Psalm Meditation 771
Palm/Passion Sunday
March 29, 2015

Psalm 136
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 O give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 who spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;
10 who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever;
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever;
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;
17 who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed famous kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to his servant Israel, for his steadfast love endures forever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever.
26 O give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.
(NRSV)

God created the universe and led the people out of exile because we deserved it, because we paid our own way out, because we were so faithful we earned God’s help. If you read the first half of each verse, it might be possible to see things this way. When no reason is given for something there is a part of us that wants to decide it is due to our own agency in the matter. Yes, we are willing to say that God did all this for us, and we are just as willing to declare that it is because we deserve it.

When we read the second half of the verse, God’s reasoning becomes more clear. It is not out of our deserving, it is out of God’s steadfast love for us. We tend to become desensitized to things we experience often. As we moved into a new town, I asked a lifelong resident how often the trains came through. He said he didn’t even notice anymore. Within a few months I too no longer noticed. It is possible to inoculate ourselves against what we regularly experience. “For his steadfast love endures forever” is as easy to skip over as it is to read and comprehend.

On the other hand, a psychology professor told us that we believe anything we have heard ten times or more. We have the choice; do we tune out the response that God loves us forever or do we hear it, claim it and let it change our lives? As tempting as it may be to skip over the second part of each of these verses, once we realize it is repetitive, it will serve us well to read that part aloud. It can’t hurt to know, “his steadfast love endures forever.”

March 23, 2015
LCM