Psalm Meditation 689
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 1, 2013
Psalm 99
1 The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
4 Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy.
(NRSV)
At some point in our faith development it is important to ask questions about the beliefs with which we have been raised so that we can claim them as our own or modify them to fit our own way of perceiving who God is in our lives. In this psalm it seems that the psalmist is answering some of the questions about why we worship God.
We worship a God who loves justice, equity and righteousness. This is not a God who decides how to act as a situation arises, this is a God who acts out of a sense of what is just, what is right and what gives folks a sense of equality in their lives. We worship because God has been around a long time and has a long and rich history with us. From Moses and Aaron to Samuel to the present we have seen God in action. We worship a God who is quick to forgive without being a push over, who demands consequences in the midst of being forgiving. We worship a God who is dependable in any given situation and in long term faithfulness.
Go ahead and ask the questions about why we as a body choose to worship the God who has chosen us and calls us to live out the same sense of justice, history and forgiveness we have received. Our God is big enough to be comfortable with the questions, confident enough to be with us no matter what answers we may find, patient enough to continually invite us into an ever deepening relationship whether we accept the invitation or not. God is not troubled by our questions or our answers, in part because our God is holy.
August 26, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Psalm Meditation 688
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 25, 2013
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling
12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.
(NRSV)
The psalmist describes God in terms of the most powerful person known at the time: a king. Kings held absolute power over their subjects and were held to the standards of the divine beings who had placed them in this position. For many cultures of the day and time, those divine beings had no real standards except their own wishes and desires. Since it was the divine way, whatever the king chose to do was the way the world worked in any given situation. Those who had any influence with the king could sway royal decision making through gifts, promises, threats and flattery. It was a difficult image of God for those who had no power or influence.
The God of Israel held to a standard of faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love, so the king was held to this same standard. The Bible makes clear that not every king felt bound by God’s standards of behavior. It was a mark of a great king to behave according to the laws of God and to treat subjects with the same faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love exhibited by God.
While we no longer see God in the same light as the psalmist, we do see ourselves as bound to God through the faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love we continue to experience through our relationship with God. We also continue to find comfort as we take refuge in God in the face of the wide variety of trials and temptations we confront on a regular basis.
August 19, 2013
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 25, 2013
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling
12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.
(NRSV)
The psalmist describes God in terms of the most powerful person known at the time: a king. Kings held absolute power over their subjects and were held to the standards of the divine beings who had placed them in this position. For many cultures of the day and time, those divine beings had no real standards except their own wishes and desires. Since it was the divine way, whatever the king chose to do was the way the world worked in any given situation. Those who had any influence with the king could sway royal decision making through gifts, promises, threats and flattery. It was a difficult image of God for those who had no power or influence.
The God of Israel held to a standard of faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love, so the king was held to this same standard. The Bible makes clear that not every king felt bound by God’s standards of behavior. It was a mark of a great king to behave according to the laws of God and to treat subjects with the same faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love exhibited by God.
While we no longer see God in the same light as the psalmist, we do see ourselves as bound to God through the faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love we continue to experience through our relationship with God. We also continue to find comfort as we take refuge in God in the face of the wide variety of trials and temptations we confront on a regular basis.
August 19, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
Psalm Meditation 687
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 18, 2013
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
Sound, noise, volume; there is something about being joyful that cries out for ways to express ourselves with energetic loudness. Bodies need a way to express the full extent of our joy and it comes out in movement and sound. The psalmist encourages us to praise God in ways that draw attention to our celebration. The physical expressions of joy lead people to ask what is making us lose control and opens us to offer our praises all over again to those who have asked.
This is one way of many to offer God our praise. There are many of us who do not like to draw attention to ourselves at the heights of joy or any other time in our lives. This does not mean that we do not feel the same need to offer God our praise. It is not that one way is right and the other way wrong, it is simply two of the many ways to offer God our praise.
Whether you are one to jump up and down while making a joyful noise or one who stays still and calm on the outside while joy bounces around your insides it is good to offer praises to God who is the source of all things. No matter how we may choose to offer our praises, it is good to praise the Lord.
August 12, 2013
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 18, 2013
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)
Sound, noise, volume; there is something about being joyful that cries out for ways to express ourselves with energetic loudness. Bodies need a way to express the full extent of our joy and it comes out in movement and sound. The psalmist encourages us to praise God in ways that draw attention to our celebration. The physical expressions of joy lead people to ask what is making us lose control and opens us to offer our praises all over again to those who have asked.
This is one way of many to offer God our praise. There are many of us who do not like to draw attention to ourselves at the heights of joy or any other time in our lives. This does not mean that we do not feel the same need to offer God our praise. It is not that one way is right and the other way wrong, it is simply two of the many ways to offer God our praise.
Whether you are one to jump up and down while making a joyful noise or one who stays still and calm on the outside while joy bounces around your insides it is good to offer praises to God who is the source of all things. No matter how we may choose to offer our praises, it is good to praise the Lord.
