to the least were children of God meant that we were, and are, answerable to God for the way we treated or ignored our brothers and sisters God gave us. ¶When we treat each person in our community as a member of the family of God, we make peoples’ heads explode in wonder and awe, that we take seriously our responsibility for each other. As we treat others as God treats us, we help usher in a world in which we can walk fearlessly, knowing that we are surrounded by those who love and care for us because we are all children of the one God. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.“ ¶April 7, 2023 ¶LCM