Psalm Meditation 714
Seventh Sunday After Epiphany
February 23, 2014

Psalm 45
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
(NRSV)

Is this heartfelt praise of a king, is it flattery in order to get a favor from the king, is it a combination of the two or is it a made to order psalm for a king whose ego needs a boost? Whatever the purpose, it is flowery and far reaching. What if we could bring ourselves to sing the praises of our own leaders in this kind of language, even when we disagree with the policies and politics those leaders follow? I do find it interesting that in the US, in this particular political climate, we see leaders in our party as God chosen, God ordained leaders while the people of the other party, elected by the same process and at the same time, are seen as evil usurpers drawing this country ever deeper into Hell. The same person is described as a hero and a villain, depending on the party of the person speaking.

Would it make a difference in our current political climate if we made it a point to look for positive characteristics in the people with whom we disagree? A friend described looking down from the gallery of the two houses of Congress in Washington and seeing that folks of both parties were intent on doing the best they possibly could for the sake of the people they represented. I am tempted to make all sorts of excuses as to why that is no longer the case, however, I imagine that most of the people who represent us continue to feel that way most of the time. What if we made it a point to look for positive characteristics in the people with whom we disagree?

This psalm is about a king, a person who held absolute power of any and all of the people in the nation. With that being the case, it is easy to see why anyone would sing the praises of that kind of person. One of the great gifts we have in the United States is the freedom of speech, the ability to disagree with anyone, including the nation’s leaders. As long as we don’t threaten the well-being of others we can say almost anything. That does not mean that there are not consequences to our words and actions, only that we can speak freely.

What if we made it a point to disagree with folks with civility and to look for positive points in the views of those with whom we disagree? What if we listened to the views of others rather than running roughshod over them because of party, race, gender or any other point of difference we might have with them? What if we made it a point to honor God with our words and actions rather than feeling as we had to come to God’s defense in every question of policy and politics? What if God is pleased when we learn something from the folks with whom we disagree? What if God loves each one of us, even the folks who are not like us?

February 17, 2014