"Be still and know that I am God."

Each Wednesday at 11:00am at the Bishop's office in Lansing, we gather for Eucharist. All and any are welcome to join us (and eat lunch with us after as well). The following is my meditation from this morning on the Psalm for Reformation Day, Psalm 46. It led into a literal time of quiet meditation for those of us gathered together. 

This morning I want to focus on Psalm 46, specifically verse 10 – Be still and know that I am God.

“Be still” can be translated from Hebrew as: “Let go”, “surrender”, “cause yourself to become weak.”

It literally means “Shut up and know that I am God.” Think about the proverbial family road trip with the kids constantly asking, “Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?”  The answer, of course, is be still or shut up!

How often do we ask God for everything, but we don’t stop to shut up and be still, let go, or cause ourselves to become weak?  The act of being still and getting quiet becomes more of a challenge in our hectic world. The world asks us to be busy. God asks us to be still so that we can simply be in the presence of God, remembering that God is always with us and within us. Becoming weak is not something we value. We wish to be in control of our lives and our world. In effect, we seek to become our own personal God. But in the act of becoming weak, shutting up, being still, we re-learn that God is God. That we belong to God, not the other way around. That God’s presence is within and round us at all times and in all places.

In the 12-step program Alcoholics Anonymous the 11th step is to learn to be still all the time. To constantly be in a state of surrender to God. Perhaps each of us can take some advice from that program and train ourselves to constantly be in a state of stillness and surrender to God.

This isn’t a passive state, it is an active state of meditation and it takes practice. Today, we will practice together using verse 10 of Psalm 46. I will read it 4 times each time removing part of the verse until we reach simply the word “be.” Each of the 4 times I will follow with instructions for silent meditation.

At the end I will begin singing hymn 616, “Jesus, Remember Me” to bring us out of our meditation. We will sing it several times in succession.

Be still and know that I am God.

Know that God is present. Ask to feel God’s presence.  

Be still and know.

Become aware of God within and around you.

Be still.

Slow your mind. Focus on God.

Be

Sit and bask in the presence of God. 

*I consulted the following websites in preparation for this meditation: http://guidedchristianmeditation.com and http://www.hebrew4christians.com 

Healing and Hope in the Valley of the Shadow of Death - Sermon April 21, 2013

You know this line from Psalm 23 which in the old version went something like, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,”? That line has been running around in my head lately. “Yea though I walk- Yea though WE walk- yeah, here we walk in this valley of the shadow of death…” Death is everywhere this week. Actually, it’ everywhere, every week. But we are privileged enough to not to have to deal with it as regularly as we’ve had to this last week. I don’t have to rehearse the list for you but some include the Boston Marathon bombing, the fertilizer plant explosion in west Texas. Then there was the earthquake in Iran and the one in the Sichuan province in China. Also, the human death by gun violence in the US since the December 14 Newtown, CT school shootings climbed to 3,530[i] and in the month of April around 220 people have been killed in Afghanistan, many of whom were civilians. [ii]

 

So, here we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The valley includes individuals in our community battling physical and mental illness, families struggling with deeply-rooted anger and hurt, friends separated by mistrust, communities disrupted by simple lack of communication, conflict in working relationships, dire lack of basic needs, abuse, neglect, homelessness, joblessness, grief, fear.

And this valley includes the massive flooding in Ionia and Grand Rapids and around Michigan, the rising smog levels especially in Eaton and Ionia counties which leads to higher rates of asthma especially in children not to mention increases the impacts of global climate change[iii] and the fact that still CLEAN water gets harder and harder to find in some parts of the world while other parts are inundated with too much or severely polluted water. 

And so, here we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The shadow stretches across our homes and families, our church and community, our work and our play, our country, our world. The shadow sometimes closes so tightly around us that we cannot see our hands in front of our faces. It sometimes lies so heavily that it constricts our breathing. It sometimes is so thick that it causes us to panic. 

In the valley of the shadow of death, fear seems to be a reasonable reaction. Evil seems to have the upper hand. In the valley of the shadow of death, all the green pastures and the still waters in the world seem to evaporate and leave nothing but more shadow, more despair, more pain. 

And that is when it seems the shadow of death is winning. When we turn to hateful vengeance, death is winning. When we give up hope, death is winning. When we ignore the pain of the world around us, death is winning. When we hoard the love and grace, or the money and resources we have been given, death is winning. When we give up because the work of one person or one community can’t possibly make a difference, death is winning. When we feel entirely alone, death is winning.

