Psalm Meditation 567
Second Sunday of Easter
May 1, 2011
Psalm 8
1 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
(NRSV)
There are religious folks who believe we have no need to take care of the earth because the world will end before we have time to find and use all the resources the earth holds. That does not seem to change the commands and exhortations to care for the earth around us that run as a theme through Scripture. There are secular folks who believe we need to get all we can from the earth because if we don’t someone else will do it and get all the benefit from those resources. Both sides appear to be more concerned with domination of the earth rather than dominion over the earth.
The good thing is, there are both religious and secular folks who have made a commitment to care for the earth. The religious folks see themselves as partners with the God of creation who desire to exercise dominion in a way that cooperates with the creative processes set in place from the beginning. The secular folks see themselves as caring for the only planet/place we currently have in a way that honors the resources of the earth as well as our own survival needs.
Through it all God cares for us and for the place where we live and the other parts of creation which with we share our life together. God cares for us and about us and asks us to care for and about the place in which we live as co creators with God. It is about the relationship with God, the people around us as well as the living creatures and the resources that make up the world in which God has placed us. “O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! “
April 25, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Psalm Meditation 566
Easter
April 24, 2011
Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one's youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
(NRSV)
There seems to be no connection between the first two verses and the other three. As one who can make great leaps in a single sentence I am pretty sure that the psalmist knows how these verses go together. It may have made more sense to the original audience for whom or about whom this psalm was written. Since we don’t have the original audience and context we can make our own sense of the psalm.
The connection I see this time is the presence of God in each of these. God builds the house, God guards the city, God gives us work and rest and God gives us family. If God is not present in the family, it makes no difference how many offspring there are of any gender. When God is present, when we pay attention to the presence of God in our families, sons are a source of great joy and pride. While sons were and are the way we continue a family name, daughters are a blessing all their own.
The presence of God in our lives does make a difference. Families who do not acknowledge the presence of God may have more money and material goods than a family of faith. I would rather have a family based on loving relationships without a lot of the trappings of materialism than one based on having and getting stuff without a lot of loving concern for one another. I do appreciate a mixture of stuff and family love. Given the choice between the two I would choose the family.
April 18, 2011
Easter
April 24, 2011
Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one's youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
(NRSV)
There seems to be no connection between the first two verses and the other three. As one who can make great leaps in a single sentence I am pretty sure that the psalmist knows how these verses go together. It may have made more sense to the original audience for whom or about whom this psalm was written. Since we don’t have the original audience and context we can make our own sense of the psalm.
The connection I see this time is the presence of God in each of these. God builds the house, God guards the city, God gives us work and rest and God gives us family. If God is not present in the family, it makes no difference how many offspring there are of any gender. When God is present, when we pay attention to the presence of God in our families, sons are a source of great joy and pride. While sons were and are the way we continue a family name, daughters are a blessing all their own.
The presence of God in our lives does make a difference. Families who do not acknowledge the presence of God may have more money and material goods than a family of faith. I would rather have a family based on loving relationships without a lot of the trappings of materialism than one based on having and getting stuff without a lot of loving concern for one another. I do appreciate a mixture of stuff and family love. Given the choice between the two I would choose the family.
April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Psalm Meditation 565
Palm Sunday
April 17, 2010
Psalm 97
1 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name! (NRSV)
I had the privilege of listening to a death row defense attorney yesterday. One of her points was that folks who have a supportive community outside of prison are the ones least likely to return to prison, if they are incarcerated in the first place. Verse 10 takes on a new and deeper meaning as a result. That God guards the lives of the faithful and rescues them from the wicked does not mean that God will pluck us out of the clutches of evil, wicked people so much as it means that God, through the community of faith, will keep us from getting sucked into the downward spiral of returning evil for evil.
In 30 plus years of ministry I have come to answer the question of who did some kind of minor, easily reparable damage with the one word phrase, thosedamnkids. It seems that we have a tendency to blame the youth and children pretty quickly for any damage in and around church buildings in particular and public spaces like shops and malls in general. We have to lump the whole group into the category of thosedamnkids because we do not know their names and maybe not even their faces. We might do much better by ourselves to get to know these folks as individuals with names, faces and histories so that we are a part of a supportive community together.
The psalmist tells us that we are a particularly protected set of people because of our relationship with God and the people of God. The defense attorney tells us that as we include youth and children in the set of God’s people we benefit the youth and children, ourselves and society at large. To include them means more than simply encouraging them to become members of the church, it means getting to know them as individuals, being there with them and for them as they go through the various trials adolescence, letting them get to know us as people, peers and companions on the journey, praying with them and for them.
