Psalm Meditation 958
Proper 25
October 28, 2018

Psalm 44
1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them.
4 You are my King and my God; you command victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down our assailants.
6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes, and have put to confusion those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 Yet you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You made us turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
16 at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, or been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way,
19 yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with deep darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,
21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Because of you we are being killed all day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever!
24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
(NRSV)

It seems to be a new phenomenon, for us to believe we can save ourselves in the name of God, however it shows up in this psalm. As we look to the past we can see the hand of God in the victories that have brought us to where we are today. If there is the slightest setback or delay in the hand of God coming to our rescue we find ourselves ready to jump in to do what we see needs to be done in order to protect ourselves from harm at the hand of our enemies. We are well aware of what God intends to happen to us. It is God’s intention that we have everything we want and need. If there is any delay in those good things coming our way, it falls to us to secure it for ourselves, and always we act in the name of God.

What if. What if what we desire for ourselves is not what God sees as desirable, holy or acceptable for us. What if we are acting in our own self-interest rather than in the interest and will of God for us? There is a distinctive line between what we want and when we want it, and what God wants for us and when. It is when we are acting on our own that God seems to delay in stepping up to help us achieve these goal and objectives. When we get fixated on something it is hard to see that it may not be anywhere near what is good and holy for us. It is difficult to see that God is not in this. It is difficult to see that we are acting out of fear and selfishness rather than the direction of God.

God is with us in every time and place so it is easy for us to see that presence as support of every selfish, harebrained scheme that comes to mind. God is not interested in money, wealth, and power at the expense of relationships. God would rather we lose out on some of the ‘stuff’ around us if it means we turn to the people around us to achieve some common goal. That God is with us does not mean that we are actively pursuing the will of God. God may be poking and prodding us in a different direction than the one we have chosen. God may be active in setting up the roadblocks we encounter as a way to point us toward a new direction. God is always with us, but that may not mean what we think it means. “Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.”

October 22, 2018
LCM