……….

I recently joined twitter which is one of these social media programs in which you can express yourself but in 140 characters or less. It is a wonderful timewaster, but it is also a great way to be connected to organizations. In fact I joined so that I could follow the Human Rights Campaign’s coverage of the Supreme Court hearings a few weeks back on marriage equality. In very quick and easy spurts I could follow the updates and be directed to more lengthy articles if I wanted to. 

This week twitter was a flurry of activity from Boston to Texas to Washington DC, to weather updates from across the upper-Midwest. I couldn’t keep up. But for as much of an information overload as it was, I was struck by the goodness that came out too. And this is true not just on twitter but on facebook and the news. Stories of courageous men and women helping out in the aftermath of the bombs. Stories of the medical professionals, the EMTs, the Fire and police departments working overtime to restore reason and safety in the middle of chaos. People across the country were praying for victims and families and the really forgiving were even praying for the bombers. President Obama said in his part of the interfaith prayer service, “You showed us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what’s good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion. In the face of those who would visit death upon innocents, we will choose to save and to comfort and to heal. We’ll choose friendship. We’ll choose love.”[iv]

 

Of course he has to say that. It’s his job to build us up in the middle of tragedy. But as people of faith we know that our trust is not in a president or a country, no matter how great, nor is it in the goodness of humanity in the face of tragedy. The truth is all of that fades away. 

Our trust is with the One who walks with us in the valley of the shadow of death. Our trust is in the One who restores the waters to stillness and creates the green pastures. Our trust is in the One went down, for three days, into the valley of the shadow of death for us and emerged on the other side, ALIVE. 

The Lord is OUR shepherd, the shepherd of the nations, Revelation tells us, the shepherd of the world. He is with us in tribulation – he is with ALL in tribulation. In him we have the promise of food and water for all. In him our tears are wiped away. In him the earth is restored from scorching sun and drought-weary land.

…………

On this 4^th Sunday of Easter, this Earth Day, this day that the Lord has made, I want to invite us into a time of prayer for healing. You’re welcome to pray for healing for yourself or others, for the earth generally or specific natural needs, for whatever it is that weighs on your heart and needs the attention of the Lord.

You’ll be invited to come forward to be anointed, like Psalm 23 says, and for prayer and laying on of hands.

HEALING

Introduction

P: Our Lord Jesus healed many as a sign of the reign of God come near and sent the disciples to continue this work of healing – with prayer, the laying on of hands, and anointing. In the name of Christ, the great healer and reconciler of the world, we now entrust to God all who are in need of healing.

 

Prayer

P: Living God, through the laying on of hands [and anointing], grant comfort in suffering to all who are in need of healing. When they are afraid, give them courage; when afflicted, give them patience; when dejected, give them hope; and when alone, assure them of the support of your holy people.

Creating God, hear our prayers of healing for the earth and all your good creation. Where there is brokenness, give repair; where there is pollution, give purity; where there is exploitation, give honor; where there is indifference, give care.  May we cherish the earth, our home, and live in harmony with all your holy ones.

Eternal God, amid the turmoil and changes of the world your love is steadfast and your strength never fails. Hear our prayers for this and every nation. Where there is danger, be our guardian; where there is trouble, be our rock of defense; where there is distress, give comfort; where there is war, give peace. Guide our leaders with your wisdom and grant us courage and hope to face the future.

Gather our many prayers into one, Gracious God, through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen

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[i] http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html

[ii] http://icasualties.org/oef/

[iii] http://www.nrdc.org/health/climate/mi.asp

[iv] http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obamas-remarks-at-boston-interfaith-prayer-service-transcript/2013/04/18/806d15d8-a847-11e2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_story_1.html

Sermon April 14, 2013 "Loving God and feeeding sheep"

April 14, 2013 Easter 3

John 21:1-19

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. ²Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. ³Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ ⁶He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. ⁷That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. ⁸But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ ¹¹So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹²Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ ¹⁶A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ ¹⁷He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. ¹⁸Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ ¹⁹(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

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After the resurrection for a period of about 40 days, Jesus appeared to his disciples several times. Last week we read about how he appeared in their locked room where they huddled in fear. He breathed on them and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me so I am sending you.” Other gospels record that he appeared to the disciples with other messages like, “You are my witnesses in Judea, Samaria and all the world.” Matthew’s gospel gets the distinction of giving Jesus’ “Great Commission”: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

This week we hear Jesus get very specific with Peter: “Do you love me Peter? Then feed my sheep. Tend my lambs. Follow me.” It doesn’t quite have the ring to it that the “great” commission has. But nevertheless, it is Peter’s commission, and it is ours as well when we claim to be followers of Christ.

