Psalm Meditation 1279 ¶Fourth Sunday of Advent ¶December 22, 2024 ¶Psalm 145 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+145&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶We like to think that the way we view God and religion is the right and proper way to do so. Our way is the best, and for some people, the only way to follow God. All the other ways are inferior at best, and wrong headed or even evil at the worst. All of ‘those’ people are sadly mistaken in their beliefs and practices, and it is a shame all of those otherwise good people have consigned themselves to Hell because they don’t believe the right things. We will miss them when we get to Heaven. ¶Then we read a psalm like this. “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” While it is tempting to believe that these words only apply to our kind of people, it is just as possible to read it as a reminder that God is a lot more open and accepting than we are. There is not nearly as much judgment of ‘those’ people as we would like to see. Really, what if God actually loves each one of us, no matter what our beliefs and actions lead us to do and think? ¶The psalmist may or may not be calling us to give thanks to God for looking out for us — each and all of us. Whether that is what the psalmist intends or not, it is a good plan of action to see others through the eyes of God’s steadfast love, mercy, and compassion. It tends to take the wind out of the sails of people who prefer to fight and argue with those with whom they do not see eye to eye if we look at others through eyes of love and concern. God is the host at a much bigger table than most of us are willing to see. ¶December 19 , 2024 ¶LCM