August 12, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Psalm Meditation 686
Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 11, 2013
Psalm 51
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(NRSV)
There is something wonderful about being clean and then putting on clean clothes or climbing into a bed with clean sheets. It is good to get into a vehicle when it is new or even to get in after it has been cleaned out and swept. Clean things are so excellent, it is amazing that anyone would fight so hard to keep from getting to that place. At some point in our lives most of us have fought someone’s urging that we get clean in some way; either our own bodies or some part of our surroundings.
If it is so wonderful to be clean, how do we let ourselves and our surroundings get in such a state? We convince ourselves that it is easier to let things slide than to clean up little at a time. Eventually, we either get used to things as they are or we step in to do the hard work of cleaning. We may even have to ask for help with the task The psalmist asks God for a thorough cleansing from sin and iniquity. A piece of paper here, a book there, a pile of mail in another corner and suddenly a desk is covered in ‘stuff’ that was important enough to save but not quite important enough to get done immediately. An unkind word here, a judgment there, a pile of looking down our noses at folks without knowing the whole story and suddenly we are covered in sin and iniquity. It all piles up and it becomes important to deal with all of these things before they overpower us.
God is more than willing to help us restore right relationships with God and others (you are on your own to get your desk clean.) The psalmist reminds us that God is not nearly as interested in appearance and rituals, important as they are, as God is interested in our hearts. During a regular cleaning routine, or an I-can’t-take-this-anymore clean, take a moment also to see to identifying and clear out some of the sin and iniquity that is piling up inside. It may make the outside cleaning go a little more smoothly. It will certainly make for a lighter spirit in the presence of God and others.
August 5, 2013
Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 11, 2013
Psalm 51
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(NRSV)
There is something wonderful about being clean and then putting on clean clothes or climbing into a bed with clean sheets. It is good to get into a vehicle when it is new or even to get in after it has been cleaned out and swept. Clean things are so excellent, it is amazing that anyone would fight so hard to keep from getting to that place. At some point in our lives most of us have fought someone’s urging that we get clean in some way; either our own bodies or some part of our surroundings.
If it is so wonderful to be clean, how do we let ourselves and our surroundings get in such a state? We convince ourselves that it is easier to let things slide than to clean up little at a time. Eventually, we either get used to things as they are or we step in to do the hard work of cleaning. We may even have to ask for help with the task The psalmist asks God for a thorough cleansing from sin and iniquity. A piece of paper here, a book there, a pile of mail in another corner and suddenly a desk is covered in ‘stuff’ that was important enough to save but not quite important enough to get done immediately. An unkind word here, a judgment there, a pile of looking down our noses at folks without knowing the whole story and suddenly we are covered in sin and iniquity. It all piles up and it becomes important to deal with all of these things before they overpower us.
God is more than willing to help us restore right relationships with God and others (you are on your own to get your desk clean.) The psalmist reminds us that God is not nearly as interested in appearance and rituals, important as they are, as God is interested in our hearts. During a regular cleaning routine, or an I-can’t-take-this-anymore clean, take a moment also to see to identifying and clear out some of the sin and iniquity that is piling up inside. It may make the outside cleaning go a little more smoothly. It will certainly make for a lighter spirit in the presence of God and others.
August 5, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Psalm Meditation 685
Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 4, 2013
Psalm 101
1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing.
2 I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
4 Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
5 One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not tolerate.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue in my presence.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
(NRSV)
In a culture in which everything can be turned into a competition, this psalm begins as the rules of a contest. While it doesn’t say it, I find myself reading in the rest of the sentence, ‘and I will do it better than anyone else.’ Not only will I do all of these things better, I am willing to do them at the expense of everyone else as well. Not only will I destroy those who don’t follow the rules I will destroy those who don’t follow as closely or as well as I do. I will be the last one standing and I will be the favorite of God.
And then the psalmist gets to verse 6. “I will look with favor on the faithful of the land, so that they may live with me;…” I lose the focus on competition and see one who is striving toward a quality of life in which any number of folks may share as they desire. The emphasis continues to be on living a life of quality in the presence of God even as the focus shifts from a solitary pursuit to a striving together toward a goal of community excellence based in a strong relationship with God and with each other.
While it may not take much to get competitive juices flowing, the psalmist reminds us that there is another way. We can work together, encouraging and building each other up so that we grow toward God in a way that flies in the face of the competitive urge within us. Instead of having to be the best we can be our best. As we strive together, learning from and teaching those around us, we will build up a community based on relationships rather than on competition.
July 29, 2013
Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 4, 2013
Psalm 101
1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing.
2 I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
4 Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
5 One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not tolerate.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue in my presence.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
(NRSV)
In a culture in which everything can be turned into a competition, this psalm begins as the rules of a contest. While it doesn’t say it, I find myself reading in the rest of the sentence, ‘and I will do it better than anyone else.’ Not only will I do all of these things better, I am willing to do them at the expense of everyone else as well. Not only will I destroy those who don’t follow the rules I will destroy those who don’t follow as closely or as well as I do. I will be the last one standing and I will be the favorite of God.
