Psalm Meditation 1188 ¶Fifth Sunday in Lent ¶March 26, 2023 ¶Psalm 54 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+54&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶It would be easier to tell the good people from the bad if we were purely one or the other, and even if we could agree on what is good and what is bad for everyone. The difficulty is that something that is bad as far as I am concerned is perfectly acceptable for some that I know and love. And the opposite is also true, something I think is acceptable is a bad thing for people who love me. There are things we would not do to each other that are okay to do to people we see as ‘other.’ ¶The psalmist is being picked on for being an outsider to those in a particular group. Because there is no connection between them it is acceptable behavior to insult and threaten the life of the psalmist. Those of us reading this psalm are on the side of the author, and join the call for God to destroy these ‘insolent’ for their words and behavior directed toward the psalmist. We are also aware that being in the same situation as our psalmist we too would be threatened by the words and actions of ‘those’ people. ¶Though the psalm is about being picked on we can learn that it is not good to pick on others when we are in the position of power and influence. We can go through the motions of offering God the best we have to offer and giving thanks for all the ways God delivers us from the evils around us. If we turn around and participate in those same evils we lump ourselves in with the folks we are grateful that God is going to destroy. ¶March 20, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1187 ¶Fourth Sunday in Lent ¶March 19, 2023 ¶Psalm 47 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+47&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶We like to think of God as a powerful warlord who destroys adversaries with a blast of weaponry that wipes them out entirely. We want to know that when God finishes with the people who oppose us there will be no trace left of them and we can take over the spaces previously occupied by ‘those people,’ who had always been the bad guys to our good guys. We relish the idea of lording it over them as they were happy to do to us before God stepped in and changed the course of history to run in our favor. ¶Our experience is the opposite. God is more likely to achieve victory over adversaries by winning them over as friends. Rather than allowing us to dance on the graves of the bad guys, God reminds us that we too are guilty of some of the same sins we see in our foes. God would much rather we find the positives in each other than harp on the bad and troubling things ‘those people’ are always doing to us and our people. ¶There will always be people like the psalmist, who see God as one who rules with an iron fist and follows strict and stringent rules. Folks who have the goal in life to be in charge of a large group of people will tell us that the way of God is to take charge over people. Those whose goal is to serve others in ways that bring them to God are more likely to see God as the champion of the poor and downtrodden. These folks will lead with humility rather than by force. ¶March 13, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1186 ¶Third Sunday in Lent ¶March 12, 2023 ¶Psalm 40 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+40&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are people who make a lifelong impression on us because they were there for us at a critical time in our lives. It may be someone we know, an acquaintance, or a total stranger who reaches out with what we need at the time. We look for ways to pay them back only to realize it is a debt that can never be repaid. The closest we can come to repaying the debt is to pass on acts of kindness to others in similar situations. We may find ourselves more willing to offer a listening ear, a helping hand, or a financial help to the best of our ability. ¶The psalmist has a need that God is willing and able to meet. God offers a helping hand which leads to a change in attitude. As a part of the change of attitude and its expression a number of people find their lives changed for the better. There is something uplifting about seeing a friend released from a burden of any kind. As the psalmist tells the story of God’s redeeming work others open themselves to the changes God works in their lives as well. In many cases it is not that God suddenly acts it is that folks are open to seeing that it is God who has been acting in their lives for quite some time. ¶God rarely works in flashes of light and puffs of smoke as if by magic. The ways of God are subtle as God uses us to meet the needs of those around us. It may have been an actual person who pulled us out of the desolate pit, however, it is God at work through that person who gave us a new sense of hope and a new lease on life. God’s touch of steadfast love on a person’s heart can set off an avalanche of random acts of kindness, consideration, and compassion. ¶March 6, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1185 ¶Second Sunday in Lent ¶March 5, 2023 ¶Psalm 69 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+69&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶It only takes a small group of people who hate you to make you feel as if it is everyone. Many of us will experience and remember negatives much more deeply than we do positives. If it gets intense and prolonged we even begin to believe all the negative hype and gossip that floods our psyches. This is probably why bullied teens, especially, can be pushed to suicidal thoughts if not actions. Without a solid support system, intense bullying becomes dangerous to the point of being deadly. ¶Once one person succumbs to the onslaught of bullying, it emboldens the bullies to focus on another of a similar group. If someone can be separated from their support system by luring them into the bully group they become susceptible to the same abuse as the previous victim. The psalmist is feeling the strain of being pulled from a group of God