Psalm Meditation 724
Third Sunday of Easter
May 4, 2014

Psalm 8
1 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
(NRSV)

There are those who believe that since God has given us dominion over the earth and all its inhabitants, we are free to have our way with the earth in any way we choose. Imagine how long any sovereign would last ruling with that attitude about the people of the realm. Folks would rise up in rebellion, find a way to escape from the clutches of this despot or be killed off in short order. In some cultures which have rulers for life, the understanding is that the ruler has complete control of all the assets of the group and that the needs of the group are to be met out of those resources. The problems arise when the ruler believes the first part and forgets the second.

God has given us dominion over the earth. The question is, what kind of dominion are we to exercise? Are we to be rapacious despots who take what we want out of a misguided sense of privilege or are we to see ourselves as called to serve the greater good of meeting the needs of all those under our care? The example we have from God is one who serves to meet the needs of those of us under the divine banner.

There are folks who believe we have dominion over the earth and we have the right to take all that it offers with no thought of consequences. They think it is likely that the earth will end before we ever need to pay the price for our actions. There are other folks who believe we have no real rights on the earth and we do well to be as invisible as possible. Do not eat or drink or use any resource beyond the barest of minimums. A middle way is probably the way God calls us to follow. Take what we need, without being selfish, put back what we can without depriving ourselves. See ourselves as living with the earth and all its inhabitants and resources so that we can live long in the land that God has given to us.

April 28, 2014