Psalm Meditation 1097 Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time June 27, 2021 Psalm 20 1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah 4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans. 5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. 7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright. 9 Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call (NRSV) In ancient cultures, the well being of folks had a lot to do with the success of the ruler in diplomacy and battle. Even the poorest of the poor could suffer if the land was over run and burned and destroyed by the conquering army. A prayer for victory was an important part of any engagement between two rulers. As the ruler was faithful in religious practice, the belief was that God would return that faithfulness by engineering the outcome of the engagement in our favor. While we may not be as directly affected by every encounter between the rulers of two nations, we continue to be dependent on our rulers to forge the partnerships that will benefit our nation and citizens. Various factions within a nation want different particulars, even as we each and all want what we see as best for us as a whole. I am sure there will always be those who want what is best for themselves alone, however, most of us want what is best for most of us. In every time and place, it is good to lift up the leaders and rulers of the nations of the world to God. At our best, we know that God loves us without concern for where we live or under what system of government we find ourselves. The psalmist gives us the example of praying for our own rulers. We can expand that to include all those who have authority over others so that as human beings we can rise and stand upright together. June 21, 2021 LCM