Psalm Meditation 719
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 30, 2014

Psalm 94
1 O LORD, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?
11The LORD knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.
12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.
(NRSV)

One of the difficulties of our current political scene is that we are so deeply entrenched in our own views that we know it could not possibly be the party I support that contrives mischief by statue. It must be those evil doers on the other side who are to blame for all the troubles, not only of this country but of the whole world. Because it is your side rather than mine that is evil it is up to you to change, to respond in the same way my side says we would respond if we were in your position. I am sure this attitude is not confined to one country since it is visible on so many levels of politics from local to international.

Many years ago, probably at the height of the Social Gospel movement, it was the Democrats in the US who had the corner on religious affiliation. Over the years that has reversed and Republicans are the ones who are seen as the religious party. Interestingly, in survey results from many years ago, politicians were much more likely to vote with their party’s viewpoints than with the views of the denomination of which they were members. It is more likely that a religious faction, liberal or conservative, will align themselves with a political philosophy than political parties will line up with religious doctrine.

Political leaders throughout the world are probably not as good and pure as we want to see the folks on our side, and not as evil as we want those other folks to be. God works through people, through relationships, through those in and out of politics who are taking a stand against evil. Is your party in the right or in the wrong? The answer is probably, “yes, a little of both.” It is not about political party, it is about having God as our stronghold and refuge.

March 24, 2014