Psalm Meditation 1075 Third Sunday After Epiphany January 24, 2021 Psalm 41 1 Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. 2 The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. 3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities. 4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” 5 My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish. 6 And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. 8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie. 9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. 11 By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. 13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen. (NRSV) I imagine it is exhausting to be singled out by a group of people for abuse and ridicule of every kind; to know that every move is seen, judged, and found wanting. There is no rest because of the need for constant vigilance against prying eyes and ears, waiting for the next move that will set off yet another attack. The only respite is in isolation, or a small group of close, trusted friends. The psalmist reminds us that even the group of friends can turn sour sometimes. An adversary can wheedle their way into the group of friends, or a friend can be won over to the adversarial side given the right promises, however empty they might be. That one pretends to be a friend in order to gather more intimate information that can then be used to inflict deeper damage to the soul of that one singled out for destruction. Once someone gets into the inner circle there is no defense strong enough to protect anyone. The psalmist turns to God as the only one who can offer help, hope, and redemption in these situations. God is the only one who can offer resources that can be used to rebuild a life. We may imagine that the psalmist ask for rescue from God in order to destroy the enemies. In many cases the best recourse for repayment is to succeed despite all the energy folks have put into the abuse and ridicule of those like the psalmist. “By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.” January 18, 2021 LCM