April 11, 2011
Palm Sunday
April 17, 2010
Psalm 97
1 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name! (NRSV)
I had the privilege of listening to a death row defense attorney yesterday. One of her points was that folks who have a supportive community outside of prison are the ones least likely to return to prison, if they are incarcerated in the first place. Verse 10 takes on a new and deeper meaning as a result. That God guards the lives of the faithful and rescues them from the wicked does not mean that God will pluck us out of the clutches of evil, wicked people so much as it means that God, through the community of faith, will keep us from getting sucked into the downward spiral of returning evil for evil.
In 30 plus years of ministry I have come to answer the question of who did some kind of minor, easily reparable damage with the one word phrase, thosedamnkids. It seems that we have a tendency to blame the youth and children pretty quickly for any damage in and around church buildings in particular and public spaces like shops and malls in general. We have to lump the whole group into the category of thosedamnkids because we do not know their names and maybe not even their faces. We might do much better by ourselves to get to know these folks as individuals with names, faces and histories so that we are a part of a supportive community together.
The psalmist tells us that we are a particularly protected set of people because of our relationship with God and the people of God. The defense attorney tells us that as we include youth and children in the set of God’s people we benefit the youth and children, ourselves and society at large. To include them means more than simply encouraging them to become members of the church, it means getting to know them as individuals, being there with them and for them as they go through the various trials adolescence, letting them get to know us as people, peers and companions on the journey, praying with them and for them.
April 11, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Psalm Meditation 564
Fifth Sunday in Lent
April 10, 2011
Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
(NRSV)
It is interesting to note that what one generation sees as a luxury, succeeding generations see as a necessity. Running water is a given for many of us reading this. It has not been that long ago that carting water and then digging your own well were the expectation. Some of you reading this are very aware that safe, clean drinking water is a hope rather than an expectation in parts of the world with which you are familiar. All that to point to the first verse of this psalm; that the blessing and presence of God has not always been a given. Even though we invoke God’s presence at the beginning of our worship services we are aware that we entered the sanctuary in the presence of God and that we meet God in each of the folks with whom we join in worship. It is amazing to us to consider that the presence and blessing of God has not always been a given.
Because of our awareness of the constant presence of God we may treat God with the same nonchalance with which we treat running water. We bemoan God’s absence rather than praise God’s presence in those moments in which God seems to be absent in our lives. Even as there are moments in which God pulls back so that we can find the wherewithal to move forward to discover a new set of skills and strengths within ourselves, our expectation is that God is with us in all times and places. It is because of God’s constant presence in our lives that we do well to praise God in every aspect. It is that constant presence that leads us to take God for granted as we forget to praise and sing as the people of God.
Every now and then something that seems so ordinary will strike us with how wondrous it really is. After a power failure we can find ourselves amazed at what an amazing gift electricity is. When a computer doesn’t run as quickly as the one we use elsewhere we may pause to marvel at how quick even the slowest computer is compared to other forms of written communication. When anything we see as a necessity doesn’t work the way we have come to expect perhaps we can pause to thank God for the gift of that luxury turned necessity as well as taking a moment to praise God for being with us in all times and places and for wanting to be in relationship with us and those around us.
April 4, 2011
Fifth Sunday in Lent
April 10, 2011
Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
(NRSV)
It is interesting to note that what one generation sees as a luxury, succeeding generations see as a necessity. Running water is a given for many of us reading this. It has not been that long ago that carting water and then digging your own well were the expectation. Some of you reading this are very aware that safe, clean drinking water is a hope rather than an expectation in parts of the world with which you are familiar. All that to point to the first verse of this psalm; that the blessing and presence of God has not always been a given. Even though we invoke God’s presence at the beginning of our worship services we are aware that we entered the sanctuary in the presence of God and that we meet God in each of the folks with whom we join in worship. It is amazing to us to consider that the presence and blessing of God has not always been a given.
Because of our awareness of the constant presence of God we may treat God with the same nonchalance with which we treat running water. We bemoan God’s absence rather than praise God’s presence in those moments in which God seems to be absent in our lives. Even as there are moments in which God pulls back so that we can find the wherewithal to move forward to discover a new set of skills and strengths within ourselves, our expectation is that God is with us in all times and places. It is because of God’s constant presence in our lives that we do well to praise God in every aspect. It is that constant presence that leads us to take God for granted as we forget to praise and sing as the people of God.
