Psalm 146

Pentecost +2 - Year C

Psalm 146

"Psalm 146 is filled with the vitality of reason." [Bruggemann, Israel's Praise: Doxology against Idolatry and Ideology]. The many specific ways G*D transforms life begin to add up. If you can remember them as they are named, you are led to join in praise - it follows.

A key difficulty of today is not remembering together what we have come through. Second to it is that we have not continually translated the impetus for this Psalm into current circumstance. Where have we recently seen justice for the oppressed? If not, why praise? Where have we seen hungry folk fed? If not, why praise? Who is a prisoner that can be freed? If it is three-strikes and you are out, why praise? What orphan or widow or other silenced group has been upheld? If we don't experience it, why praise? Without connecting our experiences with longer memory we cannot make a logical jump to praise.

G*D's in charge - always? For good? All too often, seemingly not.

Too often we have to fudge our praise. Each time we do there is a greater gap between G*D and ourself. G*D doesn't praise us by watching over us and we don't experience assurance enough to praise G*D. Quite the vicious circle that even a raising from the dead can only momentarily pause.

Perhaps we need to start with whispers of praise before we can put an exclamation point to it. To aid in this you may want to remember by reading Stories of Peace and Justice and they may sensitize you to it happening in your life and a small hallelujah will begin to grow.