Psalm Meditation 564
Fifth Sunday in Lent
April 10, 2011

Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
(NRSV)

It is interesting to note that what one generation sees as a luxury, succeeding generations see as a necessity. Running water is a given for many of us reading this. It has not been that long ago that carting water and then digging your own well were the expectation. Some of you reading this are very aware that safe, clean drinking water is a hope rather than an expectation in parts of the world with which you are familiar. All that to point to the first verse of this psalm; that the blessing and presence of God has not always been a given. Even though we invoke God’s presence at the beginning of our worship services we are aware that we entered the sanctuary in the presence of God and that we meet God in each of the folks with whom we join in worship. It is amazing to us to consider that the presence and blessing of God has not always been a given.

Because of our awareness of the constant presence of God we may treat God with the same nonchalance with which we treat running water. We bemoan God’s absence rather than praise God’s presence in those moments in which God seems to be absent in our lives. Even as there are moments in which God pulls back so that we can find the wherewithal to move forward to discover a new set of skills and strengths within ourselves, our expectation is that God is with us in all times and places. It is because of God’s constant presence in our lives that we do well to praise God in every aspect. It is that constant presence that leads us to take God for granted as we forget to praise and sing as the people of God.

Every now and then something that seems so ordinary will strike us with how wondrous it really is. After a power failure we can find ourselves amazed at what an amazing gift electricity is. When a computer doesn’t run as quickly as the one we use elsewhere we may pause to marvel at how quick even the slowest computer is compared to other forms of written communication. When anything we see as a necessity doesn’t work the way we have come to expect perhaps we can pause to thank God for the gift of that luxury turned necessity as well as taking a moment to praise God for being with us in all times and places and for wanting to be in relationship with us and those around us.

April 4, 2011