Psalm Meditation 968
Epiphany
January 6, 2019

Psalm 146
1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!
(NRSV)

There are those who never meet a stranger. I have a feeling that most of those folks, like most of us, do not go striding confidently into an area in order to meet people with whom they have nothing in common. We don’t make it a habit to meet people who are nothing like us. Some of us are quick to make assumptions about ‘those people,’ and we are not usually kind in our assessment and assumption of them. Others are willing to reserve judgment until we have more information about them. Either way, we perceive them as ‘other’ and as strangers.

God, much to our chagrin at times, keeps reminding us that strangers are special people. There are multiple stories in Scripture about those who have welcomed strangers into their dwelling places and discovered that the strangers are divine representatives. By welcoming these particular strangers they have opened themselves to a word and task from God. How might our lives be different if Abraham had not welcomed the stranger who announced the birth of Isaac? Would it have happened anyway, or is it necessary to be open to new people in order to be opened to new experiences?

There is a special place in God’s heart for the people on the margins of society. We like to proclaim that wealth and influence are signs of God’s favor, however God has a special fondness for strangers, widows, and orphans. Perhaps the wealth God calls us to is the wonderful variety of people around us. What if our wealth is not calculated by our jobs, bank accounts, and other holdings, but by our generosity of spirit and our willingness to meet new people, and face new challenges?

December 31, 2018
LCM