Psalm Meditation 1303 ¶Pentecost ¶June 8, 2025 ¶Psalm 19 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2030&version=NRSVUE ¶When a maker displays a piece of art or craft of any kind, the skill level involved is on display. The piece itself speaks volumes of the skills and care taken by the maker. There is no need to ask about the quality of the piece, because the piece itself proclaims the handiwork of the maker. Something mass produced from lesser quality materials can be adequate for our needs, however a carefully handcrafted piece can be more than adequate, as well as a thing of beauty. A soulful piece of art, a item of handcrafted furniture, a hand-pieced quilt, and a masterfully grilled piece of brisket to name a few, are head and shoulders above a utilitarian project. ¶The psalmist rejoices in the glorious work of the hand of God in the various parts of Creation. The route of the sun throughout the day is a masterwork, worthy of our praise and thanks to God. In addition to the physical creation, God has given us the law. The law is more than rules to be followed blindly, it is the narrative of our relationship with God and each other at our best, worst, and everywhere in between. The law is instruction on how to treat ourselves, those we know and love, as well as those we would rather ignore. ¶As we look around today and beyond, the psalmist encourages us to see the beauty that is all around us; beauty that comes from skillful attention to detail. The beauty can be directly from God as we admire the beauty of the earth and environs, and it can be from the makers among us who strive for quality in their work. Some makers want their work to be noticed while others want to have their work so skillfully integrated into our routine that we do not notice the knowledge, skill, and creativity that makes their work disappear into the fabric of our lives. ¶June 2, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1302 ¶Seventh Sunday of Easter ¶June 1, 2025 ¶Psalm 30 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2030&version=NRSVUE ¶I know someone who describes serious illnesses with these words, “First, I was afraid I was going to die, and then I was afraid I wouldn’t.” It appears that this is the type of illness the psalmist was experiencing before writing this psalm. Having been healed, there is much rejoicing over the ability and willingness of God to offer the kind of help and healing that was needed in this discomforting illness, including the rescue from the pit of Sheol, a place of silence, inactivity, and separation from God. ¶The psalmist is very pleased to have been either kept out or pulled out of Sheol by the healing hand of God. Sheol is the place of death. It is neither a place of torment nor shame, it is simply where people go after death. In this era, eternal life is being remembered by those still alive, and Sheol is essentially nothingness, and separation from God. The psalmist is bold enough to ask, “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!” ¶The healing power of God has a way of turning mourning into dancing, of reminding us that there is a time to mourn and a time for joy. Those times may intermingle so that we experience loss and joy, mourning and dancing in the same moment. In every moment, God is with us, “so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.” ¶May 28, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1301 ¶Sixth Sunday of Easter ¶May 25, 2025 ¶Psalm 27 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2027&version=NRSVUE ¶Fear can protect us or ruin us, depending on how we react in the face of fear. We can allow our fear to keep us from doing things, ‘because, what if…’ or we can allow our fear to raise our awareness of danger and still walk into a situation. If we don’t know what is going to happen to us, we can go in with a heightened sense of awareness. We might get hurt, or worse, however we might find that the experience is worth the risk, which is not as great as we feared. How many of us have taken a chance, only to discover that the pay off was more than worth the risk. ¶Secure in the presence of God the psalmist is willing to take greater risks than would be possible alone. Knowing that we are not alone makes it possible to take risks that we would not consider on our own. In some cases, simply knowing that we are not the first makes the risk less intimidating. The psalmist wants to know what it means to live the way that God wants us to follow in an ever deepening way. Not content to live on the fringes as a person of God, the psalmist wants to drink deeply from the well of God’s presence and way of life. ¶The psalm ends with a word of hope that each of us can take as our own, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” We don’t have to wait for heaven to experience the abundant goodness of God, we can find it in the delights of the world around us. ¶May 19, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1300 ¶Fifth Sunday of Easter ¶May 18, 2025 ¶Psalm 24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2024&version=NRSVUE ¶In fourth grade, I appointed myself bathroom monitor to make sure the boys in the bathroom with me washed their hands before they went back to class. Sometimes I ran after someone to drag them back to the sink to wash his hands. One day, the one male teacher in the school was walking in as I was grabbing for a boy who had not washed his hands. The teacher and I almost collided. He caught me by the arm and asked what I was doing. When I answered, he assured me that it was not my job to see that everyone left the room with clean hands. ¶The psalmist tells us that those who have clean hands and pure hearts will stand in the holy place on the hill of the LORD. Nowhere does this psalm tell us