| Psalm 82 "In Our Own Image" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 14 July 2007 | |
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The story goes that a monk was being chased by a ferocious tiger. He came to a cliff and just in the nick of time, saw a rope hanging over the edge. Quickly, he shimmied down the rope and out of reach of the tiger. Unfortunately, when he came to the end of the rope, he was still suspended high above the ground with jagged rocks below him. He could still hear the tiger growling above, searching for its prey. As he began to weigh his options, two mice began to nibble at the frayed rope. As he’s pondering his predicament, the monk noticed a wild berry growing out of the face of the cliff. He plucked and ate it, pronouncing it as the best berry he had ever tasted. It dawned on him that if he had been too preoccupied with tiger above (the past), or the rocks below (the future), he would have missed the berry God was giving him in that present moment. The point is life is constantly giving us all three (tigers, rocks and berries). The challenge is learning to feast on the “here-and-now” that God gives us. The “here-and-now” has plenty of opportunities to live out our identity as children of God; opportunities to create community, to heal brokenness, and to love people for Jesus; all signs of the reign of God…(on earth as in heaven). If this morning’s psalm has one overarching theme it is that God reigns! Our reading comes from Psalm 82. I invite to listen, really listen for the voice of God. 1God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgement: 2‘How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 4Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’ 5They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6I say, ‘You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; 7nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.’ 8Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you! Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. O Lord you are our rock and redeemer. Amen. Written nearly 3000 years ago, our Psalm is set in the agrigarian society of the Ancient Near East. In those ancient times, a family’s livelihood was at the mercy of the elements. Drought, flood, and pestilence could lead to disaster. The farmer was at the mercy of the gods believed to rule the land. When Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, i.e. the Promised Land, Israel’s monotheistic belief system (one God), was challenged by the “polytheistic” belief system (many gods) of the peoples and culture of that region. In Canaanite religion, the chief god “El” convened the Council of the gods…but in verse 1 of our psalm, Israel’s God displaces “El” and proceeds to put the gods on trial. In verses 2-4, the gods are indicted and charged. In verse 5, the case against these lesser gods is summarized (they have not ruled with justice). In verses 6-7, the sentence announced (death). In verse 8, the psalmist pleads with Israel’s God to claim the dominion formerly held by these lesser gods and replace it with God’s just rule. “For the God of Israel, justice involves what is done for the weak, the orphaned, the destitute, and the needy.” Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 146: 7-9. [God] executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. 9The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. For the God of Israel things are “right in human community” when power is shared in a way that all people have access to the resources that enable them to live and thrive (especially the poor and needy). This Psalm raises all sorts of questions for me, not the least of which is “Am I a just person?” “Are you?” Of course, if anyone knows how to “do” justice, it’s the people of Holy Covenant. There are a plethora of justice ministries we are continuously involved in. But that doesn’t necessarily answer the question…Am I a just person? Are you? I ran into a homeless person while on vacation in Colorado last week. It was obvious from his appearance that he was indigent. Regardless, he seemed friendly and stuck up a conversation with me. And while I was cordial, even friendly, I found myself guarded as if this man might try to take something from me I wouldn’t want to give him. (i.e. take advantage of me and my charity). I’ve always felt I had great compassion for the poor, but I left feeling unsettled. I realize now that this homeless man had revealed something within me; perhaps a prejudice toward the poor. I wonder what other prejudices might be lurking under the surface? Truth is some people are a lot easier to have compassion on then others. And yet God doesn’t offer us any qualifiers. In the words of Micah 6:8, “to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” is what God required of us, regardless of whether people deserve to be treated this way or not. Am I drawn to the poor or do I avoid them? Jesus equated love of God and love of neighbor when he said, “Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” Matthew 25:40 Justice and mercy require I learn Christ in others. I’m not sure I do that good of a job at this. In Brennan Manning’s book, The Wisdom of Tenderness, the author writes about Abbe Pierre, who is known as the modern apostle of mercy to the poor of Paris. Pierre found a young family, homeless, poor and almost frozen to death on the streets of the city. He scooped them up and brought them back to his own humble apartment, already crowded with the homeless seeking shelter. After some thought, he went to the small chapel of his order, and moved the altar with its sacraments and placed them upstairs in a cold, unheated attic. Then he invited the family to bed down in the chapel for the night. When the leader of his Dominican order expressed shock at his irreverent treatment of the sacraments (the body and blood of Christ); Pierre replied, “Jesus Christ isn’t cold in the Eucharist, but he is cold in the body of a little child.” (p.66) I suspect it would be a lot harder to walk right on by someone in need without stopping to help if I were recognize Christ in them. Justice and mercy come when I learn to see Christ in others. 2ndly, Justice and mercy come when I see myself in the poor and needy. When I remember where I have come from, how far God has brought me, and how far I still have to go, I begin to see myself in the brokenness of others. And until we can see ourselves in the poor and needy, we cannot truly be Christ to them; just as God became one of us, to be Christ to us. As a parent, I try to impress on my children the things that I believe are important; about kindness, mercy, faith, and love. But I realize that despite the things I believe are important, that ultimately, they will make their own decisions about things. And just because I believe something is important doesn’t mean they will. I try not to be helicopter parent who hovers over his or her children, trying to control everything about their lives; but it’s hard to refrain from trying to convince my children that I know what’s best for them (because I really believe I do!). And I wonder if God has the same predicament? While calling us to be people of justice and mercy, God allows us to decide for ourselves what our lives will look like. We wont all take the same path, nor will we necessarily arrive at the same place but each journey contributes to God’s reign. God’s reign is evident where compassion and charity, connect with human suffering, hunger, and need. This morning our church (will/has) shared in the baptism one of our children, Micah McWhorter. No question, his faith journey will be his own journey, but I believe intuitively, he will know that it is not God’s will that any of God’s children suffer. It is our responsibility as his Church, to nurture within him the conviction that he can do something about it. But first we need to believe that about ourselves! Life is full of tigers, jagged rocks, and berries. The trick is learning to feast on the “here-and-now” that God gives us; to seize opportunities God is constantly placing before us to live out our Christian identity. Prayer: Remind us, O Lord, that we are children of a Greater God. May we fulfill our identity as those made in your image; as people of compassion and mercy who are called to prioritize Kingdom need over personal wants. In Jesus name we pray this. Amen. |
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