Psalm Meditation 1125 ¶First Sunday After the Epiphany ¶January 10, 2022 ¶Psalm 74 1 O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell. 3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary. 4 Your foes have roared within your holy place; they set up their emblems there. 5 At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes 6 And then, with hatchets and hammers, they smashed all its carved work. 7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the dwelling place of your name, bringing it to the ground. 8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. 9 We do not see our emblems; there is no longer any prophet, and there is no one among us who knows how long. 10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand; why do you keep your hand in your bosom? 12 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the earth. 13 You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. 15 You cut openings for springs and torrents; you dried up ever-flowing streams. 16 Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the sun. 17 You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter. 18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles your name. 19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever. 20 Have regard for you covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence. 21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. 22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause; remember how the impious scoff at you all day long. 23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually. (NRSV) ¶It is a weapon of war to destroy all of the religious symbols of a conquered land. It is a way to demoralize the people, signifying that the victors have not only overcome the people, they have also destroyed all hope of divine intervention. If we are of the mind that the symbols and buildings are conduits of the divine to the earth, the plan is effective. We are cut off from any contact with those who can intervene for us if only we are able to let them know of our need. ¶The psalmist is devastated that buildings and symbols have been damaged and destroyed. The psalmist is, at the same time, aware that YHWH is present beyond buildings and symbols, and has been active in the lives of people before a place of worship was built, and before people were aware of the presence of God. The psalmist reminds us of all the ways YHWH has shown power and presence in a variety of ways and places. Because of that powerful presence the psalmist calls on God to remember this chosen people in their hour of need. ¶When we find ourselves bent and broken by the battles that rage within us and outside of us, we do well to remember that God is with us. We do not need buildings and symbols to assure us that we are not alone. We have a relationship with God that is deeper than any building or symbol can reach. ¶January 3, 2022 ¶LCM