that we are responsible for the cleanliness of the hands or hearts of those around us. We are each responsible for our own hygiene of hand and heart. We don’t get extra points for dragging people into cleanliness. Our task is to set an example that one or more people may follow as we ascend the hill of the LORD. ¶The psalmist also does not tell us that we are free to ignore those around us. We do well to offer others the same encouragement that we received and continue to receive in our own ascent of the hill of the LORD. ¶May 12, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1299 ¶Fourth Sunday of Easter ¶May 11, 2025 ¶Psalm 6 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%206&version=NRSVUE ¶Many of us have an image of God as angry and judgmental; waiting for us to mess up so that we can be punished for our faults and failings. When bad things happen it is because we did something to deserve it. God could not possibly want to give us good things on a regular basis so when things are going too well we can’t believe that it will last beyond a few hours, a few days at most. The psalmist can’t name any sin committed, however when things start going badly it must be that God is angry for some reason that deserves punishment. ¶We like to know that creation is well ordered and well oiled and that there is a cause and effect for everything that happens. Some people will trace cause and effect all the way back to God. If something happens and there is a harmful consequence to it, it has to be God who caused it. It can’t possibly be that people have moments of thoughtlessness or anger that spills into the lives of folks who had no connection to the original action. It isn’t right, and it isn’t fair, and sometimes bad things simply happen. ¶YHWH is God of steadfast love and mercy. When we are hurt and heartbroken God is with us in the midst of the situation offering us a loving presence. Even if God is the source of our pain, God loves us and does not abandon us. Especially when we feel helpless, hopeless, and worthless God is present as a source of gracious, steadfast love and mercy. ¶May 5, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1298 ¶Third Sunday of Easter ¶May 4, 2025 ¶Psalm 9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%209&version=NRSVUE ¶Every now and then, we notice how much we have to be thankful for and our hearts and minds explode with thankfulness. Something as simple as turning on the faucet to get hot water, or any temperature water, was unheard of not that long ago. And that is one of the simple things that we usually take for granted. Fortunately, we have moments from time to time in which we are overwhelmed by the gifts we have come to expect from the hand of God through the marvels of modernity. ¶Part of my mealtime prayer is to thank God for all the people who had anything to do with bringing the meal to the table and for all those who will clean up after us. When I began using these words I thought of family and friends who had bought the food, prepared, and served it. As time has passed, I have become aware that the grocery shelves did not stock themselves, that the products did not arrive at the grocery on their own, that the packaging did not simply appear, the farmers and producers had to have seeds, machinery and so on that had to come from somewhere. And that is just the supply side. The disposal side is just as long and involved. If I were to name all of the groups involved in getting a meal to the table, including the folks who built the table and chairs, my food would be cold by the time I finished my prayer. ¶When we follow the trail of our thankfulness back through all the sources, we eventually work our way to God whose providence, seeing our need before we notice, and all the ways and all the things, people, etc that provide for the needs we have. God watches out for us and provides for us in times of plenty and in times of want, in ways we notice and ways we miss. “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” (Psalm 9:1) ¶April 29, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1297 ¶Second Sunday of Easter ¶April 27, 2025 ¶Psalm 13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2013&version=NRSVUE ¶Object permanence is the knowledge that even though we cannot see someone or something, it can exist. The child’s game, ‘peek-a-boo’ intends to teach children that things exist when we can’t see them. There are people for whom object permanence is not a thing. If these folks don’t see you for awhile they forget you exist in an ‘out of sight out of mind’ kind of way. If your name comes up in a conversation or you pop into their heads somehow, they know you exist, at least for that moment. ¶The psalmist is going through something that has driven any thought or feeling of the presence of God completely away. With a sudden remembrance of the presence of God in the past, the psalmist cries out to God with a renewed longing for God in this, and every situation. The pain of God’s seeming absence or impermanence is as deeply painful to the psalmist as it is to anyone who has ever had the feeling that God is absent. In addition to the feeling that God is missing, there is the feeling that any enemy is gloating over the victory signaled by the total deflation of the psalmist in the face of all of the efforts of these foes. ¶Remembering the trust in the steadfast love of God has given the psalmist new energy and focus for facing the future with the assurance of God’s salvation and presence. The reminder that God’s love and presence are steadfast, “firmly loyal and constant; unwavering” is the assurance that the psalmist needed to be able to stand firm and sing a song of the bountiful salvation that God offers to each one of us. ¶April 21, 2025 ¶LCM