Psalm Meditation 690
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 8, 2013

Psalm 49
1 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life, there is no price one can give to God for it.
8 For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice,
9 that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
10 When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.
12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy, the end of those who are pleased with their lot.Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.Selah
16 Do not be afraid when some become rich, when the wealth of their houses increases.
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them.
18 Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
19 they will go to the company of their ancestors, who will never again see the light.
20 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
(NRSV)

In the psalmist’s time, it was believed that there was a limited amount of wealth available so the only way anyone could get rich was at the expense of someone else. In order for me to get rich I would have to take the resources out of your hands, land out from under your feet, food out of your mouth and so on. The folks who did get wealthy around the psalmist were thought to be guilty of great evil since they had, for all intents and purposes stolen their wealth from others.

We know that, while wealth is an ever expanding pool, it is often true that folks become rich by using the labor and resources of others. Sometimes those others are compensated for their labor and resources, fairly or not. Other times the resources are claimed in a way that requires no reimbursement, even though fairness might dictate otherwise.

The psalmist tells us not to worry about the folks who get rich because their wealth will not last beyond their own lifetime. When they die the riches they have worked so hard to attain will remain here on earth while they will be lost to Sheol. Since the psalmist and the folks addressed by the psalm have spent lives laboring after the things of God they know they will be redeemed from Sheol into the presence of God.

Eventually, we reap the reward of our efforts. Those who seek wealth will achieve that and will die. Those who seek a relationship with God will find that and will live in the presence of God.

September 3, 2013