Psalm Meditation 796
Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 20, 2015

Psalm 20
1 The LORD answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call.
(NRSV)

This psalm is a pep rally for the king as he leads the army out to battle. The psalmist is aware that, while the king may lead the army, God has a hand in the victory. As the king has been faithful in the practice of his faith, has a good sense of the direction God is leading, the king and the nation will achieve a resounding victory against this enemy. Once this victory has been achieved, the people can rejoice over the victory that God has given to the king.

While most nations are engaged in multiple wars and battles on multiple fronts making it impossible for one person to lead the military into any particular fray, we do have something in common with the psalmist. We continue to have folks who put their trust in guns, bombs and the wide variety of military might available to us and we have folks who look to God for the lasting resolution to any conflict.

It is not in the decisive victories brought by strength of arms that solve the world’s problems. History teaches that the most belligerent and violent nations and movements see themselves as protecting themselves from the aggressions of those around them. We find and make ways to convince ourselves that ‘those people’ are out to get us and we lash out to protect ourselves. When we can put our trust in God instead of in our caches of mighty weapons we will be able to see a way forward into a world of relationships with people of God, even people who see and experience God differently than ourselves.

September 21, 2015
LCM