Psalm Meditation 813
Second Sunday After Epiphany
January 17, 2016

Psalm 129
1 “Often have they attacked me from my youth”  —let Israel now say—
2 “often have they attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.”
4 The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward.
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up,
7 with which reapers do not fill their hands or binders of sheaves their arms,
8 while those who pass by do not say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
(NRSV)

It is a normal and terrible thing to have enemies. They may be bullies who choose us to make themselves feel better about themselves or folks who have a genuine disagreement with us and no thought of how to resolve that agreement outside of violence. This psalm deals with an enemy on a national scale. The choices include letting the violence continue against us with no action or our part or to rise up and claim power for ourselves against this enemy. The psalmist calls on God to act as national protector by beating down the opposition.

In our anger and disgust we ask our protector to beat down our enemies to the point that they are ignored by any and all who meet them in the future. Let them become withered and worthless in the eyes of everyone who has dealings with them. Even when that is the fate we want for our enemies it doesn’t usually happen. It may happen in a cathartic moment in movies and television, though in real life resolution happens more slowly and methodically.

Whether or not our foes are vanquished quickly, slowly or not at all God continues to be with us. The comfort and presence of God offers us the hope of knowing that we are not alone. Having a companion on the journey is better than making the journey alone. The presence of God makes the worst of situations bearable and the best better as we travel together.

January 11, 2016
LCM