In the Bible the term “sheep” is used to talk about God’s people, especially God’s most vulnerable, most beloved people. People who need care and attention. And so as followers of Christ, we are called, well, commanded really, to love Christ by loving his sheep.

We’ve talked before about different kinds of love. In Greek there are three words for love, eros, philos and agape. Eros is the love between two people, philos is the love of friends, and agape is the love of God.

Now, sometimes we rank these different kinds of love. We think that eros is on the bottom of the list, philos in the middle and agape on the top as the highest form of love. But that is not necessarily how Jesus saw it. Back in chapter fifteen, Jesus tells his disciples that no one has great agape than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends- that’s philos. And he says, “I no longer call you servants, but friends,” as in philos.

So Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you agape me?” And Peter answers, “Lord you know that I philos you.” The same happens a second time. The third time, Jesus changes the question a bit. He asks Peter, “Simon son of John, do you philos me?” And Peter answers correctly, “Lord you know everything, you know that I philos you.” Jesus calls Peter to the kind of love that Jesus has for his disciples, that’s the kind of love that feeds his sheep and eventually leads to Peter’s martyrdom.

This is the kind of love to which we also are called- friendship love, love that serves the neighbor. Love that feeds people. Love that leads others to God’s love. Love that may lead us to places we’d rather not go to love folks we’d rather not love. This kind of love is an action oriented love. Love shown in doing, especially doing for others.

Action in the name of Christ is one of the primary orientations of this congregation. We like to do – stuff, whatever needs to be done. Today we’re going to hear from Barb Myckowiak about the group Compassion International. Many of you have adopted children through Compassion and helped to give a child food and shelter, education and health care.

Wes Stafford — he is the CEO of Compassion International — lived much of his early life in Africa, grew up there in the midst of poverty, and he sums up God’s position very straightforwardly. He says, “God says, ‘You mess with them, you mess with Me. You bless them, I will bless  people.’” Scripture is chalk full of admonishments to care for the poor - over 550 verses that deal specifically with God’s heart for the poor. For example, Proverbs 19 [verse 17, NIV] tells us, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.” Or Deuteronomy 15 [verse 11, NIV], “There will always be poor in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”  

Jesus himself, in articulating his mission as he began his ministry, had the whole Old Testament to choose from, and what he chose was a section — verses from Isaiah [Luke 4:18-19, NIV, quoting Isaiah 61:1]. These ones: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” When you read and study Scripture, you cannot help but notice God’s inclination to speak out on behalf … [of the poor].

Unfortunately in our world, the poor are everywhere, down the street and across the oceans. Particularly unfortunately, especially in this country, when we talk about the poor we often get accused of “political” conversations – which almost always does not mean political as in “about people,” but partisan as in if you care about the poor you’re a bleeding heart liberal or if you don’t you’re a stone cold conservative – neither of which are true, all-encompassing characterizations by-the-way.

The biblical mandate is plain. It’s not about a political agenda. It’s not about a humanitarian philosophy. It’s about developing in each one of us a heart that represents God’s heart in this world. So as Christian people, we are to feed the sheep, tend the lambs – in other words be standing up for those who are helpless, giving a voice to those who have no voice, reaching out to those in need, both spiritually and physically needy.

According to one definition, this is what makes the poor, poor. It’s a fact that they cannot speak up for themselves. The World Development Report lists — gives a definition of poverty this way. “Poor people live without fundamental freedoms of action and choice that the better-off take for granted. They often lack adequate food and shelter, education and health, deprivations that keep them from leading the kind of life that everyone values. They also face extreme vulnerability to ill health, economic dislocation, and natural disasters. And they are often exposed to ill treatment by institutions of the state and society and are powerless to influence key decisions affecting their lives. These are all dimensions of poverty.” By definition, poverty limits the voice of those who are poor. It’s no wonder that Scripture admonishes us: Speak up for those who don’t have a choice.

Now, certainly there are all kinds of rationales I could articulate not to speak up for the poor, reasons like, you know, I work hard, I earn what I have, so should they. Or there is so much poverty in this world, how in the world can I, as one person, ever hope to make any kind of significant difference?

