Psalm Meditation 1195 ¶Sixth Sunday of Easter/Mothers Day ¶May 14, 2023 ¶Psalm 67 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+67&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶While it seems like a good idea to have all the peoples of the earth praise God, I wonder if it is. There have been a number of people who have had great ideas which most people have rejected as stupid because those ideas did not allow folks to stay in their comfort zone. A lot of those ideas have gone on to be generally accepted as great ideas and innovations, once given a chance to come to full bloom. For all the peoples of the earth to praise God may mean that no one is threatened by the newness and novelty of the things that God encourages us to do, to say, to think, and be. ¶Perhaps what the psalmist wants if for everyone to believe the same things, that is the things with which the psalmist is already comfortable. We like that God judges people with equity until that equity gets in the way of the punishment we believe should be showered onto the people we don’t like and with whom we seriously disagree. It would be fine if God were to punish those we believe need to be punished, and let us off with a warning, because we really are good people. ¶The adage, ‘Be careful what you wish/pray for, you just might get it.’ certainly applies here. When we discover that God is as just and forgiving with other groups as with us, we may get our feelings hurt. We would like to know that we are called and set apart as a special case, given plenty of slack in matters of morals and behavior, rather than called to be the example of the kind of behavior God wants and expects from each person. If we lived as if God is a God of equity rather than of punishment, perhaps more people would want to follow that God, with singing and joy. ¶May 11, 2023 ¶LCM