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