Psalm Meditation 929
Second Sunday of Easter
April 8, 2018

Psalm 117
1 Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)

Love means so much to so many that at times it comes across as nearly meaningless. We can love a comfortable pair of shoes, a favorite food, a piece of machinery, a pet, and a spouse or friend. When one word is asked to do so much there can be difficulty figuring out which meaning it conveys at which time.

So when we read about the steadfast love of God toward us, we can be tempted to see God’s love as that directed to a pet or a possession. We have difficulty imagining that God can love any of us as intensely as the Hebrew word means. We are too tempted to believe that God’s love is conditioned by a variety of factors, being totally unprepared for the depth, the intensity, the perseverance, and the unwavering quality of the love that comes to each one of us. We can be particularly tempted to see God’s love as conditional when we consider other people, people who aren’t like us.

However, God’s love is unconditional. When it dawns on us that the love of God is ours, no matter what, we join the psalmist in praising God every time we make the time to consider how much God loves each one of us.

April 2, 2018
LCM