Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Psalm 119:33-40

Year A - Epiphany 7 or Guiding Gift 7
February 23, 2014

If we want to pretend that the Psalms are only about personal piety then it will be helpful to have a sense that the statutes being talked about here are communal actions. Even when we try to escape being complicit in the current status of the common good by appealing to personal responsibility, the corporate and inter-connected realities of life will not be silent.

Remembering that there is no uniquely singular part of life, we reflexively read every singular reference with a plural cast.

This is particularly true with verse 37: “Turn my eyes away from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.” [NRSV] Left alone our eye moves from vanity to vanity, finally noting that all is vanity. Joined with one another, creation and G*D we find a way to a tree of life—mutually.

When talking of the law, it is never just about my escaping judgment. It is always a communal context. The earlier we can catch this the easier life becomes.


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