And, you know, there may be some truth, in fact, to the hesitancies that we have to reach out to the poor. But again, bottom line, more than anything, Jesus is concerned about your heart becoming like God’s heart.

And so his teachings do not reflect any wisdom on why you should not reach out to those who don’t deserve it. Jesus’ focus is just the opposite, for he wanted you to get in touch with God’s grace, to reflect that in your life. And so his teaching focuses us toward grace. Jesus said, “I came not to be served, but to serve.” So should you. “Love one another,” he said, “just as I have loved you.” And also, in terms of the words, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you in turn do it to Me.” In so doing, Jesus knew we would begin to develop a heart that reflected the image of God’s heart for all people.

And so, Jesus says to us, “Peter, Harry, Barb, Karen, Nancy, Joe, John, I know that you love me. Now feed my sheep.” Let us boldly love our Lord and tend his flock.

Amen. [i]

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[i] Portions of this sermon adapted from http://www.compassionsunday.com/pastorResources.php sermon by Pastor Chuck Williams, Hope Lutheran

Second Sunday of Easter, April 7, 2013

Psalm 150
¹ Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
   praise him in his mighty firmament!
² Praise him for his mighty deeds;
   praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

³ Praise him with trumpet sound;
   praise him with lute and harp!
⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dance;
   praise him with strings and pipe!
⁵ Praise him with clanging cymbals;
   praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
⁶ Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

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Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Or since this second Sunday of Easter is usually the Sunday when we hear that that infamous tale of Thomas the doubter you could have answered my, “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” with “Hmm, well, yeah, I mean maybe, I’d like to see it first.”

There are also some congregations which have a tradition of the second Sunday of Easter being “Holy Humor” Sunday. I have no idea where this tradition came from, but they expect some humor out of their pastor, so here is the best religious joke I know: The CFO of McDonalds went to the new Pope and said, “Holy Father, I have a business proposition for you. I’ll give the church 50-million dollars – with which you could help a lot of poor people – if you change the words of the Lord’s Prayer from ‘give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘give us this day our daily hamburger.’” The Pope said, “My Son, I cannot change the holy text.” So the CFO said, “OK, make it 100-million bucks.” So the Pope said, “Well, I have to take it to the cardinals.” So he went to the Cardinals and said, “Cardinals, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is I can get the church 100-million bucks. The bad news is…we have to lose the contract with Wonderbread.” [i]

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Alleluia is the word of the day. It comes from the Hebrew version, Hallelujah, which means “Praise God.” The first part “halle” means praise and “yah” stands for what Ancient Jews believed to be the unspeakable name of God, Yahweh. So say it loud and proud: Hallelujah! Praise God![ii]
 
Psalm 150 is full of Hallelujahs and Praise Gods. 6 verses 13 praises! Each verse answers a question. First the shout, Hallelujah! Then where? In the holy temple and the mighty firmament – in other words Praise God where God lives, in the temple and in the heavens. The implication is that the earth and the heavens meet and so God is to be praised everywhere.

Why should God be praised? For God’s mighty acts and exceeding greatness. There is no need to list all the acts and greatness of the Lord. That is well cataloged in the Psalms, and this being the last Psalm assumes you have read the others and know all the reasons for which God is to be praised. So why? Because God is God. Because God awesome. Because God is the source and author of all goodness.

Then the questions, how shall God be praised, is answered – with any and every kind of music: trumpet, lyre harp, tambourine and dance, strings and pipe, cymbals – clanging cymbals! As we heard with our children today. God is praised in music. When there no longer is vocabulary for all the praise, then we move on to music. Martin Luther once said of music, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. The gift of language combined with the gift of song was given to man that he should proclaim the Word of God through Music.”

The final question answered in the psalm is, by whom should the praise of God be sung? And the answer is: by all that has breath – everything living. In praise, creation lives up to its created purpose- its highest calling, our highest calling is to praise. Hallelujah!

