Psalm Meditation 540
Twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 24, 2010
Psalm 92
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this:
7 though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever,
8 but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For your enemies, O LORD, for your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.
10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
(NRSV)
I know people who have made the choice to remain faithful and those who have chosen to let faith and other things go as they aged. It becomes obvious when someone says that they have already done a particular act of service and that it is time for the younger ones to step up. Yes, in some cases it does take a younger stronger person to do some particular task; those are not the ones I am troubled to hear. It is in the projects in which there are multiple levels of activity needed and they don’t want to do any of them. They seem to be no longer invested in any part of the project.
At the other end are the folks who put people half their age to shame with the variety and intensity of activity around congregation and home. These folks have made the choice to be actively engaged in life for as long as they are even remotely able. Their faithfulness of spirit is evident in their investment in the people around them. They thrive on the activity as well as the fellowship that goes into many a congregational project. Their lives are a testimony to their sense of gratitude to God for the gift of life and all it offers.
The task is not so much to decide what another person’s motives might be as it is to invest ourselves as thankfully and faithfully as possible into the work of God in the congregation and the rest of the world. The reward comes as much from having invested a bit of oneself as from any success of the project itself. It is good to give thanks to God and to sing God’s praises. It is good to live out our thanks and praise in strong, deep relationships that lead us and others deeper into the steadfast love of God.
© October 18, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Psalm Meditation 539
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Tim
October 17, 2010
Psalm 62
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 3 How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. (Selah)
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. (Selah)
9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
(NRSV)
When we come right down to it, what do we really have in our lives besides relationships? We start with a relationship with ourselves. For some it is a good relationship as we think of ourselves pretty much as we are. For others we have a warped relationship with ourselves; giving ourselves too much or too little credit for who we are and we can do in the world. We have relationships with other people and with the things around us. We have a relationship with God in some form. The psalmist reminds us that we do well to work on our relationship with God because that is the one that will outlast all the others.
If people turn on us we can continue to count on God to be present with us. If we get caught up in the pursuit of stuff we will eventually lose it all and God will be there with us in our poverty. When it seem that the world is not fair God is there as we pick ourselves up and go on with what we have. Whatever happens in our lives God is the one who is right there with us. We can relish that relationship, we can ignore it or we can actively stand against God; and in each case God is with us.
God draws us into relationships with folks we would not have chosen if we ran our lives the way we sometimes think we do. We get thrown in with family and co-workers and congregation members with whom we have little in common and we wonder what we are doing with these people. And then somehow we discover that we have a bond with someone or maybe a few someones that makes all the rest of the group a cherished part of our lives. Our lives rest in God and that is good.
© October 11, 2010
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Tim
October 17, 2010
Psalm 62
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 3 How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. (Selah)
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. (Selah)
9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
(NRSV)
When we come right down to it, what do we really have in our lives besides relationships? We start with a relationship with ourselves. For some it is a good relationship as we think of ourselves pretty much as we are. For others we have a warped relationship with ourselves; giving ourselves too much or too little credit for who we are and we can do in the world. We have relationships with other people and with the things around us. We have a relationship with God in some form. The psalmist reminds us that we do well to work on our relationship with God because that is the one that will outlast all the others.
If people turn on us we can continue to count on God to be present with us. If we get caught up in the pursuit of stuff we will eventually lose it all and God will be there with us in our poverty. When it seem that the world is not fair God is there as we pick ourselves up and go on with what we have. Whatever happens in our lives God is the one who is right there with us. We can relish that relationship, we can ignore it or we can actively stand against God; and in each case God is with us.
God draws us into relationships with folks we would not have chosen if we ran our lives the way we sometimes think we do. We get thrown in with family and co-workers and congregation members with whom we have little in common and we wonder what we are doing with these people. And then somehow we discover that we have a bond with someone or maybe a few someones that makes all the rest of the group a cherished part of our lives. Our lives rest in God and that is good.
© October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Psalm Meditation 538
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 10, 2010
Psalm 32
1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
(NRSV)
I have been told, and have found it to be true that all shame is based in secrets. When we tell our secrets we have nothing to be ashamed of. The psalmist seems to have discovered this as well. As long as nothing was said the psalmist wasted away from the weight of the secret being kept and the fear of being discovered. Once the sin is acknowledged and confessed the burden is lifted and a new and deeper sense of peace is discovered.
Confession also brings support. The support can come from some surprising people and places. Through confession of faults, failings and foibles we discover that we are not the only ones who have ever had to deal with this particular situation. In some cases we discover that people we look up to and respect have dealt with similar situations. There will still be consequences to face in each and every situation; they do not magically disappear due to our confession.
When we no longer have a barrier between us and God we can more readily receive the steadfast love God offers to us. Without having to worry about protecting ourselves and our secrets from God we become more open to the instruction God offers in daily living. We no longer feel confined by our secrets and are free to deepen our relationship with God and with those around us.
© October 4, 2010
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 10, 2010
Psalm 32
1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
(NRSV)
I have been told, and have found it to be true that all shame is based in secrets. When we tell our secrets we have nothing to be ashamed of. The psalmist seems to have discovered this as well. As long as nothing was said the psalmist wasted away from the weight of the secret being kept and the fear of being discovered. Once the sin is acknowledged and confessed the burden is lifted and a new and deeper sense of peace is discovered.
