Showing posts with label Psalm 113. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 113. Show all posts
Monday, June 17, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1253
¶Proper 7
¶June 23, 2024
¶Psalm 113
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+113&version=NRSVUE
(NRSVUE)
¶Those of us who have some privilege are of the opinion that we are here because God has put us here because we have done something to deserve it. The poor are poor because they have done something to deserve the punishment of poverty. It is a comforting way of looking at the world, however it is probably not accurate. Poverty, having no resources beyond necessity, seems to be the way we come into the world as well as the way we leave. The Bible is pretty clear that having more than enough is more dangerous to our souls than having too little.
¶The way of the world is to keep getting more and more stuff, and then to hold on to it, just in case. We don’t need to share with others because we each have what we have earned and deserve. We protect what we own, even as we yearn and strive for more. Ideally, we want, not just more but, more than anyone we know. Helping others in any way is seen as a sign of weakness, and makes us a target for every money, property, resource grubbing person around us.
¶The way of God and the people of God is to share our good fortune with others who have deep needs. We share with others out of gratitude for all with which God has blessed us. According to the Bible, the reason we have more than we need, is to share with those whose need is greater than ours. Any hoarding of resources is probably as sinful as stealing from those around us. It is God’s desire for each of us to raise the poor from the dust, to give them equal standing with us, even if it means having less ourselves.
¶June 17, 2024
¶LCM
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1056
Proper 19
September 13, 2020
Psalm 113
1 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
(NRSV)
What is the best you can imagine for someone? For the psalmist it is to sit with those who have time to sit, and to have a place full of people to call home. It is possible that this picture of excellence will not fit for us. Is wealth and comfort the best the world has to offer these days. For women, the best is to have lots of children as far as the psalmist is concerned. It may have been the best the world had to offer at the time the psalm was written. Women have a lot of other avenues for fulfillment these days and are not limited to keeping house and raising children.
Research has shown that wealthy people do not have a lot of empathy for those who have less than they do. Their lives confine them to thinking that the only reason the rest of us are not as well to do as they are is due to some defect on our part. They believe it is probably just a matter of making new choices and putting in some effort for us to be like them. Women are finding the freedom to things in addition to and instead of giving birth and keeping house. They are opening new horizons for themselves and others to give a whole new range of choices in career and home life.
The important part of the psalm is the awareness that God wants the best for us, whether it be lazing by the pool because we can afford the time and luxury, or working hard so we can afford to provide for those who depend on us. Most importantly that we are happy and have a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Because God loves us and wants what is best for us we have reason to praise God for all that God is and does in every part of our lives. As God wants what is best for us God also wants what is best for those around us, so that we have joy in life without oppressing others who also want the best God has to offer.
September 8, 2020
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 25, 2018
Psalm Meditation 941
Proper 8
July 1, 2018
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
We have a tendency to think that we are like God in a slightly smaller size and that God is like us only bigger. If we were willing to work at it we could be like God. We tempt ourselves with thoughts of being in charge of some part of Creation. ‘If I were in control of the weather, it would never rain again, at least not when I have plans.’ ‘If I were God I would make sure there was no suffering or injustice.’ ‘If I were God none of this kind of stuff would happen to people who don’t deserve it.’ And a variety of other kinds of statements and thoughts about what it means to be God.
We are made in the image of God, likely in the same way a teddy bear is made in the image of a bear. We have the basic characteristics of intelligence, compassion, and a concern for both mercy and justice, however we are missing important elements and attributes that are a part of God. We are close enough to God that we can strive to live as God directs us even as we are far enough from being God that we can never achieve God-ness.
We can praise, bless, and appreciate who God is among us without ever hoping to be other than God directed humans. We can strive for justice, hope and plan for equality among ourselves, and live out the call to be the people God wants us to be. We are adopted children of God. That means we are loved in a special way. Praise the LORD!
June 25, 2018
LCM
Proper 8
July 1, 2018
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
We have a tendency to think that we are like God in a slightly smaller size and that God is like us only bigger. If we were willing to work at it we could be like God. We tempt ourselves with thoughts of being in charge of some part of Creation. ‘If I were in control of the weather, it would never rain again, at least not when I have plans.’ ‘If I were God I would make sure there was no suffering or injustice.’ ‘If I were God none of this kind of stuff would happen to people who don’t deserve it.’ And a variety of other kinds of statements and thoughts about what it means to be God.
We are made in the image of God, likely in the same way a teddy bear is made in the image of a bear. We have the basic characteristics of intelligence, compassion, and a concern for both mercy and justice, however we are missing important elements and attributes that are a part of God. We are close enough to God that we can strive to live as God directs us even as we are far enough from being God that we can never achieve God-ness.
We can praise, bless, and appreciate who God is among us without ever hoping to be other than God directed humans. We can strive for justice, hope and plan for equality among ourselves, and live out the call to be the people God wants us to be. We are adopted children of God. That means we are loved in a special way. Praise the LORD!