And then the psalmist gets to verse 6. “I will look with favor on the faithful of the land, so that they may live with me;…” I lose the focus on competition and see one who is striving toward a quality of life in which any number of folks may share as they desire. The emphasis continues to be on living a life of quality in the presence of God even as the focus shifts from a solitary pursuit to a striving together toward a goal of community excellence based in a strong relationship with God and with each other.
While it may not take much to get competitive juices flowing, the psalmist reminds us that there is another way. We can work together, encouraging and building each other up so that we grow toward God in a way that flies in the face of the competitive urge within us. Instead of having to be the best we can be our best. As we strive together, learning from and teaching those around us, we will build up a community based on relationships rather than on competition.
July 29, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Psalm Meditation 684
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 28, 2013
Psalm 50
1 The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge.Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18 You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child.
21 These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
(NRSV)
There are times for each of us in which we simply go through the motions of worship or some other act of service. Our hearts are not in it. A part of us wants to join in this act of worship with the whole congregation and another part wants to be doing something else. Even as we resent having to make this particular sacrifice at this particular time, we find ourselves drawn in to be with the people of God. In addition to times of worship we may feel the dual pull to perform an act of ministry, service or mission even as we wonder if we are actually helping this person or group by our activity. This psalm is not about those times.
This psalm is about the people who go through the motions with no intention of being touched or changed by having done these things. It is for show and nothing more. It is going through the motions to give them license to do what they would rather be doing the rest of the week. There probably aren’t as many of this kind of people as we want to believe. Yes, there are those who compartmentalize their lives, who believe that faith and worship are one thing and the rest of life is separate from worship and faith practices. They are sincere in their worship, it simply doesn’t touch the rest of their daily activity.
We are invited to bring thankful hearts into the presence of God. Yes, God is present in all of life, however there are places and times in which we are more attuned to God’s presence. God invites us to bring thankfulness into those times as an acknowledgment of the salvation God offers and gives.
July 22, 2013
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 28, 2013
Psalm 50
1 The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge.Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18 You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child.
21 These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
(NRSV)
There are times for each of us in which we simply go through the motions of worship or some other act of service. Our hearts are not in it. A part of us wants to join in this act of worship with the whole congregation and another part wants to be doing something else. Even as we resent having to make this particular sacrifice at this particular time, we find ourselves drawn in to be with the people of God. In addition to times of worship we may feel the dual pull to perform an act of ministry, service or mission even as we wonder if we are actually helping this person or group by our activity. This psalm is not about those times.
This psalm is about the people who go through the motions with no intention of being touched or changed by having done these things. It is for show and nothing more. It is going through the motions to give them license to do what they would rather be doing the rest of the week. There probably aren’t as many of this kind of people as we want to believe. Yes, there are those who compartmentalize their lives, who believe that faith and worship are one thing and the rest of life is separate from worship and faith practices. They are sincere in their worship, it simply doesn’t touch the rest of their daily activity.
We are invited to bring thankful hearts into the presence of God. Yes, God is present in all of life, however there are places and times in which we are more attuned to God’s presence. God invites us to bring thankfulness into those times as an acknowledgment of the salvation God offers and gives.
July 22, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Psalm Meditation 683
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 21, 2013
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
(NRSV)
There are times in which we feel as if our emotions control us and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves feel any different than we do at a particular moment. This psalm reminds us that we have control over our actions and that our actions can make a difference in our emotions. In the middle of a bad day, we can lift our mood by singing a song, or dancing a dance, letting the outward expression of joy filter into the innermost parts of our being.
The psalmist doesn’t say we have to feel the joy, we are invited and encouraged to go through the motions with a sense of openness to the presence of God in our lives. It is possible that by being available to God we may find ourselves feeling the joy in the noise we are making. As we feel the joy, even a little bit of it, our worship goes from an outward expression to an inner experience. As our worship becomes heartfelt we know that God seeks out a relationship with us and we find ourselves wanting to draw closer to the presence of God.
Willingly going through the motions of worship will not take us from the depths of despair to the heights of joy. Expressions of joyful worship are likely to help us feel a bit of the joy that is available to us in the presence of God. Knowing that God is with us can lift us up a bit so that we can see that we are not alone, that we are in this together with God.
July 15, 2013
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 21, 2013
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
(NRSV)
There are times in which we feel as if our emotions control us and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves feel any different than we do at a particular moment. This psalm reminds us that we have control over our actions and that our actions can make a difference in our emotions. In the middle of a bad day, we can lift our mood by singing a song, or dancing a dance, letting the outward expression of joy filter into the innermost parts of our being.
The psalmist doesn’t say we have to feel the joy, we are invited and encouraged to go through the motions with a sense of openness to the presence of God in our lives. It is possible that by being available to God we may find ourselves feeling the joy in the noise we are making. As we feel the joy, even a little bit of it, our worship goes from an outward expression to an inner experience. As our worship becomes heartfelt we know that God seeks out a relationship with us and we find ourselves wanting to draw closer to the presence of God.
Willingly going through the motions of worship will not take us from the depths of despair to the heights of joy. Expressions of joyful worship are likely to help us feel a bit of the joy that is available to us in the presence of God. Knowing that God is with us can lift us up a bit so that we can see that we are not alone, that we are in this together with God.
July 15, 2013
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