Showing posts with label Psalm 114. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 114. Show all posts
Monday, May 13, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1248
¶Pentecost
¶May 19, 2024
¶Psalm 114
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+114&version=NRSVUE
(NRSVUE)
¶The Exodus from Egypt was a watershed event for the people of God. They went from captive, enslaved people to a people with a common purpose. The new purpose was to worship and serve YHWH, who had led them out of captivity to freedom and a new home. They crossed a body of water on dry land at the beginning, and the end of their journey. It may have been a pretty scary couple of events, especially for any of the group who can’t imagine crossing without that wall of water collapsing in on them as they reached the middle of the crossing.
¶They did manage to cross with dry feet. And they were able to celebrate the power and presence of God in their new relationship with YHWH. They were grateful for the activity of God in their lives. They were also able to notice the celebration and rejoicing of the world around them. The waters had rolled back, the mountains and hills skipped with joy, and the whole earth trembled in celebration at the presence of God in and around them.
¶Our physical reactions that we name excitement and fear are the same, trembling, accelerated heart and breathing, sweaty palms just to name a few. When the psalmist calls the earth to tremble at the presence of YHWH, we can respond the same way. If we name our trembling response fear, we will see God as a frightening visage. If we name that same trembling excitement, we will rejoice in the presence, power, and steadfast love that God shows to us in so many ways.
¶May 13, 2024
¶LCM
Monday, October 19, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1062
Proper 25
October 25, 2020
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
Some days our relationship with God just barely fits into our ability to put it into words. The best we can do is describe the feeling we get when we are in the presence of God. The psalmist uses the partings of the Red Sea and the Jordan, the bookmark events of the Exodus, to get at the spectacularity of God’s activity. These things that are done just for us. The God who does these things for us also chooses to have a relationship with us.
It is exciting enough to meet the one who can part a sea and open a river for crossing on dry land; to know that this same one came looking for a relationship with us is overwhelming. The relationship is not asking us to be adoring fans, God is asking us to be true companions on the journey we take together. We get to walk and talk and work side by side with the God who creates and cares for all that is.
While we will probably keep a sense of awe as we settle in to our relationship with God, it is good to know that we are encouraged to give ourselves as wholeheartedly as we are able to that relationship. God allows us to forget that we are in the presence of the Creator of the universe so that we can settle in to a comfortable comradery together. God cares for us, provides for us, and invites us into an ever deepening relationship even as we invite others in to their own relationship with God.
October 19, 2020
LCM
Monday, February 27, 2017
Psalm Meditation 872
First Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2017
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
The presence of God can be scary and comforting at the same time. It is scary when we find ourselves in the presence of such overwhelming authority. This is the ability to both unsettle and calm the mountains, hills, and rivers. On a family picnic, we were being bothered by a large bee. In an attempt to shoo the bee away, dad made contact with a backhand swat that sent the bee careening off into space. It was a memorable show of authority between dad and bee.
It is comforting when we realize that everything included in God’s presence is involved in loving us. Dad was not confronting the bee to show off to us. He was protecting us. When rivers roll and mountains and hills skip and jump, God is with us. The events of the psalm are not acts of protection. The psalmist sees them as acts of awe as the waters run from God’s presence and the mountains and hills tremble at the approach of God. The psalmist sees the presence of God as an act of love as people enter this new land.
God is with us. Sometimes we feel judged by that presence and other times we feel comforted. I am convinced that the presence of God is always a loving presence. For God both acts of judgment and acts of comfort are acts of loving presence.
February 27, 2017
LCM
First Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2017
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
The presence of God can be scary and comforting at the same time. It is scary when we find ourselves in the presence of such overwhelming authority. This is the ability to both unsettle and calm the mountains, hills, and rivers. On a family picnic, we were being bothered by a large bee. In an attempt to shoo the bee away, dad made contact with a backhand swat that sent the bee careening off into space. It was a memorable show of authority between dad and bee.
It is comforting when we realize that everything included in God’s presence is involved in loving us. Dad was not confronting the bee to show off to us. He was protecting us. When rivers roll and mountains and hills skip and jump, God is with us. The events of the psalm are not acts of protection. The psalmist sees them as acts of awe as the waters run from God’s presence and the mountains and hills tremble at the approach of God. The psalmist sees the presence of God as an act of love as people enter this new land.
God is with us. Sometimes we feel judged by that presence and other times we feel comforted. I am convinced that the presence of God is always a loving presence. For God both acts of judgment and acts of comfort are acts of loving presence.
