Psalm Meditation 1261 ¶Proper 15 ¶August 18, 2024 ¶Psalm 133 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+133&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶A family squabble can ruin a get together very quickly. Even the folks who are not directly involved find themselves walking on eggshells in order to keep from giving either party the impression that they have chosen a side. Whether it is siblings at each others’ throats, parent and child, parent and parent, or a broader family problem, we all have to take care not to upset the tenuous balance needed to keep the gathering from going off the rails in a way that ruins relationships for another span of time. ¶The psalmist tells us that it is a good thing for us to be able to get together in love with one another. We may not agree on everything, and we can talk to and be with each other while keeping our differences from driving wedges between us, and driving us into armed camps over one issue or another. Being able to be together is akin to getting out of the shower after being dirty, and sweaty from a day of hard work or play. The refreshment of being clean and fresh matches the feeling of a harmonious family gathering. ¶We aren’t always going to get along with the people with whom genetics has blessed us. In some families those rifts are too deep and wide to ever be repaired and we need to become a part of a different group who will be like family for us. Other families have the love, care and concern for each other to work through the issues and concerns that threaten to divide us as a family unit. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” ¶August 12, 2024 ¶LCM