Psalm Meditation 827
Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2016

Psalm 76
1 In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
(NRSV)

The leader of the workshop asked for two volunteers; one who loved rollercoasters and one who hated them. He sat them each in a chair, held their shoulders while he pulled, pushed and twisted each one through an imaginary ride. Afterward he asked each of them to describe the physical reactions they experienced. The one who loved rollercoasters had elevated heartbeat, rapid breathing and sweaty palms. When asked to put a name to the reactions, excitement was the word. The one who hated rollercoasters reported the same reactions. The word in this case was fear. The point of the exercise was to let us know that fear and excitement produce the same physical response. Sometimes dealing with emotion is a matter giving it the positive rather than the negative label.

As we experience the awesomeness of God we will name it fear when we see God as an enemy, adversary or oppositional force. When we see God as one who loves us and stands with us we will name the awesomeness of God as excitement. Either way of experiencing the awesome presence of God may cause our knees to buckle and leave us on the ground unable to rise. In fear we will feel devastated and defeated by our incapacity. In excitement we will lay trembling in anticipation of the good things that are happening around us and within us.

There are those who believe that fear is always the correct response to being in the presence of God. The God of judgment will treat us harshly because we are sinners who deserve to be expelled from the presence of God as contamination of the purity of all that is of God. There are those who believe that the correct response is always excitement as we enter God’s presence. Since we are beloved children of God we have nothing to fear as we are scooped up into the loving arms of God. The reality is that we do well to stand in God’s presence trembling with fear and excitement mixed together. We will find ourselves caught between wanting to run away and wanting to run into the arms of God because we are sinners who are deeply and unconditionally loved.

April 18, 2016
LCM