Confession also brings support. The support can come from some surprising people and places. Through confession of faults, failings and foibles we discover that we are not the only ones who have ever had to deal with this particular situation. In some cases we discover that people we look up to and respect have dealt with similar situations. There will still be consequences to face in each and every situation; they do not magically disappear due to our confession.
When we no longer have a barrier between us and God we can more readily receive the steadfast love God offers to us. Without having to worry about protecting ourselves and our secrets from God we become more open to the instruction God offers in daily living. We no longer feel confined by our secrets and are free to deepen our relationship with God and with those around us.
© October 4, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Psalm Meditation 537
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 3, 2010
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling
12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.
(NRSV)
There is some war time bravado in this psalm. Some of the nations who have been conquered by Israel are plotting a rebellion and the psalmist lets them know that they are not simply rising against a king and nation, they are rising against the God of all creation as well. And Yahweh laughs at these other kings because they have no idea of the scope of power that is behind the king of Israel. God has placed the king on the throne and it would be foolish for anyone to attempt to go against the will of God in this matter.
I see this as war time bravado because I know from personal experience how easy it is to go against the will of God. I hear that voice in my head that some call conscience and that others recognize as the voice of God, and I still do what I had planned to do. So at least in individual instances it is possible to thwart the will of God and we do so on a regular basis.
At the same time, I know that God is infinitely patient and adaptable. When someone acts outside the will of God someone else is living in such a way that God is brought to bear on the situation in a new way. Since going against God’s will is based more in my own selfishness than in an intentional thwarting of God’s will I am able to live out God’s will for me in another set of circumstances. God continues to gather us into a divine embrace even as we wander off to do our own thing.
It is God’s desire and intent to love us and guide us in ways that lead us to a sense of joy and fulfillment in the presence of God and in the company of others who have chosen to follow the way that leads to refuge, peace and justice.
© September 27, 2010
Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 3, 2010
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling
12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.
(NRSV)
There is some war time bravado in this psalm. Some of the nations who have been conquered by Israel are plotting a rebellion and the psalmist lets them know that they are not simply rising against a king and nation, they are rising against the God of all creation as well. And Yahweh laughs at these other kings because they have no idea of the scope of power that is behind the king of Israel. God has placed the king on the throne and it would be foolish for anyone to attempt to go against the will of God in this matter.
I see this as war time bravado because I know from personal experience how easy it is to go against the will of God. I hear that voice in my head that some call conscience and that others recognize as the voice of God, and I still do what I had planned to do. So at least in individual instances it is possible to thwart the will of God and we do so on a regular basis.
At the same time, I know that God is infinitely patient and adaptable. When someone acts outside the will of God someone else is living in such a way that God is brought to bear on the situation in a new way. Since going against God’s will is based more in my own selfishness than in an intentional thwarting of God’s will I am able to live out God’s will for me in another set of circumstances. God continues to gather us into a divine embrace even as we wander off to do our own thing.
It is God’s desire and intent to love us and guide us in ways that lead us to a sense of joy and fulfillment in the presence of God and in the company of others who have chosen to follow the way that leads to refuge, peace and justice.
© September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Psalm Meditation 536
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 26, 2010
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
(NRSV)
In some translations the first verse of this psalm is a question as it is here. In others it is a statement. “I lift up my eyes to the hills from where my help comes / will come.” It is an appropriate difference. There are times we know exactly where we can turn for help and other times we are not so sure. We know there is a source of help outside us somewhere we are simply unclear as to where that might be at this moment.
In both cases, whether it is a question or a statement, the psalmist is sure that the answer is the same. Help comes from Yahweh. God is a constant source of help and is already watching over us before we begin our search for help and comfort. Whether we turn to God immediately or cast about for some unknown source of help it is finally God who gives us the help and hope we need.
God is with us. God is with us in our celebrations as well as in our grief. God is with us as we shout out praises and as we shout angrily about the unfairness of the way things are going currently. God is with us in the easy and hard times between our celebrations and the low moments of our lives. Whether we are asking or stating where our help comes from we have the assurance of the psalmist and the host of folks who have taken this psalm as their own that it is God who gives us help and who keeps our lives.
© September 21, 2010
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 26, 2010
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
(NRSV)
In some translations the first verse of this psalm is a question as it is here. In others it is a statement. “I lift up my eyes to the hills from where my help comes / will come.” It is an appropriate difference. There are times we know exactly where we can turn for help and other times we are not so sure. We know there is a source of help outside us somewhere we are simply unclear as to where that might be at this moment.
In both cases, whether it is a question or a statement, the psalmist is sure that the answer is the same. Help comes from Yahweh. God is a constant source of help and is already watching over us before we begin our search for help and comfort. Whether we turn to God immediately or cast about for some unknown source of help it is finally God who gives us the help and hope we need.
