Psalm Meditation 730
Trinity Sunday
June 15, 2014

Psalm 9
1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you.
4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.
5 You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O LORD. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
19 Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD; let the nations know that they are only human. Selah
(NRSV)

Politicians speak in a way that will appeal to the crowd they are addressing. It can seem like waffling as they pick the parts of their action plan that will get the most support from the folks whose favor is being curried at any given moment. There are those, in several fields, who say what they imagine or believe the people want to hear in a given circumstance. Politicians have the reputation of keeping quiet about certain information in order to win support from enough folks to get elected so that they can carry out the unspoken parts of their agenda. They are not alone. There are doctors who believe it is unnecessary to let patients know that the odds of recovery are very slim. Instead they accentuate the rare cases in which folks have returned to health. Restaurants have been known to leave out ingredients in their listings in order to appeal to a wider clientele who would not choose an item because of the ingredients. Just a few examples of the sleight of hand in our lives.

One of the areas that seems to get left out of many agendas is the life of those in poverty. Since most of us would rather not think about how close this comes to us, by touching those we love, or by admitting how close we are to the edge ourselves, it is best left unspoken. The psalmist reminds us that one of the groups God will touch as the wicked are destroyed, are those who live in need and poverty. One of the ways that will happen is by force. Someone will come along and demand that those of us with an overabundance will have most of that confiscated for redistribution to those who have little. Since God does not work by force, what are the other options? Perhaps we will recognize that we who live in overabundance can do without a little and share it with those in poverty. Perhaps we will come to an understanding that there is enough for all and we can stop hoarding out of fear, so that others have access to the resources previously hoarded. Perhaps we will work together to teach and learn that the choices we make can alter each of our lives in the community in which we find ourselves. Perhaps we will discover that the success of another does not lead to failure on the part of those who live in abundance.

As we discover that we share a definition of what it means to be wicked, we will decide that it does not lead anywhere but destruction. As we make new choices, we will find that it is better to cooperate than to compete. We will find that the way of God that seems both ideal and unapproachable will be readily achievable together. As we come to fear God, in the sense of reverent awe, we will discover that we need not be afraid of those around us, we will find that we can work together to accomplish more together than we were willing or able separately.

June 9, 2014