Showing posts with label Psalm 39. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 39. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Psalm Meditation 1155
¶Proper 14
¶August 7, 2022
¶Psalm 39
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+39&version=NRSVUE
(NRSV)
¶Many of us have a love/hate relationship with God. We know that God loves us, cares for us, and wants what is best for us. The difficulty lies in the knowledge that what is best for us is not always pleasant. Things as simple as naps and baths were once battle grounds for us, thinking we were too old for such trivialities as rest and cleanliness. How many of us who fought those naps and baths with tears and tantrums look forward to both a bath/shower, and a nap these days? What does God ask us to do or endure that seems terrible at the time, yet afterward seems to have turned out well?
¶The psalmist wants to be delivered from the bonds of sin without any suffering, as if that is possible. Many of our sinful habits carry a hefty price for us to be free of them. Some exact a physical price, some a spiritual cost, and others drain us physically as well as spiritually. A statement that has been helpful to me through the years is, “Every action has a cost and a promise.” We have to weigh which is greater as we make our choice. Sometimes we choose the one with the high cost in hopes that there will be a worthy promise at the end. It is painful when we discover we have made the wrong choice.
¶I imagine that the gaze of God is a parental look, the one that stops us in our tracks and makes us want to evaluate every life choice we have made up to this moment. Once caught in the gaze, we know we will never smile or laugh again for as long as we live. It is only as our parent looks away that we see any hope for the future. Having endured that gaze to its end we see that it has love and concern as a part of it. At our best, the angry gaze is not the final expression. In the case of God, anger is certainly not the final word. The love, care and concern that God has for us holds us far longer than any anger on God’s part.
¶August 2, 2022
¶LCM
Monday, October 26, 2020
Psalm Meditation 1063
All Saints Day
November 1, 2020
Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 “You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
(NRSV)
Our inclination is to see God as the source of deliverance from all the terrible things we face in our lives. The psalmist is convinced that God is causing these terrible things as a punishment for some unidentified transgressions. Even as the psalmist places hope in God for relief from suffering the realization dawns that God is the one giving this beat down. Things are so bad that those who are inclined to make light of the suffering of others can see that the psalmist is being humiliated by God who is supposed to help out in situations like this.
While we are quick to say that God punishes others for their sins and transgressions, we are not as quick to see God as out to get us. When Job is stripped of his possessions, assets, and loved ones his friends gather to let him know that it is his fault and if he will admit guilt and repent God will forgive him. Job is sure that there is another cause. In the end, the friends are told to apologize to Job and to have him pray for them because God is not as vindictive as the friends want to believe.
The psalmist asks God to turn away so that there can be some relief before dying. Convince that God is the cause of all this suffering, the psalmist wants to be left alone by God so that there can be a moment of peace before drifting off into nothingness. Job, on the other hand, continues to hope in God for the present and the future. We too can know that God is with us. We are not promised that we will get through life with all of our stuff intact. We are promised that God will be with us. Sometimes it works out, as it did for Job, that we are able to recover and rebound. Sometimes we have to count it all loss and move ahead in the presence of God alone.
October 26, 2020
LCM
Monday, January 23, 2017
Psalm Meditation 867
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
January 29, 2017
Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 “You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
(NRSV)
A friend of mine asked his grandpa if drinking is a bad thing, and his grandpa responded that it is not so much the drinking as the people you drink with. It seems that the psalmist has been surrounded by a less than savory crowd so it becomes important not to become like them. Despite efforts to the contrary, the psalmist comes to a point at which a decision must be made. Is participation in this group sustainable or is it time to move on? The realization also dawns that there will be a price to pay for life in this group of wicked folks; and it is a steep price.
The psalmist decides to trust God for both punishment and deliverance from God’s wrath. The psalmist’s belief system holds that this punishment will be both fatal and eternal, thus the request for a moment of peace before the final disappearance. Good people were remembered by their loved ones and by God while wicked people were forgotten by all.
The groups in which we participate, the people with whom we spend time will change us, for better or worse. We may think that we are only on the fringes and so immune from the groups influence, however we are touched and changed by every group with which we spend any amount of time and effort. Each group will be changed by our contribution as well. The psalmist counsels us to choose with care and with an eye toward God.
