Psalm Meditation 1122 ¶Fourth Sunday of Advent ¶December 19, 2021 ¶Psalm 124 1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side —let Israel now say— 2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, 3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; 4 then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; 5 then over us would have gone the raging waters. 6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. 7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (NRSV) ¶While this is battle imagery we don’t have to have experience in war to feel the relief of the psalmist at this escape from destruction. Some folks feel overwhelmed holidays. Some folks are overwhelmed by illness or disease, which can be compounded if there is any kind of stigma attached to the ailment. Still others feel overwhelmed by lack of social status compounded by poverty, injustice, and other oppressive systemic issues. The sense of being swallowed up, swept away, and overcome by raging flood waters is very real. ¶In these situations, it is possible to rise above the flood without a change in circumstance. We can do all the things that are a part of holiday preparation and celebration without allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed by stress. We can talk freely about the illness in ways that offer others ways to support and understand what is going on in us. We can recognize that there are a lot of ways to calculate our worth that do not depend on our social standing. We can join with others in efforts to change systems in ways that benefit all. Here I must confess that these ideas come from a position of privilege, and may not work as well as I would like to believe. ¶I do join the psalmist in believing that looking to God offers us a more hopeful outlook than we have in ignoring the presence of God in our lives. God may protect us from harm, and God may sit with us as we suffer. Either way, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” ¶December 13, 2021 ¶LCM