June 25, 2018
LCM
Monday, December 15, 2014
Psalm Meditation 757
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2014
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
We want to believe that the rich are rich because they deserve it and the poor are poor for the same reason. Some exceptions to this are, if our status changes from rich to poor and if the status of someone we don’t like goes from poor to rich. In that case we are aware that there are outside forces at work in society that have caused this change in economic status. It doesn’t have to be a drastic change, it just has to go the ‘wrong’ way. The events the psalmist envisions would be unnerving to many of us.
It is often the case that the activity of God is unsettling to those of us who say we live by some code of fairness. In one code of fairness hard work leads to great success and riches and laziness leads to destruction and poverty. There are hard working folks in every economic strata and lazy folks right next to them. Fairness is probably not an indicator of the future. The good thing in this psalm is that God raises the poor to sit with princes rather than bringing the rich down to the sit among the poor. In the economy of God, there will be no poverty.
In a culture in which a woman’s sense of meaningfulness was based in her ability to bear and raise children, the psalmist does not leave out women from the society of those who praise and bless God. While our definition of the ideal society may have changed, we continue to know that God is an important part of an excellent life for people of God. To live in the presence of God is to have enough and, at least, a little extra. To live in the presence of God is to have a life of meaning, however one may define it. To live in the presence of God, as women and men of God, is to find times, places and ways to praise and bless God.
December 15, 2014
LCM
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2014
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
We want to believe that the rich are rich because they deserve it and the poor are poor for the same reason. Some exceptions to this are, if our status changes from rich to poor and if the status of someone we don’t like goes from poor to rich. In that case we are aware that there are outside forces at work in society that have caused this change in economic status. It doesn’t have to be a drastic change, it just has to go the ‘wrong’ way. The events the psalmist envisions would be unnerving to many of us.
It is often the case that the activity of God is unsettling to those of us who say we live by some code of fairness. In one code of fairness hard work leads to great success and riches and laziness leads to destruction and poverty. There are hard working folks in every economic strata and lazy folks right next to them. Fairness is probably not an indicator of the future. The good thing in this psalm is that God raises the poor to sit with princes rather than bringing the rich down to the sit among the poor. In the economy of God, there will be no poverty.
In a culture in which a woman’s sense of meaningfulness was based in her ability to bear and raise children, the psalmist does not leave out women from the society of those who praise and bless God. While our definition of the ideal society may have changed, we continue to know that God is an important part of an excellent life for people of God. To live in the presence of God is to have enough and, at least, a little extra. To live in the presence of God is to have a life of meaning, however one may define it. To live in the presence of God, as women and men of God, is to find times, places and ways to praise and bless God.
December 15, 2014
LCM
Monday, October 22, 2012
Psalm Meditation 645
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 28, 2012
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
While many take comfort in our God as one who will reverse the fortunes of people, I believe that God will equalize the fortunes of people. In a reversal, those who are rich will become poor while the poor will become rich. It doesn’t solve or change anything. In a great equalization the rich and poor will find themselves on equal footing with each other. The first and last will be one and the same. The best way to do that is to make a circle, in which each point is both first and last.
God lifts up the poor from the dust and ashes to sit with the royalty. The poor do not replace the royals, they join them. God is interested in groups and individuals having equal access to God and to each other. The best way to do that is through equality rather than reversal. Those who currently enjoy the advantages of royalty will not be removed, they will be joined by those whom God will lift up to the level of royalty.
I understand that one of the reasons we call God Father is to begin that great equalization. If we are each a child of God then no one can use parentage as an advantage over anyone. As the playing field is leveled, as we recognize the familial bonds that hold us together, we have no reason to withhold resources from one another. As we realize the relationships God has in mind for us, we lift our lives in praise.
October 22, 2012
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 28, 2012
Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
While many take comfort in our God as one who will reverse the fortunes of people, I believe that God will equalize the fortunes of people. In a reversal, those who are rich will become poor while the poor will become rich. It doesn’t solve or change anything. In a great equalization the rich and poor will find themselves on equal footing with each other. The first and last will be one and the same. The best way to do that is to make a circle, in which each point is both first and last.
God lifts up the poor from the dust and ashes to sit with the royalty. The poor do not replace the royals, they join them. God is interested in groups and individuals having equal access to God and to each other. The best way to do that is through equality rather than reversal. Those who currently enjoy the advantages of royalty will not be removed, they will be joined by those whom God will lift up to the level of royalty.
I understand that one of the reasons we call God Father is to begin that great equalization. If we are each a child of God then no one can use parentage as an advantage over anyone. As the playing field is leveled, as we recognize the familial bonds that hold us together, we have no reason to withhold resources from one another. As we realize the relationships God has in mind for us, we lift our lives in praise.
October 22, 2012
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