Psalm Meditation 720
Fifth Sunday of Lent
April 6, 2014

Psalm 44
1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them.
4 You are my King and my God; you command victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down our assailants.
6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes, and have put to confusion those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 Yet you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You made us turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
16 at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, or been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way,
19 yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with deep darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,
21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Because of you we are being killed all day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever!
24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For we sink down to the dust our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
(NRSV)

One way of seeing the presence of God is to believe that when things are going well for us God is with us, when they are not going well God has abandoned us. This is the view of the psalmist. The behavior of God is determined by the way we behave. When we are good and faithful all is well and God fights for us in battle and delivers us from all the things we find unpleasant at any time. When we are bad and unfaithful God walks away from us allowing folks from other nations to come in and beat us up until we return to the ways of God. The presence of God depends on us and our behavior. The presence of God becomes conditional.

Another view is that God is with us all the time no matter what. When we are faithful we are able to sense the presence of God more easily as we are conscious of all the ways God is with us in any given time. When we are bad and unfaithful God is with us even though we may be distracted and unable or unwilling to focus on God’s presence. The presence of God is a choice made by God to be with us in all times and places. The presence of God is unconditional.

Either choice we make we will find ways to justify our decision. When things go badly for us we will either believe that God has caused this because of our sinfulness or we will believe that God is with us in this particular calamity offering us the gift of presence in this terrible circumstance. When things go well for us we will either believe that God is with us because we are good and have done something to deserve the presence of God or we will believe that God is with us in this particular bit of good fortune offering us the gift of presence in this excellent circumstance.

I believe that the presence of God is not affected by my behavior. God is present with me, with us, in all times and places, helping us, redeeming us, comforting us and loving us with a steadfast and unconditional love.

March 31, 2014