February 27, 2017
LCM
Monday, January 26, 2015
Psalm Meditation 763
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
February 1, 2015
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
When a champion rises for us, we jump and shout with joy and ‘they’ run away in fear. So it is when the God of Israel rises to lead the people out of Egypt. Rivers and seas are symbols of chaos, violence, the uncontrollable forces of our lives. The chaos and lack of control disappear in the presence of God, since the one who created them now stands with us against them.
The mountains and hills, like God, provide places of security and refuge; those places join all those of us who rejoice in the presence of God. It is hard to skip without smiling, once you master the skill, and it seems to bring a smile to the faces of those around you as they catch a glimpse of the rejoicing that seems to be a part of the process of skipping.
Find a reason, an excuse, a way to join in the rejoicing that God is with us, standing against the forces of violence and chaos in our stead. For some of us it will be more difficult than for others as those forces are more present and active around us. A glimmer of hope, the hint of a smile, a short skip down an empty hall can serve to remind us that, though things seem to be heavy and dark we are in the presence of God.
January 26, 2015
LCM
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
February 1, 2015
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
When a champion rises for us, we jump and shout with joy and ‘they’ run away in fear. So it is when the God of Israel rises to lead the people out of Egypt. Rivers and seas are symbols of chaos, violence, the uncontrollable forces of our lives. The chaos and lack of control disappear in the presence of God, since the one who created them now stands with us against them.
The mountains and hills, like God, provide places of security and refuge; those places join all those of us who rejoice in the presence of God. It is hard to skip without smiling, once you master the skill, and it seems to bring a smile to the faces of those around you as they catch a glimpse of the rejoicing that seems to be a part of the process of skipping.
Find a reason, an excuse, a way to join in the rejoicing that God is with us, standing against the forces of violence and chaos in our stead. For some of us it will be more difficult than for others as those forces are more present and active around us. A glimmer of hope, the hint of a smile, a short skip down an empty hall can serve to remind us that, though things seem to be heavy and dark we are in the presence of God.
January 26, 2015
LCM
Monday, November 26, 2012
Psalm Meditation 650
First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2012
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
Attitude makes a lot of difference in perception. To watch the sea and river disappear from their usual spots and to watch mountains and hills rock and sway like leaping animals would be pretty scary in normal circumstances. It would be reason to be afraid for one’s life in normal circumstances. These do not seem to be normal circumstances for the psalmist. When seen from a vantage point of rejoicing and trust in the presence of God, this whole scene is a party rather than a cataclysmic event.
From one side of an event it is a great tragedy while the other side sees it as a cause for celebration. At any sporting event the fans of the losing team will see this as a terrible thing while the fans of the winners will be celebrating the outcome. In the next meeting the result may be the opposite, but for now the winners rejoice and the losers bemoan their fate. For the psalmist, God is great beyond measure and the response of the earth is to tremble and leap in celebration of the greatness of God.
There certainly are psalms in which the reaction to events is terror as the waters roll and the earth shakes. In this instance the psalmist sees rolling, jumping and trembling as a good thing, a rejoicing in the presence of God. When we are able to see God as a present partner in our lives we can more easily find ways to rejoice in a given situation. It is not the situation itself that leads us to rejoice, it is the presence of God in the situation that makes it possible to find something good in the midst of any and all parts of our lives.
November 26, 2012
First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2012
Psalm 114
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
(NRSV)
Attitude makes a lot of difference in perception. To watch the sea and river disappear from their usual spots and to watch mountains and hills rock and sway like leaping animals would be pretty scary in normal circumstances. It would be reason to be afraid for one’s life in normal circumstances. These do not seem to be normal circumstances for the psalmist. When seen from a vantage point of rejoicing and trust in the presence of God, this whole scene is a party rather than a cataclysmic event.
From one side of an event it is a great tragedy while the other side sees it as a cause for celebration. At any sporting event the fans of the losing team will see this as a terrible thing while the fans of the winners will be celebrating the outcome. In the next meeting the result may be the opposite, but for now the winners rejoice and the losers bemoan their fate. For the psalmist, God is great beyond measure and the response of the earth is to tremble and leap in celebration of the greatness of God.
There certainly are psalms in which the reaction to events is terror as the waters roll and the earth shakes. In this instance the psalmist sees rolling, jumping and trembling as a good thing, a rejoicing in the presence of God. When we are able to see God as a present partner in our lives we can more easily find ways to rejoice in a given situation. It is not the situation itself that leads us to rejoice, it is the presence of God in the situation that makes it possible to find something good in the midst of any and all parts of our lives.
November 26, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)