Psalm Meditation 948
Proper 15
August 19, 2018

Psalm 90
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn us back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.
10 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
13 Turn, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands!
(NRSV)

As children we don’t understand the reasoning behind parental anger. There are times we are sure that anger is totally unreasonable and unjustified. “I was just …, how could anyone be upset with me for doing that? “ We might believe that our parents keep track of each slipup, mistake, etc. so that when we have gotten enough points against us we get punished for something that doesn’t even matter. In some cases we believe that we are being punished for having too much fun. Those old fuddy-duddy parents don’t remember what it was like to be our age and how much fun it was to do whatever we got punished for doing.

When we get to be adults, and perhaps parents ourselves, we see our past behavior in a different light. Some of the things that appeared to be pure fun have consequences that we never considered at the time. Some of the activities that seemed harmless are fraught with danger lurking just beneath the surface. One wrong move would have been enough to cause terrible and lasting damage to ourselves or one of our companions in a particular adventure. We realize that our parents were able to see things that we could not. We realize that what came out as anger was fear for our safety. We realize that what felt like punishment was discipline, teaching us with limited consequences that our actions matter. And it was done out of love for us.

We see God as angry with us when the consequences of our actions come crashing down on us. We can’t imagine why God is so mean and vindictive about so many small things. Several years ago I heard, ‘we are not so much punished for our sins as we are punished by our sins.’ God does not stand over us waiting for an excuse to zap us, or willy-nilly visit us with punishments, trials, and calamities. Sadly, we can be caught by the sins of others as we pay the price for their deeds. God is not out to get us. God loves us and wants what the psalmist wants, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands!

August 13, 2018
LCM