January 23, 2017
LCM
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
January 29, 2017
Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 “You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
(NRSV)
A friend of mine asked his grandpa if drinking is a bad thing, and his grandpa responded that it is not so much the drinking as the people you drink with. It seems that the psalmist has been surrounded by a less than savory crowd so it becomes important not to become like them. Despite efforts to the contrary, the psalmist comes to a point at which a decision must be made. Is participation in this group sustainable or is it time to move on? The realization also dawns that there will be a price to pay for life in this group of wicked folks; and it is a steep price.
The psalmist decides to trust God for both punishment and deliverance from God’s wrath. The psalmist’s belief system holds that this punishment will be both fatal and eternal, thus the request for a moment of peace before the final disappearance. Good people were remembered by their loved ones and by God while wicked people were forgotten by all.
The groups in which we participate, the people with whom we spend time will change us, for better or worse. We may think that we are only on the fringes and so immune from the groups influence, however we are touched and changed by every group with which we spend any amount of time and effort. Each group will be changed by our contribution as well. The psalmist counsels us to choose with care and with an eye toward God.
January 23, 2017
LCM
Monday, October 27, 2014
Psalm Meditation 750
Twenty first Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 2, 2014
Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 “You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
(NRSV)
There is something comforting about knowing that we are under the complete control of another, until things stop going well for us. As children, it is does not even cross our minds that things cost money, time and effort. All we know is that there is food on the table, clothes to wear and a place to call home. We are unnerved to discover that things come to us at a cost that someone else has paid so that we can survive and thrive. The next surprise comes when we get to the point at which it is up to us to pay that price for ourselves and for others. We discover the kinds of sacrifices that folks made for our sakes with a sense of gratitude.
Part of the progression of religious faith development is that we begin with a sense that God provides everything for us, has our whole lives mapped out and all we need to do is follow the script God has written for us. Some folks are content to believe that there is no opportunity to depart from the script, we simply play out the parts in which we have been cast and all proceeds according to the will of God. As a theatre major in college, I had opportunity to work with directors who gave actors some leeway in interpreting the character. I have also worked with directors who did not tolerate even the slightest deviation from the script. There are folks who see God as one of these kinds of directors.
The older I get the more I see God encouraging improvisation. There is an arc, a direction in which God would like to see the story go and we are each allowed to exercise our free will in moving along that arc. God is so good at all this that as we change the shape of the arc by our words and actions God adapts the story arc to accommodate the changes we have made. All this to say that I believe God has given us free will, encourages us to exercise it, stays with us to love and support us when we do and is available to give us pointers and suggestions that move us all to closer relationship with God and with each other.
October 27, 2014
LCM
Twenty first Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 2, 2014
Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11 “You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
(NRSV)
There is something comforting about knowing that we are under the complete control of another, until things stop going well for us. As children, it is does not even cross our minds that things cost money, time and effort. All we know is that there is food on the table, clothes to wear and a place to call home. We are unnerved to discover that things come to us at a cost that someone else has paid so that we can survive and thrive. The next surprise comes when we get to the point at which it is up to us to pay that price for ourselves and for others. We discover the kinds of sacrifices that folks made for our sakes with a sense of gratitude.
Part of the progression of religious faith development is that we begin with a sense that God provides everything for us, has our whole lives mapped out and all we need to do is follow the script God has written for us. Some folks are content to believe that there is no opportunity to depart from the script, we simply play out the parts in which we have been cast and all proceeds according to the will of God. As a theatre major in college, I had opportunity to work with directors who gave actors some leeway in interpreting the character. I have also worked with directors who did not tolerate even the slightest deviation from the script. There are folks who see God as one of these kinds of directors.
The older I get the more I see God encouraging improvisation. There is an arc, a direction in which God would like to see the story go and we are each allowed to exercise our free will in moving along that arc. God is so good at all this that as we change the shape of the arc by our words and actions God adapts the story arc to accommodate the changes we have made. All this to say that I believe God has given us free will, encourages us to exercise it, stays with us to love and support us when we do and is available to give us pointers and suggestions that move us all to closer relationship with God and with each other.
October 27, 2014
LCM
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