Psalm Meditation 831
Trinity Sunday
May 22, 2016

Psalm 126
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
(NRSV)

Every now and then it appears that we have been beaten down by the forces arrayed against us and the temptation is to give up, curl into the fetal position and wait to be overrun by those opposing forces. We know that we have no strength left with which to do battle, so we might as well admit defeat and walk away while we are still able to walk, hobble, get away. And then this psalm comes along to remind us that courage is not always in doing battle.

Through the entire conflict we have also been sowing seeds of one kind and another. Even in the face of defeat we have sown seeds as if we will be able to reap a harvest. And so we wait. We know that there is no way to rush the sprouting, blossoming and ripening of the crop we have planted. Impatience is nearly as overwhelming as the relentlessness of the opponent. In the midst of the impatience we notice the first small change and we begin to see a glimmer of hope.

The seeds we have planted give us hope. These are not victory gardens they are change gardens. The way it has always been slowly gives way to the way it can be bearing fruit into the future. No one really wins and no one really loses, the world simply changes as those seeds that seemed to be such a futile and pointless effort give rise to something new in our hearts and lives and in the hearts and lives of those around us, including those with whom we have been opposed. One crop will lead to another and the greatness of God will be revealed.

May 16, 2016
LCM