Psalm Meditation 1068 Second Sunday of Advent December 6, 2020 Psalm 115 1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and our faithfulness. 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats. 8 Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13 he will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. 14 May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children. 15 May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 16 The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Praise the Lord! (NRSV) There will always be those who believe differently from us. It is likely that each of us believes a slight variation of what those around us believe. It is the variety that makes for interesting discussion, raging arguments, and a variety of schools of thought within many religious groups. We are willing to give each other some leeway in beliefs as long as we agree on some fundamentals of the faith. Once we pass the threshold of tolerance we feel the need to part ways since ‘those’ people are so wrong that we can no longer stand to be in the same room with them. Once that split is made, ‘those’ people are no longer seen as different, they are seen as wrong. Since they are wrong they can be lumped together into large groups of evil, sinful people whose errors in faith, belief, and practice will doom them to an eternity of suffering, death, or total annihilation. The psalmist says it this way, “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence.” Since people are rarely hated or bullied into faithfulness, we would do well to practice our faith in such a way that we model a life of faith and trust in God. Salvation is not something we can earn for ourselves, or that we can give to others. Salvation is a gift that God gives. Perhaps our lives of faith will serve as an example for others. People are drawn more quickly to an example of blessing from God than from constant judgment from folks who claim to do so in the name of God. “May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” November 30, 2020 LCM