Psalm Meditation 1237 ¶Third Sunday in Lent ¶March 3, 2024 ¶Psalm 109 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+109&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶In the Revised Standard Version, verse six does not begin with, ‘they say.’ so we are left to wonder whether this is the psalmist asking that this happen to all the accusers or are the accusers saying this about the psalmist? In verse twenty it seems that the two groups are wishing the same fate on each other. “Let all of these terrible things happen to those people so that I can go on my merry way, knowing that the people I hate are left in the dust of vengeance.” Ah, would that God was willing to follow our orders as to who was next in line for destruction. ¶If God were as capricious and vengeful as we can be, it is hard to imagine that there would be anyone left alive who was not under some destructive curse or other for the ways that we treat those around us, especially those who are not like us. God is neither capricious, impulsive and unpredictable, nor vengeful, seeking to harm someone for a perceived injury. God is love, pure and simple. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5a NRSVUE) Much as we would like for God to do our dirty work of eliminating everyone who annoys us, or worse, it is not going to happen. God may work in us to turn enemies to friends, however God is not in the business of destroying people. ¶It is certainly appropriate to feel anger and frustration when people and things around us do not go to our plan for our lives. And we can hope and pray for the destruction and end of things like poverty, disease, and injustice. We can hope and pray all we want for God to destroy people, as long as we know, too, that God is loving beyond measure and will not do away with anyone simply because we want it to happen. “With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For God stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.” ¶February 26, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1236 ¶Second Sunday in Lent ¶February 25, 2024 ¶Psalm 102 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+102&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶When we are beaten down by internal or external forces, time slows to a crawl and everything negative gets amplified and drawn out. The forces pressing on us have been present forever, it seems, and the pain it causes is deeper, duller, and more long lasting than anything we have ever experienced. No one can possibly know the depths of pain that will neither kill us nor make us stronger. We are left to experience this in a lonely cycle of intense pain followed by dull, throbbing nothingness. ¶This is what the psalmist is experiencing. The pain is endless, without being intense. The psalmist is drained of energy to the point that even eating is to much of a trial. Not being able to invest enough energy to eat drains off more the physical resources that might lead to a way up and out. The psalmist feels the physical aches along with the soul ache of loneliness and abandonment. At the lowest point, it seems that even God has turned away and left the psalmist to suffer alone. Even from the depths of despair, the psalmist refuses to abandon hope in God. ¶That is a good place to be. It may begin with speaking a word of hope without believing it. What we hear often enough begins to be believable, and so we are able to have a glimmer of hope. For some, words of hope are enough to lift the lid on the despair they feel, others will need a little more and some will need a lot more. The psalmist goes back and forth between personal despair and the hope that God cares for and will rescue and redeem people for generations to come. ¶February 19, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1235 ¶First Sunday in Lent ¶February 18, 2024 ¶Psalm 95 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+95&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are folks who believe, the main reason we should behave ourselves is to avoid being punished in some way. We are honest so we don’t get caught in our lies, we are nice to people so God doesn’t get us, we worship God so we don’t burn in hell, and so on. These same folks find ways to convince themselves that there are places that are off limits to God, and that God will ignore/forgive our actions if we ask nicely, and maybe promise to never do it again, at least until next time. ¶The psalmist speaks to this group of people here. The reason to sing, give thanks, and worship is so that we don’t end up like the folks in the exodus. Those people were nasty to God, always complaining, and when justifiable punishment came went crying to God for help and deliverance. They had already figured out that God was a pretty soft touch who loved them enough to take them back as long as they asked for forgiveness. These folks never quite grasp that God is good to them by choice rather than because they said or did the right things. ¶We still find ourselves making deals with God when things go awry for us. ‘If you do this for me, I will do this list of things that you asked me to do anyway.’ And God responds in a way that reminds us that we are loved because of who God is more than because we go through all the right motions and say all the right words. We may or may not be delivered from our particular stress and trial, however we can rest assured that God is with us as a loving presence. ¶February 12, 2024 ¶LCM lcmanifold@gmail.com http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/

Psalm Meditation 1234 ¶Transfiguration Sunday ¶February 11, 2024 ¶Psalm 88 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+88&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶This is one of my favorite psalms because it serves as a reminder that life in God is not all sweetness and light. This is not a ‘praise the Lord, anyway’ kind of psalm, this is a ‘damn it God, why are you being so mean to me?’ psalm. All the things that are going poorly for the psalmist are being laid at the feet of God, who must be at fault for all these things. Granted it is in a time in which all things, good and bad are attributed to the activity of God in our lives as rewards and punishments for our action and inaction in the world. ¶That is not the world in which I want to live. I am of the mind that God loves us, and abides with us in every time and place. As things go well, God is right there cheering on our success. As things go wonky, God is there to offer us a supportive presence in the midst of whatever wonkiness we might find ourselves. The question isn’t, ‘What did I do to deserve this from God?’ the question is, ‘Where is God in the midst of this and what comfort is God already offering to help me cope?’ ¶I like the psalm because it reminds us that when bad things happen, we can still turn to God for comfort, assurance, and maybe even deliverance. The advice I heard for how to use this psalm when things are too dark to navigate alone, it so go somewhere safe and read this with as much passion and energy as you can muster. Yes, it will be yelling at God, who is secure enough to handle the anger involved in offering this psalm to God. To know that God loves us, even when we are angry, is a great gift indeed. ¶February 5, 2024 ¶LCM