Epiphany 8 / Ordinary Time 8 / Proper 3
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High ...
-- Psalm 92:1
Psalm 92 has the superscription that says it is a song for the sabbath day. On the sabbath the person of faith steps aside from work and productivity to give thanks, sing praise, and to declare God's steadfast love and faithfulness to the music of the lute, harp, and lyre (vv. 1-3). As an echo of God's ceasing to work on the sabbath, so humans are invited to step back from their productivity and rest. "For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy" (v. 4). In worship one steps out of the pressures of time to reflect on life and receives an entirely different perspective even on the occasional success of wickedness in our world (vv. 5-9). In worship one can feel the exuberant joy to which God has anointed you (v. 10), and you recognize that in the eternity of God, evil acts have no lasting influence (v. 11). In worship you can feel the flowering of the self because your life finds its true center in God's presence (vv. 12-13).
When you are centered in God, age is not the determinative factor of your worth (v. 14). It is the fresh creativity of the elderly in worship that demonstrates God's steady righteousness. So Sarah, Abraham, Zechariah, and Elizabeth all gave evidence that in God's presence, life is never over. In worship we touch eternity where both the frustrations of age and the wounds of injustice pale in light of the eternal presence of God who draws us forward.
-- Psalm 92:1
Psalm 92 has the superscription that says it is a song for the sabbath day. On the sabbath the person of faith steps aside from work and productivity to give thanks, sing praise, and to declare God's steadfast love and faithfulness to the music of the lute, harp, and lyre (vv. 1-3). As an echo of God's ceasing to work on the sabbath, so humans are invited to step back from their productivity and rest. "For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy" (v. 4). In worship one steps out of the pressures of time to reflect on life and receives an entirely different perspective even on the occasional success of wickedness in our world (vv. 5-9). In worship one can feel the exuberant joy to which God has anointed you (v. 10), and you recognize that in the eternity of God, evil acts have no lasting influence (v. 11). In worship you can feel the flowering of the self because your life finds its true center in God's presence (vv. 12-13).
When you are centered in God, age is not the determinative factor of your worth (v. 14). It is the fresh creativity of the elderly in worship that demonstrates God's steady righteousness. So Sarah, Abraham, Zechariah, and Elizabeth all gave evidence that in God's presence, life is never over. In worship we touch eternity where both the frustrations of age and the wounds of injustice pale in light of the eternal presence of God who draws us forward.
