Psalm Meditation 1241 ¶Easter ¶March 31, 2024 ¶Psalm 101 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+101&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶This psalm of David in which he pledges to rule with loyalty and justice can set a standard for each of us. We may not rule a nation, however we have influence in groups of which we are a part. If we have no influence on anyone else, we have control of our own actions and reactions. David pledges to turn his life toward God in a way that leads him toward integrity, honesty, humility, and faithfulness. He makes no claim to having achieved the lofty goal of a blameless life, only of moving in that direction. ¶We know that he did not manage to walk in the way of God for very long at a time. We also know that some of the very things David claimed to hate, are the ones of which he was guilty. He was willing to have others killed in order to protect himself, to make other people suffer in order to protect his children, to encourage folks to break their vows to cover up his sinfulness. He did confess and repent of his sins, however he did not cleanse the city of God of all the evildoers since he remained there. ¶We can allow ourselves to become discouraged by David’s failures or we can use them as our own encouragement to keep at it, even when we slip into old habits. We can join David in confessing and repenting of our sins, and continue to study and follow the way that is blameless to the best of our ability, God being our helper. We can also continually strive to achieve the goals David set for himself, avoiding slander, haughtiness, arrogance, lies, and other manner of wickedness. All this so we can come ever closer to following the way that is blameless. ¶March 25, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1240 ¶Palm/Passion Sunday ¶March 24, 2024 ¶Psalm 94 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+94&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶We do like the idea of crushing our enemies, especially, if someone does it for us if we only ask. Whether it be a natural phenomenon, illness and disease, or a person or group we are ready to have God remove this terrible, no good, very bad person or thing out of our lives. We don’t deserve to have the world treat us so badly because we are some of God’s favorite people. Other people probably deserve their suffering, but we are not other people, we are special. ¶Interestingly, every group has at least a few people in it who see themselves as deserving special treatment from some higher power or other. Our God, YHWH, is quick to remind us that being faithful does not make us special in a privileged way, it makes us special as people called to serve others with willing hearts and hands. There are no guarantees that everyone will be grateful and treat us well, only that our service will bring us closer to God in a variety of ways. ¶Like us, the psalmist wants revenge on all those who have picked on friends and family. It is human to want the world to be fair and just almost all the time. The psalm includes a list of all the things that ‘those’ people have done to us along with the prayer that they all be destroyed by God in a frenzy of destruction. God, however, is not one to destroy our enemies by wiping them from the face of the earth. God destroys enemies the same way God calls us to destroy those who stand against us, by working to become friends together. ¶March 18, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1239 ¶Fifth Sunday in Lent ¶March 14, 2024 ¶Psalm 123 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+123&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶‘Puppy eyes’ is an expression that means something to those who have dogs as well as those who have children. It is the look of total innocence, begging to be noticed, and probably rewarded for having done something that may or may not actually warrant the kind of reward being sought. In both cases, dogs and children, it is likely that once the reward is received the puppy dog eyes, and the one who wields them disappear to enjoy the fruits of their labors. It is not that we are no longer loved so much as our attention is no longer sought. ¶We may not use the puppy dog eyes with God, however our intent is the same. We schmooze up to God in order to get something that we may or may not actually have a need for, but desire just the same. We believe our pleading and groveling will achieve our desired outcome. Luke 12:32 says, in part, “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” as a reminder that God is not an ogre or a slave master who must be flattered and appeased before we can receive anything worthwhile. ¶That doesn’t mean that God automatically gives us what we want. In the same way that God is not an ogre, God is not a pushover who caves to every demand and whim we may have. Somethings are left for us to do on our own, some are not possible for us at a given time. God is always full of love and mercy for us, and those around us. While we may have to put up with those who look down on us with contempt, and others may have to put up with us as we look on them with contempt, we do each come to an end in this world and receive full measure of God’s judgment and mercy. ¶March 12, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1238 ¶Fourth Sunday in Lent ¶March 10, 2024 ¶Psalm 116 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+116&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶In the midst of any traumatic experience we are drawn to pray for deliverance from it. We may pray for a particular type of deliverance, however, any kind will be okay. We may want to be lifted out of the experience by the scruff of our neck. Instead of that we may have a sense of peace wash over us that feels like deliverance even though we are still in the midst of the trauma. In whatever way God chooses to accomplish our deliverance we are grateful that God is at work in our lives through answered prayer. ¶The psalmist has been ill to the point of death and prays for deliverance. There has been a release from the illness and the psalmist is grateful for the renewal of health and wholeness. It may have taken some time to achieve the requested healing, to the point that the psalmist believes that those who said that God would bring healing are liars. And yet, the healing does come and the psalmist rejoices in it, and testifies to it in the gathering of God’s people. ¶God continually answers our prayers. It may not be the way we want them answered, perhaps not even in a way we can recognize immediately. God does answer. Like the psalmist, we may have made promises to God, ‘If you do this, I will do something in return.’ God perhaps appreciates the thought behind our deal making, however God does not act according to the size or elaborateness of our gifts. God acts out of love for us that knows no bounds. ¶March 4, 2024 ¶LCM