Psalm Meditation 515
Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 2, 2010

Psalm 48
1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain,
2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
3 Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense.
4 Then the kings assembled, they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight;
6 trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor,
7 as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. (Selah)
9 We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.
10 Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers,
13 consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation
14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever. (NRSV)

It seems as if the city and God are one and the same in this psalm, just as the king and God are one and the same in other psalms. It may be odd to us but wouldn’t it be great to be so identified with God that folks considered us one with God? It doesn’t make the king God, or the city God so much as it is a way of saying that God is so much a part of this person or place that it is impossible to think about without also considering God. There are still folks like that who are who they are because of their relationship with God. It doesn’t mean they are perfect or in any way super human it simply means they have a relationship with God that gives their lives particular definition.

It may take someone who knows God to be aware of the presence of God in the person or the place, however most can see that there is something out of the ordinary going on in this life or place. For those unaware of the presence of God in their own lives this identification with God can seem syrupy and overly sweet; to those who know, there is a recognition of a particular presence of God in the life and presence of these people and places.

The steadfast love of God takes up residence in these folks and flows out of them in a persistent way. One may never know if the person is disappointed or angry because one feels loved in their presence no matter what else may be going on in a conversation or interaction. This is not a person who will be walked over or who will give you whatever you want; this is a person who carries the loving presence of God as both a protection and a gift at all times.
God’s presence is part of who they are in a way that lets folks know that love of God in and through them drives who they are and what they do. God wants this kind of relationship with each one of us and these folks will be there with us as we journey toward God.

© April 26, 2010