God is with us. God is with us in our celebrations as well as in our grief. God is with us as we shout out praises and as we shout angrily about the unfairness of the way things are going currently. God is with us in the easy and hard times between our celebrations and the low moments of our lives. Whether we are asking or stating where our help comes from we have the assurance of the psalmist and the host of folks who have taken this psalm as their own that it is God who gives us help and who keeps our lives.
© September 21, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Psalm Meditation 535
Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 19, 2010
Psalm 91
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
(NRSV)
My father advised me to be a short range pessimist and a long range optimist. Even things don’t work out the way one would choose at this point it will work out in the long run. That this psalm is looking to the future may indicate that the psalmist is taking the same long view. I can see this psalm as advice to a group of young people who have not seen a lot of adversity and have no idea what to expect of the future. It paints a fairly rosy picture of the future. Rosy does not make it wrong. There are folks whose lives are not touched and marred by constant violence, sickness and dread. There are folks who live what some might call uneventful lives. There are folks for whom life works well.
The psalmist advises that one of the ways to prosper in life is to be faithful to God. It is not a guarantee that all will go well and the nothing bad will happen so much as it is a piece of advise from experience that taking refuge in God works out much better than going along without God. Is taking refuge in God some kind of magic spell that protects folks from evil and death? No. Does taking refuge in God make the evils of the world survivable by putting them in a deeper and wider perspective? Yes.
God makes no promise that we will never see trouble. God promises to be with us. Will terrible things happen to us and to those we love? It is possible. God will be with us in those times to give us the comfort that even the worst calamity will not last forever and that at the end of it we will continue to be in the presence of God.
© September 13, 2010
Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 19, 2010
Psalm 91
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
(NRSV)
My father advised me to be a short range pessimist and a long range optimist. Even things don’t work out the way one would choose at this point it will work out in the long run. That this psalm is looking to the future may indicate that the psalmist is taking the same long view. I can see this psalm as advice to a group of young people who have not seen a lot of adversity and have no idea what to expect of the future. It paints a fairly rosy picture of the future. Rosy does not make it wrong. There are folks whose lives are not touched and marred by constant violence, sickness and dread. There are folks who live what some might call uneventful lives. There are folks for whom life works well.
The psalmist advises that one of the ways to prosper in life is to be faithful to God. It is not a guarantee that all will go well and the nothing bad will happen so much as it is a piece of advise from experience that taking refuge in God works out much better than going along without God. Is taking refuge in God some kind of magic spell that protects folks from evil and death? No. Does taking refuge in God make the evils of the world survivable by putting them in a deeper and wider perspective? Yes.
God makes no promise that we will never see trouble. God promises to be with us. Will terrible things happen to us and to those we love? It is possible. God will be with us in those times to give us the comfort that even the worst calamity will not last forever and that at the end of it we will continue to be in the presence of God.
© September 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Psalm Meditation 534
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 12, 2010
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
God is a great place to turn in times of trouble, a fortress against the onslaught of stresses and strains that accompany problem situations. In normal times we are content to leave God in the background waiting for the next crisis. We know God is there we simply don’t let God’s presence make a difference in the choices and decisions we make on a daily basis. We know that if it doesn’t turn out well we can go running to God and it will suddenly be all better because God is there to fix it for us.
There are folks, and you may be one of them, for whom the relationship with God is a daily source of sustenance. These are the folks who spend time with God, who find sustenance in God’s presence and who allow God to make a difference in the choices they make. They find their lives influenced by God’s presence and are not content expecting God to follow them around to clean up the messes they make of their lives. God is a regular part of every day in their lives.
The folks with an abiding sense of the presence of God in their lives find themselves asking God to bless folks both within and outside their circle of influence. They bless folks they love, folks with whom they are familiar as well as those with whom they disagree on any number of things. They recognize that imperfections are a part of our human condition and that none of us is free from guilt in some degree. The most important part of the day for these folks is the time they spend in the presence of God singing praises and deepening the relationship with God that is so much a part of their lives that it spills into every other relationship of their lives.
© September 7, 2010
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 12, 2010
Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
(NRSV)
God is a great place to turn in times of trouble, a fortress against the onslaught of stresses and strains that accompany problem situations. In normal times we are content to leave God in the background waiting for the next crisis. We know God is there we simply don’t let God’s presence make a difference in the choices and decisions we make on a daily basis. We know that if it doesn’t turn out well we can go running to God and it will suddenly be all better because God is there to fix it for us.
There are folks, and you may be one of them, for whom the relationship with God is a daily source of sustenance. These are the folks who spend time with God, who find sustenance in God’s presence and who allow God to make a difference in the choices they make. They find their lives influenced by God’s presence and are not content expecting God to follow them around to clean up the messes they make of their lives. God is a regular part of every day in their lives.
The folks with an abiding sense of the presence of God in their lives find themselves asking God to bless folks both within and outside their circle of influence. They bless folks they love, folks with whom they are familiar as well as those with whom they disagree on any number of things. They recognize that imperfections are a part of our human condition and that none of us is free from guilt in some degree. The most important part of the day for these folks is the time they spend in the presence of God singing praises and deepening the relationship with God that is so much a part of their lives that it spills into every other relationship of their lives.
© September 7, 2010
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