Psalm Meditation 876
Fifth Sunday in Lent
April 2, 2017

Psalm 66
1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him,
7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,
14 those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.
(NRSV)

There are people who are saints in my estimation who find themselves wondering if there is a place in heaven for them. As their story is told an episode comes to light about a particular dark sin committed in the past that, to them, damages their chances of ever getting into heaven. Like many of us they are both repulsed by this action and drawn into it. One of my older relatives discovered that one of her parents had been married and divorced prior to her birth. To her, that made her an illegitimate child. This was a source of great shame to her. At the same time, she refused to let it go. As the psalmist says she, “cherished iniquity in my heart,”

Because she was unable to let go of this sin that affected her, but for which she was not responsible, she was unable to open herself to the listening ear of God. It isn’t so much that God won’t listen to those of us who cherish our sins, it is that we have piled so much stuff between us and God that it is difficult for God to hear us through the jumble of obstacles we have erected between us and God. As we let go, as we dismantle the wall of obstacles we have built up through years and generations we discover God waiting to receive us with open arms and loving heart.

What if we could stop hiding behind all of the events and excuses that clutter that space between ourselves and God? I believe we would find that God has been patiently waiting for us to make ourselves available to the love God has always directed our way. We will discover, “truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.”

March 27, 2017
LCM