Psalm Meditation 1358 ¶Proper 8 ¶June 28, 2026 ¶Psalm 72 ¶https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2072&version=NRSVUE ¶This is a good way to pray for a leader. To pray that the leader be attuned to the people, especially the poor and needy. Yes, we want someone who can lead us to victory over our adversaries; however, our first concern is for the people. While our leader cares for those within our borders, we pray a long and prosperous life. In a time and place in which the ruler owns everything and cares for people as a responsible steward of national wealth, we pray that wealth and prosperity flow from the leader all the way to the most needy. ¶Throughout history leaders have been deposed and killed when they forget that they are stewards of the nation’s wealth and reputation. All those who have forgotten their responsibility to the whole nation have suffered the consequences of their forgetfulness. Kings, queens, military dictators, and elected officials have all paid the price for ignoring the plight of all of the people in their care. It has not always been through violence, however, the reckoning does come. ¶We may have difficulty praying for a particular ruler, leader, or official, so this psalm gives us a template for our prayers. We can pray that they rule and lead from a concern for the people first, then for the nation as a whole, and having done those things, for their own legacy and happiness. ¶June 22, 2026 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1357 ¶Proper 7 ¶June 21, 2026 ¶Psalm 75 ¶https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2075&version=NRSVUE ¶When we think of judgment, we often think in terms of punishment and reward, that, however, is not how the judgment of God works. It is more akin to a time of teaching than handing out rewards and punishments. The psalmist has God speaking to the boastful and the wicked to remind them that boasting and blowing your own horn are not how people of God are to behave. They are more a sign of rudeness and disrespect than a way to make ourselves look good. ¶The psalmist reminds us that God gives us all sorts of good things out of love for us, rather than to reward us for exceptional behavior. The psalmist then implies that God’s judgment does include punishment for those who do not listen to sound teaching. The foaming wine is not sparkling, it is poisoned. This seems a contradiction to me. Since God is more likely to teach us than reward us, it follows that God would also teach us rather than punish us. That may not be the way we want the world to work; however God’s ways are not our ways. ¶Because God is so willing to teach us, even when we learn slowly or not at all, we can give thanks to God for all the wondrous deeds from which we benefit. Rather than saying, “Well, praise the Lord anyway” we can say “Thank you God for all of your wondrous deeds throughout your creation. ¶June 17, 2026 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1356 ¶Proper 6 ¶June 14, 2026 ¶Psalm 79 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2079&version=NRSVUE ¶I don’t know what it is to be in an active war zone, however, I do have experience with being under attack. It is very scary not knowing what kind of changes will be foisted onto us, how long they may last, or what kind of damage will be done to our loved ones, possessions, and ourselves. There is a sense of abandonment and loss, alongside the blank looks from those we thought were our friends, as if we have been left out to fend for ourselves, even if we are surrounded by others in the same situation. ¶Our only recourse is to cry out to God for help and comfort. The psalmist first asks if God is also angry with the people, or is they can depend on the help and comfort that we so often depend on God to offer and provide. We ask God to pour out, at least, the same depth of attack we feel on those who have led us to feel this way. If God is angry, the psalmist asks that the people not be harshly judged at this time of need. We need your compassion, salvation, deliverance, and forgiveness to get us through this time of upheaval in our lives. ¶While God is not likely to visit all the punishments onto our adversaries, it is just as likely that God is not the source of our calamity. God is already holding all the help and comfort we want and need, and is offering it to us when we are open and ready to receive it. God stands with us in our fear, holding us in a gentle embrace that we may not even feel until we realize that we are not alone, ever. “Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.” ¶June 7, 2026 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1355 ¶Proper 5 ¶June 7, 2026 ¶Psalm 83 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2083&version=NRSVUE ¶It is difficult to fathom what it is like to have national gods who are bound to the borders of the nation as those expand and contract through various wars and conflicts with neighboring nations. However, that is the situation here. Every attack on the nation is also an attack on YHWH. While the people are called upon to defend the physical borders, God is called on to help the people as well as to preserve the spiritual integrity of the nation. Any international conflict becomes a test of whose deity is more powerful than the other. ¶While we may not know what it is like to have our God vying against another, we do know what it is like to be picked on, even ganged up on in order to make us feel small in comparison to all those around us. We still find ourselves calling on God to watch over us as we are attacked by individuals and groups who believe they can use us as pawns and punching bags in their attempts to feel good about themselves. Whether we see ourselves going against flesh and blood or spiritual forces of some kind, we can call on God to bring those others to their knees. ¶Wanting God to come and beat down our enemies does not mean that it is going to happen. God is loving, forgiving, and generous to each of us and all of us. Waiting for God to smite our enemies, leaving us unscathed rarely happens. God comes to us, to those of us who are faithful, to move us in the direction of love, forgiveness, and generosity. ¶June 15, 2026 ¶LCM