Psalm Meditation 1141 ¶Third Sunday of Easter ¶May 1, 2022 ¶Psalm 14 1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. 3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one. 4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD? 5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous. 6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge. 7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. (NRSV) ¶In Hebrew, the meaning of the word ‘fool’ means more than the English, ‘stupid.’ It can also mean ‘wicked’ and the rest of the psalm points toward that meaning. And while we are at it, let’s say that YHWH is looking down on the fools in humankind rather than painting us all with the broad brush of doom and destruction. Though we tend to look at everyone who is not ‘us’ as evil and God forsaken, God is not as exclusionary as we can be. ¶These fools are likely those who make God in their own image, who justify all of their ideas and actions as being in line with the will of God. “Do you want to exclude and demonize a group of people, even rationalize their death and destruction? Boy, do we have the deity for you. We will continue to call this deity YHWH since we are already used to that name, And we will use that name to justify all sorts of evil against others to make ourselves more comfortable. We can even find a single verse in the Bible to show we have the right and responsibility to carry out our plans” ¶God has a soft spot for the poor. So if you are on the side of those who have the power to make the rules, it is important to make sure that as many as possible benefit from those rules. Sadly, many who make the rules are surrounded by those who benefit, and are blind to those who do not. Does this rule fit into the whole arc of God’s salvation history or did someone have to look a while to find that proof text for this rule? ¶April 25, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1140 ¶Second Sunday of Easter ¶April 24, 2022 ¶Psalm 9 1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 3 When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you. 4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. 5 You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. 6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples. 12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13 Be gracious to me, O LORD. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death, 14 so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance. 15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught. 16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah 17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. 19 Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you. 20 Put them in fear, O LORD; let the nations know that they are only human. Selah (NRSV) ¶When a fight breaks out, it is likely that a crowd will gather. In some cases the crowd gathers before the fight starts to egg on and encourage the fighters. Imagine that God is in the circle and we are interested onlookers. We want God to defend our honor, to destroy those who have picked on us for far too long with no relief in sight. Now that God is on the scene we are getting ourselves all pumped up for the beating that God is about to hand down to everyone who has ever crossed us. ¶It is an intriguing image, and not likely to play out. God is not one for weapons of violence, preferring the making of new relationships over the making of enemies. We join many generations of God’s people who have turned God into one of us by ascribing our own violent tendencies to God. We do this for no other reason than to justify our violence and brutality against our enemies. When Jews and Christians were underdogs in the world, there was reason to stand up for ourselves with some force. Now that Christians are such a large and powerful force perhaps it is time for us to make ourselves in God’s image rather than continuing to squeeze God into our own. ¶God continues to execute judgment on all people. God judges the evil within each one of us as well as the righteousness that each of us holds within us. When we want our enemies destroyed, we usually mean those outside of us. God calls us to root out and destroy the evil within ourselves to make room for more and more righteous thoughts and actions that lead us to be ever more righteous folk. ¶April 19 , 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1139 ¶Easter ¶April 17, 2022 ¶Psalm 5 1 Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my sighing. 2 Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you. 5 The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. 7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. 8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. 9 For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield. (NRSV) ¶The problem I see in this psalm, at least this time through, is the willingness of the psalmist to make righteousness a contest. ‘I am so much better than all of those other people because I depend on your righteousness and all of those other folks depend on lies, destruction, and flattery.’ When I judge myself by my internal intentions and judge others by their actions I have set up a situation in which I win and you lose—every time. ¶That might be okay if God only listens to me and my opinions on who is evil and who is good. The difficulty is that God knows the heart of each of us, our intentions, rationalizations, and excuses for why I should have favored status with God while everyone else deserves harsh judgment. So, while I believe you deserve to be punished and I deserve leniency because my heart was right even though things didn’t work the way I wanted them to, you believe that you deserve credit for intention and I deserve punishment for my actions. ¶Perhaps each of us has missed something in the life and heart of the other. So, instead of making righteousness a contest, we each could concern ourselves with our own actions and intentions. In the event we are in a position to judge another we do well to do it with as much mercy and grace as we would hope to receive ourselves. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield.” ¶April 11, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1138 ¶Palm/Passion Sunday ¶April 10, 2022 ¶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) ¶I remember being very upset when I learned that the United States is not the largest country in the world. Having been taught that we are the best/grandest nation, we must also be the biggest. Knowing this about myself makes me wonder how many other nations tell their citizens that their nation is the best/grandest in the world. That the psalmist knows that the rulers of the surrounding nations want to be free of the bonds and cords imposed on them by Israel leads me to believe that the indoctrination is widespread. Especially since one of my seminary professors informed us that Israel was never much of a military power. ¶Whether we are strong or weak, rich or poor, big or small it is a good plan to look to YHWH for help and direction. Though the psalmist knows that God is on our side and will crush all of our enemies, that is seeing God as one of us, one like us, with the same friends and enemies that we have. God does not choose sides in our petty squabbles over ‘stuff.’ God encourages us to love each other, to look for ways to care for one another, and to move in the direction that leads us closer to God. ¶While we are quick to find ways to justify God being on our side over against those with whom we disagree, God does not work that way. We are called and led to serve God by serving each other. Watching our enemies be broken into tiny little pieces is a great revenge/punishment fantasy, but that is all it is if we expect God to do that for us. In serving God we are called to serve those we love as well as those who seem unlovable. “Happy are all who take refuge in him.” ¶March 7, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1137 ¶Fifth Sunday in Lent ¶April 3, 2022 ¶Psalm 21 1 In your strength the king rejoices, O LORD, and in your help how greatly he exults! 2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head. 4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever. 5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. 6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. 8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind. 11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows. 13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power. (NRSV) ¶Wouldn’t it be great to have connection with a powerful being who could do anything except refuse to do your bidding? This is the kind of God the psalmist wishes for the king to have, with a saying-it-makes-it-so bravado. We do have a tendency to act, think, and behave as if God is ready, willing, and able to be such a being for us. If we ask with enough faith, God will grant us whatever we ask, foolish and ill-thought out though it may be. At the very least, our prayers should be answered with the speed and accuracy we expect, with a little room for something better than we requested. ¶I hope we all know that God does not work that way. Even David did not get all for which he asked. Prayer is answered just as often with a redirection of our request and concern. The petition we lift to God may be answered with an assurance that God is with us, even though what we have asked for does not happen. God is not a genie who pops out of a bottle to grant our first three wishes. God is a loving presence whose goal and gift is to lead us in the way that leads us closer to God in our thoughts, attitudes and actions. ¶The prayers that are answered best are the ones that ask that we be pointed in the direction that leads to the love of God in all we are and do. That direction is seldom easy, it is certainly not the way of the world. It is the way that leads away from selfish desire toward a generosity of spirit. “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.” ¶March 28, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1136 ¶Fourth Sunday in Lent ¶March 27, 2022 ¶Psalm 15 1 O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? 2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; 3 who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; 4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the LORD; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 5 who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved. (NRSV) ¶Sometimes we make promises with the expectation that we will not have to do anything to keep those promises. And if we do have to keep our side of a promise, bargain, or bet, we find a way to weasel out of it with an excuse or rationalization that clears us of the debt as far as we are concerned. It will not haunt us or keep us up at night because we have been able to erase any sense of debt on our part. ¶The psalmist tells us that we need to keep those promises or stop making them if we have any intention of being in the presence of God. Sometimes keeping our oaths and promises can be painful. Marriage vows, ordination vows, other professional oaths and promises call for sacrifices from time to time. While we would rather do things our own way and for our own benefit, we do have to do things that go against our selfish desires for the sake of honoring our vows, oaths, and promises. ¶Though we tend to make it sound difficult to end up in the presence of God, the psalmist tells us that God wants us to be good to others, to be honest with the people around us, refuse to put up with evil things from others, and take our vows, oaths, and promises seriously even if we end up getting hurt somehow because of it. All of this built on a base of wanting to be as much like God as we possibly can be. ¶March 22, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1135 ¶Third Sunday in Lent ¶March 20, 2022 ¶Psalm 10 1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the LORD. 4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.” 5 Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them. 6 They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.” 7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity. 8 They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net. 10 They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might. 11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” 12 Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed. 13 Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”? 14 But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none. 16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land. 17 O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear 18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more. (NRSV) ¶The who are poor are generally seen as an easy mark for those who want to find someone to exploit. They have enough to survive while not having enough to defend themselves from those for whom too much is not enough. They can’t hire anyone to defend them so they are ripe for exploitation. Governments, corporations, and wealthy individuals make promises and programs that look good on paper while they use bait and switch tactics to keep folks oppressed and needy. ¶Many who are poor have something that those who have more money do not have. They have a supportive community that lives with the assurance that being exploited is not the final outcome. Those who live in poverty are more likely to have faith in one who will deliver them from exploitation and oppression. The psalmist calls on YHWH to bring divine deliverance to those who are most in need, and to break the power of those who have taken advantage of them in so many ways. ¶One of my instructors in seminary told our group, “In all my years, I have never met anyone who made too much money by their own accounting.” While we are tempted to call ourselves poor so that we can more easily ask God to make us rich, we do better to look for any of the ways we exploit others directly and indirectly. “O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.” ¶March 14, 2022 ¶LCM