Psalm 29

Epiphany 1 - Year B

Psalm 29

This psalm is commonly considered a prayer for rain. A good rain in season is a source of strength and well-being which eases all matters related to peace between folks. Were such a rain to be timely across a wide stretch, some of our seemingly innate competition and desire to conquer all else might relax enough to catch the value of each other.

It is, of course, all too easy to flip this back into an unhelpful hierarchy. Does G*D really need all the ascription, the laud and honor given for the purpose of bribery? Doesn’t a G*D larger than violence find this crediting to cut a deal all rather sad?

Were we to image G*D in another way, we might begin with freeing G*D from our picture of sitting enthroned over the flood. This has a feel of captivity to it that is unbecoming a G*D capable of finding belovedness and light in the most surprising of places - deep darkness and a belated Jesus or any one of us.