Every now and then something that seems so ordinary will strike us with how wondrous it really is. After a power failure we can find ourselves amazed at what an amazing gift electricity is. When a computer doesn’t run as quickly as the one we use elsewhere we may pause to marvel at how quick even the slowest computer is compared to other forms of written communication. When anything we see as a necessity doesn’t work the way we have come to expect perhaps we can pause to thank God for the gift of that luxury turned necessity as well as taking a moment to praise God for being with us in all times and places and for wanting to be in relationship with us and those around us.
April 4, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Psalm Meditation 563
Fourth Sunday in Lent
April 3, 2011
Psalm 37 selected
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret--it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
(NRSV)
An interesting thing about the wicked is that, though they perish as individuals, there seem to be new generations of wicked folks rising to replace those who have perished. In some cases the new generation is even the cause of the destruction of the current generation of wicked. Wickedness does have a fertile breeding ground. Wickedness is both self destructive and self sustaining at the same time. Wicked organizations and families train the next generation by modeling behaviors that carry on and expand the influence of their brand of wickedness. Then folks have to be on guard against becoming victims of the destructive practices they have taught.
Righteousness sustains itself by example as well as by the presence and blessing of God. One generation works side by side with those behind and before, raising up a new generation while being sustained by those who trained and mentored them in the ways of God. Righteousness is a difficult path since it involves setting aside personal glory for the sake of the larger community, including those who would bend the community for the sake of personal gain. Righteousness requires the dual focus of looking to God while looking out for the whole of the community around us.
Individuals make choices because of and despite upbringing. Some folks who were trained in righteousness make choices that lead to evil consequences, others make the choice of righteousness though raised in an environment rife with wickedness. God cheers on those who lean toward righteousness. One of the ways God offers to sustain us is through the community of faith that encourages and keeps us.
March 28, 2011
Fourth Sunday in Lent
April 3, 2011
Psalm 37 selected
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret--it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
(NRSV)
An interesting thing about the wicked is that, though they perish as individuals, there seem to be new generations of wicked folks rising to replace those who have perished. In some cases the new generation is even the cause of the destruction of the current generation of wicked. Wickedness does have a fertile breeding ground. Wickedness is both self destructive and self sustaining at the same time. Wicked organizations and families train the next generation by modeling behaviors that carry on and expand the influence of their brand of wickedness. Then folks have to be on guard against becoming victims of the destructive practices they have taught.
Righteousness sustains itself by example as well as by the presence and blessing of God. One generation works side by side with those behind and before, raising up a new generation while being sustained by those who trained and mentored them in the ways of God. Righteousness is a difficult path since it involves setting aside personal glory for the sake of the larger community, including those who would bend the community for the sake of personal gain. Righteousness requires the dual focus of looking to God while looking out for the whole of the community around us.
Individuals make choices because of and despite upbringing. Some folks who were trained in righteousness make choices that lead to evil consequences, others make the choice of righteousness though raised in an environment rife with wickedness. God cheers on those who lean toward righteousness. One of the ways God offers to sustain us is through the community of faith that encourages and keeps us.
March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Psalm Meditation 562
Third Sunday in Lent
March 27, 2011
Psalm 7
1 O LORD my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
8 The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.
17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.
(NRSV)
When someone attacks us, one of the questions that may come to mind is, ‘did I do anything to bring this on; am as a guilty as this person believes me to be?’ It is important to, at least, entertain the possibility that we have done something to put us on the receiving end of this kind of violent or passionate reaction from another person or group. We may discover that we are guilty and need to confess and repent as we accept the punishment/discipline being meted out. We may discover that there is guilt on both sides. We need to confess and repent our guilt and accept confession and repentance that may come from the others involved. We may discover that we are the target of an attack simply by being in the way at the time of the attack.
Once we decide where the fault lies we are ready to call down God’s judgment, on ourselves, others, and the systems who perpetuate sin, violence and evil in the world. Like so many others before us, we recognize that God is the one who is best suited to judge and to discipline those who live under the hand of God. We place ourselves in God’s hands for shelter, protection, and at times, a bit of each.
At our best we discover that God can and does find and root out the evil present on both sides or all sides of a conflict. God brings us to salvation, to judgment, and sometimes God brings us together as we discover our common ground. It would be wonderful if every conflict ended in the parties falling into each other’s arms in a declaration of peace and harmony. Evil continues in intentional and unintentional forms so the end of conflict as the beginning of harmony does not happen every time. There will continue to be arrogance, possessiveness and entitlement (just to name three) on one or all sides of a conflict. The best we can do is to yield ourselves to God to the best of our ability and as often as possible as we give thanks and sing praise to the God of righteousness.
