Psalm Meditation 1246 ¶Sixth Sunday of Easter ¶May 5, 2024 ¶Psalm 100 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+100&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶I had every intention of writing about the importance of joy, even when we don’t feel particularly joyful, until I got to verse 3 and the alternate translation. “It is he who made us, and we are his;” is the translation the NRSV folks settled on. It must have been a close decisions, since the note is added, “Or ‘and not we ourselves.’” It is easy to nod our agreement that we belong to God, however when we translate that same phrase as ‘and not we ourselves’ we, at least I, we have to stop and think about all the ways we make life easier by believing that God sees things the same way we do. ¶There are folks outside the Judeo-Christian tradition who believe that all religious folk have made up their God or gods for any number of helpful reasons. There is probably some truth in that, since we can’t possibly comprehend the fullness of God, so we have to put in our own ruffles and flourishes to make God available to us. At the same time, that is not the whole truth. God is outside our comprehension, and in our hearts and minds in a way that is beyond anything that we could make up. So, we add our own touches to God even as we realize that God is the ultimate creator of all, including having made each of us. ¶When God begins to agree with everything we believe and offers us no challenges to live in a way that pushes us beyond that limits of our comfort, we have made God in our image. When we forget that God is the one who gives us life, being, and meaning we put ourselves in the place of God. It is God who made us, and not we ourselves. We did not make ourselves and we certainly did not make God in our image much as we may try to do that. We get to be joyful about not being in charge, and knowing that God loves us more deeply and intimately than we can imagine. Yippee. ¶April 30, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1245 ¶Fifth Sunday of Easter ¶April 28, 2024 ¶Psalm 129 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+129&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶One of the best ways to deal with an enemy is to depersonalize and dehumanize them. If they aren’t even human, let alone individual persons, we can hate them and kill them without a second thought. We are ‘us’ and they are ‘other.’ We can also project any unpleasant behaviors of ours onto them, which makes them more grotesque and scary, thus more necessary to sweep out of our lives as completely and as soon as possible. And because they are so evil and inhuman, we are actually doing them a favor by taking them out of the world in which we live. ¶The psalmist is dealing with an adversary who sees the chosen people of God as people to be destroyed, wiped from the earth completely. Fortunately, the psalmist’s people are not without protection. They call on YHWH to turn their enemies away at the border, to put them to shame for not being able to accomplish the objective or conquering and annihilating the people of Zion. In addition to their shame, let them wither and die like grass, and be left where they have died, like a bad crop of grain. ¶We still dehumanize and depersonalize our enemies. We still project our own evil onto them to make them even more unacceptable to ‘nice’ people like us. However, God, YHWH, continues to call us to see each person as being of sacred worth. We can hope for and pray for their destruction in the most violent way we can imagine, as long as we recognize that God is not going to act on our fantasies and imaginings. Our God is a God of steadfast love and mercy for each and all of us, no matter who, no matter what. ¶April 22, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1244 ¶Fourth Sunday of Easter ¶April 21, 2024 ¶Psalm 122 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+122&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶I hope you have a place that feels like home for you. It may be the place where you currently live, a place that you visit with some regularity, a place that you hold in your heart, real or imagined, or some combination of these choices. It is a place of firmly packed memories in which all the experiences of that place burst out each time the place comes to mind. At best, I hope that the place reminds you of the presence of God, in that place, and in every instance of calling that place to mind. ¶For the psalmist that place is Jerusalem. There is nothing better than to go there along with all the other people who hold that place dear. It is a place that feels like home, a place that brings a sense of peace even when there appears to be a lack of peace everywhere, including Jerusalem. Even the presence of ‘the thrones of judgment’ make the psalmist feel loved, cared for, and cared about. If there is peace in Jerusalem, the psalmist can find God’s peace in every place and time. ¶Whether your home is Jerusalem, Disneyworld, your actual residence, or some longed for place held in heart and memory may it be a place of peace and security for you and those you love. May the presence of God fill you as you enter each place you call home so that you may be at peace while there and each time you leave. “Peace be within your walls and security within your towers.” For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” ¶April 15, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1243 ¶Third Sunday of Easter ¶April 14, 2024 ¶Psalm 115 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+115&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶My prayer as I begin writing a psalm meditation is, ‘Let my words be your word, for at least one other person.’ Today, that prayer brought me to a sticking place that made it impossible to write anything. After sitting here at the computer for an hour, I realized that a better prayer is, ‘Use my faltering words to open someone to receive a word from you.’ It is a small difference in wording, yet a huge difference in my attitude. God does have a way of using what we offer to do what needs to be done in the lives of others. ¶The psalmist invites God to act for divine glory rather than the glory of the chosen people. While there is some benefit for us, the real benefit is to God, as other peoples/nations recognize that our God is present and active in the life of the nation. All those other folks worship idols, who are nothing more than silver and gold. Though it is a misinterpretation of the significance of an idol, it is an important point, that it is not a good idea to believe that our God, YHWH, can be easily influenced by going through a particular set of motions. ¶The important part of our relationship with God, is the steadfast love and faithfulness that is part and parcel of what we are offered by God. The fact that God loves us beyond measure and is faithful to us no matter what if the core of our life in God. Yes, we have rules, liturgies, and other methods of staying in touch with God, the important part is knowing that we are loved, and God appreciates but does not demand our love in return. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.“ ¶April 8, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1242 ¶Second Sunday of Easter ¶April 7, 2024 ¶Psalm 108 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+108&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶While we are grateful to receive God’s promises, we can get impatient with the timing and the method of their fulfillment. When God promises to be with us always, we are grateful. When God does not live out that promise to our satisfaction, we are apt to see it as a failure of the promise rather than a failure of our expectations. A colleague related an experience of having lunch with a mentor of his. When my friend complained that there was never enough dipping sauce for his chicken nuggets his lunch partner suggested that perhaps there was too much chicken. ¶We want God to work in ways that fit our needs, wants, and desires. When it doesn’t happen on our schedule we are ready to complain about the timing and appropriateness of God’s actions in our lives. After giving thanks for all that God has done for the chosen people, the psalmist complains that God has not made a particular military victory as easy and complete as everyone had hoped. ‘It must be God’s fault that we were not as successful as we would have hoped. And as soon as God catches up to us, we will be victorious once again.’ ¶God is always with us. Sometimes God urges us to move forward despite our misgivings, sometimes urges us to hang back when we are overconfident. From time to time we are on the same wavelength as is God and we move in a unison that is exhilarating to everyone involved. The best examples from Scripture are of those who made the effort to listen to the leading God offers, and the worst are of those who set out without consulting God, and expected God to catch up after realizing how excellent their plan really was. ¶April 1, 2024 ¶LCM