Psalm Meditation 1215 ¶World Communion Sunday ¶October 1, 2023 ¶Psalm 99 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+99&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶To have a nation run by a god, gods, or God is called a theocracy. The trouble with a theocracy is that it needs at least one person to be the intermediary between the divine on the one hand and humans on the other. It works best when the intermediary is a faithful interpreter of the divine will. And there’s the rub. We rarely relay information from source to recipient without throwing in our own point of view. When multiple people are asked to describe an event to which they were each witnesses, there will be as many versions of the event as there are witnesses. ¶When we do wish for a theocracy, we want the one that follows our own particular spin on the laws, by-laws, and rules. I want all the ‘others’ around me to pay a heftier price for their actions than I do, because, of course, I cling more closely to the divine rules as I have received them. If a dispute arises between your way and mine, my way is superior to yours; with the understanding that ‘my’ and ‘mine’ belong to the person currently reading. It is hard enough to follow God as an individual without having a whole nation follow God through one interpretation. ¶While a nation ruled by God is a laudable goal, it is not very practical. Even two people can find reason to argue over what it means to follow God as a faithful adherent to God’s word and will for us in the world. The best we can do is to follow God as closely as we can as individuals, while being open to teaching and correction from others. God loves justice, righteousness, and forgives us freely and wholeheartedly. Most important, God loves each one of us. ¶September 25, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1214 ¶Proper 20 ¶September 24, 2023 ¶Psalm 92 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+92&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Two furniture designers were having a conversation and one of them said that we as people are turning more and more toward negativity and that one of the tasks of designers is going to be to find ways to put a more positive spin on the world in which we find ourselves. The topic resonated with me as well. It is so easy take the downward spiral in attitude and opinion that we have to choose to be positive especially in the face of the negatives that bombard us on a daily basis. ¶The psalmist offers us a way to meet the negativity in our own lives at least. When we push ourselves to be thankful to and for those around us we find the world taking an upward swing. As we express our gratitude to others we find ever more for which to be grateful and gratitude becomes a habit and a lifestyle. When we add gratitude to God, or begin with it, we are uplifted, buoyed up by the awareness of the presence of God in our lives and in the world around us. ¶As we find ourselves being lifted by thankfulness and gratitude, we may still have a negative and cynical streak within us. It is not a good idea to hold negative thoughts and feelings in, so find a friend or two with whom to vent your cynicism. Have the venting session and leave it to dissipate on its own. Having vented, we can rejoin the world in thankfulness and gratitude. So even our negativity, and especially the friends with whom we share it can give us new reason to be grateful to God, and each other. ¶September 18, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1213 ¶Proper 19 ¶September,17 2023 ¶Psalm 85 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+85&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶The people we love and care for can annoy and upset us to the point that we have to take some time away from them. It might be a few minutes and sometimes a few days. This does not mean we love these people any less, it means that we are close enough to each other that we know what buttons to push to get a serious reaction from the other. At best, taking time apart reminds us what it is we love about the other and brings us back together with a renewed intention to refrain from pushing the annoyance buttons, at least on purpose. At worst we discover that there is not enough energy from one or both of us to sustain our relationship. ¶The psalmist is convinced that God has reached the point at which there is no more energy available to be with the people previously chosen as special and set apart. This psalm sets out to convince God that there is a relationship worth salvaging, as well as convincing us that God is the source of our peace and salvation for enough us to make the effort on God’s part worth the time and energy required to love us as steadfastly as previous generations have been loved and cared for by God. ¶According to God, the steadfast love in which we are held does not waver or disintegrate at the slightest stumble on our part. And God is left to wonder why we keep asking to be let back into God’s heart and good graces when we have never been anywhere else. God is always ready to scoop us up as a loving parent scoops up a frightened, injured child to offer comfort, safety, and calm in a gentle embrace. God loves us, we can relax and be at peace. ¶September 13, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1212 ¶Proper 18 ¶September 10, 2023 ¶Psalm 78 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+78&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶‘Remember back in the good old days when everyone was in worship on Sunday morning and people were good to their neighbors?’ It is a nostalgic look back at the world as we remember it. Nostalgia is looking back to the happy times in the past and longing to be there. Just because we remember it doesn’t mean it happened that way, or that it was as good as we think it was. There were more people in Sunday worship in the US during the 1950s. It was not as good as we remember it. ¶The psalmist has a different form of nostalgia in which God has always been good, while we, “flattered him with their [our] mouths; they lied to him with their [our] tongues. Their [our] heart was not steadfast toward him; they [we] were not true to his covenant.” We were not, and according to the psalmist, and have never been the good people we pretended to be. As God continues to love us, care for us and provide for us, we continue to take advantage of that love by believing that God believes what we believe, loves what we love and is willing to destroy what we want destroyed. ¶The good thing is that the love of God is not dependent on our words, actions, or beliefs. God loves us by choice and no matter what. We can’t make God love us more and we certainly can’t make God love us less. We do better to accept that we can’t earn or deserve God’s love, we can accept it and let it work in us to bring us ever closer to being people who act out of the love of God. ¶September 4, 2023 ¶LCM