seekers to the vulnerable position of having no support from the seekers or the bullies. The psalmist does not want any of the seekers group to be shamed into leaving the group for the sake of the false friendship and support of the bully group. ¶When the people of God can continually offer our support to those who are vulnerable, we may be able to save them from the abusive bullying that is becoming prevalent in so many areas of the country, and perhaps the world. As we are willing and able to offer the steadfast love of God to all those around us we may be able to keep people safe by loving both bullies and victims. Surviving victims of bullying may want their bullies to be destroyed by violent means. God offers what is always offered, to destroy our enemies by making them allies in some form. “For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own who are in bonds.” ¶February 27, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1184 ¶First Sunday in Lent ¶February 26, 2023 ¶Psalm 62 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+62&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶One of the most difficult things to do is to wait for God, especially to wait in silence. Our inclination is to jump in wanting to fix things ourselves. We are not very patient when it comes to our own pain and suffering. We want it all to go away immediately, if not sooner. So we rant and rave and maybe even yell at God to keep the promise to protect us from all harm and pain of any kind. We do not want to be shaken from our confident security for even a moment. ‘It must be a test because I have done nothing to deserve this kind of suffering.’ ¶And yet, we do suffer. We suffer losses, failures, headaches, heartaches, as well as the physical pains that are a part of any kind of active life. What we do with our suffering tells more about us than the sufferings we endure. Some people are ground down and eroded by their suffering; every incident takes a toll on them that presses them more deeply into their pain. Others are able to lean into the presence of God in a way that keeps them from collapsing into the pit of despair. Yes, it is painful and yet there seems to be a light at the end of every tunnel. ¶It is the awareness of the abiding, steadfast love of God that offers the glow of hope in the lives of these people. They are rattled, and they are supported by God and the people of God so that they do not collapse into hopelessness. It isn’t the amount of ‘stuff’ they have, or what they lack that helps them stand firm, it is the beloved community that holds them up in even the deepest trial or tragedy. ¶February 20, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1183 ¶Transfiguration Sunday ¶February 19, 2023 ¶Psalm 55 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+55&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶There are a lot of situations in which we would like to run and hide, run as far as we can and hide as deeply in some safe place as we can. It is not a permanent solution, however it can give us the chance to collect ourselves, get some distance and perspective, and search for ways to meet this obstacle in some helpful, hopeful way. The choice to escape is a compelling one, and a helpful one, as long as it is not the final choice. ¶Eventually we have to face the fear, and the cause of it, especially if that cause is a friend/former friend. The psalmist begins that confrontation with the former friends and then hopes to lurk in the background shadows as God does the real dirty work of consigning everyone to Sheol. They have turned so maliciously and unexpectedly on our psalmist that giving them over to God seems the best way to deal with the situation at hand. ¶The good thing is that God is not as mean spirited as we can be. God will treat our enemies with the same love given to us. It isn’t right or fair to our minds, however God is the one who wants to lead us in the paths of righteousness. When we call for fire and brimstone, God shows light and love to our enemies. When we ask for mercy, God reminds us that we are not without guilt, and then shows us mercy. In every situation God will sustain us and love us beyond measure. ¶February 13, 2023 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1182 ¶Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany ¶February 12, 2023 ¶Psalm 48 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+48&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶Verse 9 jumps out for me today. God’s love has been a theme in my reading and thinking recently, so “We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.” captures my psyche today. A one word definition of steadfast is ‘unwavering.’ Our puritanical roots would have us believe, in the words of a Jonathan Edwards sermon, ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,’ “God is hanging you like a spider over the pits of Hell…” It is so deeply ingrained in us that we have trouble believing anything other than that God is angrily watching and waiting for us to sin so that we can be punished. ¶What if God actually loves us gently and unwaveringly, more intent on teaching, leading, and loving us rather than punishing us? The God of steadfast love wants to cradle and comfort us in times of our biggest and most shame-filled errors and realizations. God wants us to know that we are neither the first nor the last to make this mistake, or to be this kind of person, and that we are loved for who we are rather than in spite of who we are. What difference would it make in the way we treat ourselves, and others, to know that we are loved by God no matter what. ¶Ponder how our lives would be radically different if we knew deep down that the love of God is a gift rather than something we earn by our thoughts, words, and deeds. And what if God did not intend for each of us to fit into the same mold, rather that we are made to be parts of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together to make a picture of our little piece of creation. “...tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever.” ¶February 6, 2023 ¶LCM