Psalm Meditation 1267 ¶Proper 21 ¶September 29, 2024 ¶Psalm 138 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+138&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶The psalmist begins with a word of thanks and praise. As a part of that, the psalmist mentions the gods. The psalmist was aware that surrounding cultures had divine beings of their own. While these groups might argue over which group was watched over and protected by the best divinities they did not argue over the need to worship mine over yours. It was as if each area was watched and protected by a particular set of beings within a geographic area. There was no overlap or interference from one region to another. ¶Israel was the first to recognize that their God, YHWH, served as guardian and guide wherever they went. When Abram and the rest of the family sojourned, it was in the presence of God. When the people cried out from exile in Egypt, it was YHWH who heard them and led them back into the land from which they had gone in search of food. In all of their journeys as a people and as individuals, they knew that they travelled in the presence of YHWH. ¶While there will always be people willing to point out all the scary and treacherous parts of the world around us, we can rest assured that we are in the presence of YHWH. As long as we keep ourselves humble in each part of our lives we know that YHWH is keeping a close watch over us. Even if we get a little too full of ourselves, thinking we deserve all sorts of special treatment because of who we are, we can be sure that YHWH has an eye on us even if it is from a place that leans toward humility, steadfast love, and mercy. ¶September 23, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1266 ¶Proper 20 ¶September 22, 2024 ¶Psalm 132 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+132&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶Songs of ascent, like this psalm, were used as people went up to the Temple for worship, especially on special holy days. Worship was an important part of community life, and preparing body, mind, and spirit were important parts of going to worship. Using a psalm like this one while making the journey to the Temple was a part of that preparation. Ascent psalms reminded folks how and why the Temple was built in the first place. It was David’s desire to build a place for God to dwell as a response to all God had done in David’s life. ¶This psalm leaves the impression that it was David who built the Temple, though the rest of Scripture tells us it was Solomon, because, according to God, there was too much blood on David’s hands to be able to oversee the building of a dwelling place for God. Still, it was David’s idea and Solomon was willing and able to see to the project for his father’s sake and for God’s glory. As we go up to the Temple, we give thanks to God for being behind the project, and for both David and Solomon for providing such a great place. ¶A part of me longs for the day, long past, when we treated a church building as a sacred space, where we put on our best clothes as well as our best behavior. The rest of me is grateful that people continue to want to be a part of a worshipping congregation gathered into a space set apart to be wholly, and holy in the presence of God. Maybe, your holy space is a building, or a room, perhaps it is a chair set apart for holiness. For others it is an outdoor space, consecrated by intentional awareness of the presence of God. “Let us go to God’s dwelling place; let us worship at God’s footstool.” ¶September 16, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1265 ¶Proper 19 ¶September 15, 2024 ¶Psalm 125 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+125&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶We like to think that God is like we are when it comes to rules. Those who follow the rules get rewarded and those who don’t get punished. It isn’t even about winning and losing, it is that eventually the bad people get found out and pay the price for the bad stuff they have done and the good people get some kind of good stuff as a thank you and acknowledgment for doing the right thing more often than not. After all, it’s only fair that punishments and rewards match our behaviors, even if it isn’t right away. ¶But what if God is not like we are? What if God treats us as if we are each beloved children. We reap the consequences of our actions for good and ill, while being loved beyond our understanding. So, God won’t lead ‘those’ people into places of fire and isolation any more than God will lead one of us to a place like that. God will discipline (teach) us how to be the people we are called to be and lead us toward a life of loving community together with all on whom God lays a lovin claim. You know, everybody. ¶While it is human to believe that we are good and all of ‘those’ people who are not like us are bad, that doesn’t seem to be the way God works among us. God desires that we be drawn into the ever expanding circle of those who know they are loved by God. That way certainly is not the ‘right’ way by our standards of fairness, and yet God does seem to love us as well as those we don’t like, including those who don’t/can’t/won’t acknowledge God’s claim on their lives for whatever reason. ¶September 9, 2024 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1264 ¶Proper 18 ¶September 8, 2024 ¶Psalm 118 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+118&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶Years ago, I heard someone say that Larry Bird was a better basketball player than Michael Jordan. The reasoning was that Larry Bird had a had a way of making the whole team look and play at their highest level. Yesterday, I read an article about Caitlin Clark, also an exceptional player. When asked about her impressive performance, she responded in a way that reminded the journalists, and the readers, that basketball is a team sport. She talked about ‘we’ and ‘us.’ ¶The psalmist uses singular pronouns, I and me, at the same time thanking God for having a large part in the victory. I can’t do what I do without a boost from God. It is God who gives me the skills that I develop through practice and perseverance. It is God who offers refuge in times of need, gives me courage to face the trials of the day, and helps me become one who uses my gifts in service to those around me whether I am in the role of a leader or a follower. ¶There are those who believe that they have earned and deserve everything they have. They don’t need anything from anyone, and no one else has any right to ask or demand anything from them. At the other end of the spectrum are those who believe that a lot of people contributed to any success they may enjoy, and it a part of being a responsible human being to share thanks, credit, and responsibility with those who helped in a given endeavor. “O give thanks to the LORD, for [God] is good,“ ¶September 2, 2024 ¶LCM