Psalm Meditation 731
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 22, 2014

Psalm 92
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this:
7 though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever,
8 but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For your enemies, O LORD, for your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.
10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
(NRSV)

It is good to give thanks to God and to give thanks to the folks who surround us. It seems the more we give thanks the more we see things for which to be thankful. That is, we find what we expect to find in so many parts of our lives. As we expect people to do things deserving thanks, and offer our thanks to them, we begin to see more people do things for which we can give thanks. As we look around with thanks on our hearts and minds, we find all sorts of things for which we give thanks. We can give thanks to God for the new day, for the promise of abiding presence in each and every day. We can give thanks to the folks around us for the big and little things they do for us and for others.

There are folks who expect to see evil and treachery all around them, and there it is. There are folks who expect to see nothing noteworthy in anyone or anything as they go through another boring day and they are not disappointed in their search for disappointment. There are folks who look for faults and flaws in all the people and things around them and they find fault everywhere. There are folks who expect a nice mix of good and bad through the course of a day and they find that as well. These folks do not live in separate places from each other, these folks live with differing expectations. What we expect to see is what we end up seeing. It is the filters through which we view the world that allow us to experience the world as we plan to see it.

The psalmist expects to see reasons for which to give thanks to God. The great works of God and the destruction of enemies are the particular foci here. Whether those works and that destruction are past, present, future or all three together in an ongoing process the psalmist gives thanks to God for the experience of life surrounded by these good things, and probably more. Since it is possible to grow more bitter and cynical as we go through life, it is also possible to grow more thankful too. Thankfulness takes effort. From the lives of those who live in thankfulness, it appears to be worth the effort. In this case it may be easiest to start big and work our way down to the specifics. It is good to give thanks to God.

June 17, 2014