One of our generation’s greatest theologians is a man named Walter Bruegemann. He’s written extensively on the Hebrew Scriptures and has written particularly beautifully about the Psalms. He says that the Psalms can be grouped roughly in three categories: Psalm of Orientation, Psalms of Disorientation and Psalms of New Orientation or Reorientation.[iii]

Psalms of Orientation sing of the “joy, delight, goodness, coherence, and reliability of God, God’ creation and God’s governing law.” These Psalms are serene, they are happy with their lives and with the way the world is ordered. In this world there is no surprise and no fear and there is a profound trust in God. Listen to part of Psalm 17: My footsteps hold fast to your well-worn path; and my feet do not slip. I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me, incline your ear to me and hear my words. Show me your marvelous lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise against them. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings.” Here there is hope, trust, and happiness.

The second kind of Psalm is the Disorientation Psalm. This kind of Psalm is written and spoken by those who know the “hurt, alienation, suffering and death” of human life. These Psalms sing of “rage, resentment, self-pity, and hatred.” And They use extreme imagery to express the depth of this kind of experience. This Psalm demands that we “do not pretend the world is other than it really is. This Psalm does not withhold anything from God. And this Psalm demands that God be present in the dark times of life.” Psalm 137 is a great example: “By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered you, O Zion. As for our harps, we hung them up on the trees in the midst of that land…How shall we sing the Lord’s song upon and alien soil? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue cleave to the floor of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy…O daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy they shall be who repay you for what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!” Pretty violent imagery! These are the Psalm verses we don’t often read in worship because they are dark. But it is too bad because these Psalms are of deep, deep lament. These are the psalms sung by grieving mothers at the bedsides of their sick children. These are the songs of widows at the graves of their buried beloveds. These are the Psalms of despair and grief beyond which one cannot see any light. These are the songs of the disciples as they sat in the upper room when they thought Jesus was dead and gone forever.

The third set of Psalms are the New Orientation Psalms. These Psalms sing of a “turn of surprise when we are overwhelmed with the new gifts of God, when joy breaks through despair. Where there has only been darkness, there is light…[These Psalms sing] about a new gift from God…” God breaks into the world, into the despair making all things new. This is not simply a return to a previous ordering or system of faith. This is a whole new thing that God has created, giving us a new way to look at life and death. These Psalms might be personal or communal or liturgical or just public songs sung in total abandonment in praise of God.
Psalm 150 is a Psalm of Reorientation. It is total abandonment of praise for the one who has given a new order, the One who has newly oriented our lives as individuals and our life as a community. And that can only happen after the Disorientation. Only through the valley of the Shadow of Death as Psalm 23 says can we summon from within a true, deep, Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! This Psalm comes from the depths of praise and joy. This Psalm comes from the lips of ones who know what it feels like to believe God has abandoned us and one who knows from experience that God never abandons us.

This is the kind of Hallelujah that can only be uttered on this side of Easter and can only be uttered when doubt and fear and mistrust and questions have entered the head and the heart, taken up residence and then been assuaged and mollified, when trust has re-entered and God’s love has proved to be more powerful. Thomas then is the personified figure of our doubt and fear and mistrust and questions. He gets to say what all of us have thought before, what the Psalmists cried out when it seemed God had abandoned them – Like Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He is the voice of the one facing doubts and fear and mistrust and questions. How can resurrection happen when darkness and death are so real and so pervasive and so horribly visceral?

The great news about Thomas, and the great news for all of us, is that Jesus comes to him, and to us, with new orientation. Out of the despair and darkness Jesus comes with a surprising – very surprising – new word. And the new word is: Life.

What the Psalms teach us about this Easter greeting is that it doesn’t happen only once. You’ll find these Psalms of Orientation, disorientation and reorientation throughout the whole book. And that is how life works too, right? We are happy, despairing, and praise-filled over and over again throughout our days. And each time, in all the times, God is with us. And especially in our moments of darkest despair and deepest agony, God comes to us in the risen Christ, breathing new life, giving rest for the weary and sight to the blind, wine for the party and strength for the journey.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

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[i] I first heard this joke on “The Vicar of Dibley” though I don’t remember which episode. Could look it up but…

[ii] This and the following paragraphs paraphrased from Waltner, James, Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms. Herald Press, Scottdale, PA. 2006 It was a gift to me from the author, my pastor for 7 years, who drove to Valpo from Goshen when I was preparing for baptism, who prayed for me in my discernment and even after I chose to be Lutheran, on the occasion of my ordination.

[iii] The following paragraphs explaining the three types of Psalms taken from Brueggemann, Walter, Spirituality of the Psalms. Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, MN, 2002 and http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/boustrophedon/THROUGH_THE_PSALMS.pdf , an outline of Brueggemann’s book.