Psalm Meditation 1133 ¶First Sunday in Lent ¶March 6, 2022 ¶Psalm 3 1 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying to me, “There is no help for you in God.” Selah 3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. 4 I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. 6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! Selah (NRSV) ¶I had every intention of writing about the internal foes we face on a regular basis; and then Russia invaded Ukraine. I see a people facing a formidable foe with faith, courage, and a sense of community that we don’t often see in modern war. Too often people find themselves defeated before the first shots are fired. The slow, steady build up of soldiers, armaments, and vehicles was likely meant to intimidate and discourage the Ukrainian people. It may have done the opposite, giving them time to rally their courage, resources, and resistance to any and all attacks. ¶The people of Ukraine are sustained by faith, family, and the broader solidarity that rises as a nation faces a foe with a deep sense of connection to the land, to freedom, and to each other. This is the sensibility that the psalmist lifts up with an assurance that God is with those who strive together for freedom from oppression at the hands of any who threaten neighbors, friends and family. The psalmist knows that, in some form, God is at work against those with wicked intentions. ¶Pray for those who stand against foes whose greed and selfishness would run roughshod over those who are charting their own course to the future, freedom, and self-determination. “Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! Selah” ¶March 1, 2022 ¶LCM