March 21, 2011
Third Sunday in Lent
March 27, 2011
Psalm 7
1 O LORD my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
8 The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.
17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.
(NRSV)
When someone attacks us, one of the questions that may come to mind is, ‘did I do anything to bring this on; am as a guilty as this person believes me to be?’ It is important to, at least, entertain the possibility that we have done something to put us on the receiving end of this kind of violent or passionate reaction from another person or group. We may discover that we are guilty and need to confess and repent as we accept the punishment/discipline being meted out. We may discover that there is guilt on both sides. We need to confess and repent our guilt and accept confession and repentance that may come from the others involved. We may discover that we are the target of an attack simply by being in the way at the time of the attack.
Once we decide where the fault lies we are ready to call down God’s judgment, on ourselves, others, and the systems who perpetuate sin, violence and evil in the world. Like so many others before us, we recognize that God is the one who is best suited to judge and to discipline those who live under the hand of God. We place ourselves in God’s hands for shelter, protection, and at times, a bit of each.
At our best we discover that God can and does find and root out the evil present on both sides or all sides of a conflict. God brings us to salvation, to judgment, and sometimes God brings us together as we discover our common ground. It would be wonderful if every conflict ended in the parties falling into each other’s arms in a declaration of peace and harmony. Evil continues in intentional and unintentional forms so the end of conflict as the beginning of harmony does not happen every time. There will continue to be arrogance, possessiveness and entitlement (just to name three) on one or all sides of a conflict. The best we can do is to yield ourselves to God to the best of our ability and as often as possible as we give thanks and sing praise to the God of righteousness.
March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Psalm Meditation 561
Sunday
, 2011
Psalm 126
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
(NRSV)
Every now and again something more wonderful than we can imagine happens to us. It feels as if it were a dream and one of the fears of some of us is that we will wake up and find that none of this wonderfulness has really happened. The psalmist celebrates one of those moments here. The initial disbelief gives way to laughter and shouts of joy. These are amazing moments that are not easy to describe to someone who has not had a similar experience. We know it when we see and we enjoy it when we experience it, we can’t share it with anyone who did not experience that particular event.
At our best we will give God some of the credit for these moments. Even if it were accomplished by virtue of our own particular set of gifts and talents we owe God a moment of gratitude for those gifts. From the standpoint of a relationship with God we want to share these dreamlike moments as we would want to share them with any other friend, especially one who is as close to us as God can be.
Since not all fortunes are material, (the most important ones seem not to be material) God can and does restore our fortunes in ways that may not seem that impressive to folks who are not in the midst of a particular event. Something that seems as simple as a renewed sense of security after a trauma or tragedy can seem like a restored fortune. To be able to rebuild a sense of home, family and place after surviving an earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, tornado, fire, break-in or any number of other events that keep us on edge is a gift of resilience which is a gift of God. At our best, we may begin the process with weeping but we come through it with a sense of grace and joy.
March 14, 2011
Sunday
, 2011
Psalm 126
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
(NRSV)
Every now and again something more wonderful than we can imagine happens to us. It feels as if it were a dream and one of the fears of some of us is that we will wake up and find that none of this wonderfulness has really happened. The psalmist celebrates one of those moments here. The initial disbelief gives way to laughter and shouts of joy. These are amazing moments that are not easy to describe to someone who has not had a similar experience. We know it when we see and we enjoy it when we experience it, we can’t share it with anyone who did not experience that particular event.
At our best we will give God some of the credit for these moments. Even if it were accomplished by virtue of our own particular set of gifts and talents we owe God a moment of gratitude for those gifts. From the standpoint of a relationship with God we want to share these dreamlike moments as we would want to share them with any other friend, especially one who is as close to us as God can be.
Since not all fortunes are material, (the most important ones seem not to be material) God can and does restore our fortunes in ways that may not seem that impressive to folks who are not in the midst of a particular event. Something that seems as simple as a renewed sense of security after a trauma or tragedy can seem like a restored fortune. To be able to rebuild a sense of home, family and place after surviving an earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, tornado, fire, break-in or any number of other events that keep us on edge is a gift of resilience which is a gift of God. At our best, we may begin the process with weeping but we come through it with a sense of grace and joy.
March 14, 2011
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