Pentecost +25 – Year A
Psalm 107:1-6, 33-37
Today we will sing verses 1 and 15 of our next hymn. We will also only pay attention to the 2nd and 10th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Of particular concern will be commandments 4 and 6 (depending on how you count).
In these selective ways we can avoid responsibility for the whole of life or the benefit of another if it competes with my own desire. We can divide up and set one important part of life against another.
In this case the elided verses are pretty repetitious. They are also looking for G*D to take responsibility for our hard times and going back over old hurts.
What this condensation leaves us with is an image of bringing the destitute to a place filled with potential. The response looked for is a return to being stewards of current resources, not revengers of past harm.
We end with Eden revisited. Now the decision on our part of how we are going to practice stewardship in our current setting - how we are going to invite the hungry into the bounty we have and join us in a next cycle of sowing and reaping? This not a "when" question, but a "how" question.
I'm preaching on this psalm, and adding verses 7-9 to the mix... since I want to focus on the idea in verses 5-9, especially 9: For God satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things. You have touched on the precise point I want to make: in our gratitude for this steadfast love that feeds us, we, in turn, feed the world.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog.
Magdalene
Magdalene -
ReplyDeleteBlessings upon your preaching. A deep upflow of steadfast love is basic. Constriction of such leads us to constriction of one another.
An additional image for me is in The Message equivalent of verse 35, which begins with "Then..." We need to see which side of the "then" we are on: a wasteland or an oasis. This is also a choice between control-over or participation-with.
Thanks for leaving a comment.
Wesley