Proper 19/Pentecost 17/Ordinary Time 24
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
Object:
(See Proper 12/Pentecost 10/Ordinary Time 17, Cycle B, for an alternative approach.)
The psalm writer has an interesting perspective on the origin of injustice in our world. He begins this psalm with the assertion that those who do not believe in God are "fools." He goes on to accuse them of corruption and of being incapable of doing good. Later on he writes, "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?" (v. 4).
It's a staggering thought. The greed and selfishness that marks so much of our world -- and that most certainly contributes to, and maintains, the massive poverty we see everywhere -- is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the presence of God.
Of course, the psalmist is really saying more than just that. For the psalmist, those who say "there is no God" are the ones who have no "knowledge of God." This is not a nod toward a mental affirmation of some abstract existence of a divine being. The psalmist believes that knowing God means experiencing God in a personal, intimate, and disciplined relationship. It's not just saying, "Yes," to the question, "Do you believe in God?" Knowing God means being connected to God, in a relationship in which our entire existence centers on the presence of God.
Failure to do this, the psalmist seems to be saying, is the root of all our problems. It's what makes it possible for us to put money and possessions above people and their needs. Our failure to have a vital relationship with God renders us mentally and spiritually incapable of making appropriate ethical and moral decisions.
This is an important distinction for us to understand. There is a certain religiosity in our culture that is quick to offer verbal affirmations about God. In fact, there is a significant amount of interest in some quarters about the need to "acknowledge God" in our public life. Unfortunately, what this often boils down to is some sort of public display of piety, or some token acknowledgment such as a monument to the Ten Commandments.
But the psalmist will not allow us to empty the meaning out of "knowing God." When we really know God, we know God's people. The psalmist writes, "You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." In other words, had we been in the company of God by means of a committed, intimate relationship, we would never have allowed the exploitation of the weak and the needy.
The final verse points to the ultimate hope underlying the psalmist's meditation. The expression, "when God restores the fortunes of his people" could very well be an allusion to the Jubilee year detailed in Leviticus 25. The jubilee celebration was marked by the restoration of all property to those who had become poor through the intervening years.
Common sense would suggest that, were we forced to give land we had held for fifty years back to the original owner, this would be an occasion for anger and resentment. But if we "know the Lord," the coming of the great restoration is an occasion for rejoicing and celebration within the entire community. This response is only possible if we have a lively relationship with God. By means of an intimate connection with God's presence, we learn to want what God wants. We will want what is right and fair.
After all, only fools -- who say and act as though there is no God -- are comfortable in a world where the poor suffer while the wealthy prosper.
-- J. E.
The psalm writer has an interesting perspective on the origin of injustice in our world. He begins this psalm with the assertion that those who do not believe in God are "fools." He goes on to accuse them of corruption and of being incapable of doing good. Later on he writes, "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?" (v. 4).
It's a staggering thought. The greed and selfishness that marks so much of our world -- and that most certainly contributes to, and maintains, the massive poverty we see everywhere -- is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the presence of God.
Of course, the psalmist is really saying more than just that. For the psalmist, those who say "there is no God" are the ones who have no "knowledge of God." This is not a nod toward a mental affirmation of some abstract existence of a divine being. The psalmist believes that knowing God means experiencing God in a personal, intimate, and disciplined relationship. It's not just saying, "Yes," to the question, "Do you believe in God?" Knowing God means being connected to God, in a relationship in which our entire existence centers on the presence of God.
Failure to do this, the psalmist seems to be saying, is the root of all our problems. It's what makes it possible for us to put money and possessions above people and their needs. Our failure to have a vital relationship with God renders us mentally and spiritually incapable of making appropriate ethical and moral decisions.
This is an important distinction for us to understand. There is a certain religiosity in our culture that is quick to offer verbal affirmations about God. In fact, there is a significant amount of interest in some quarters about the need to "acknowledge God" in our public life. Unfortunately, what this often boils down to is some sort of public display of piety, or some token acknowledgment such as a monument to the Ten Commandments.
But the psalmist will not allow us to empty the meaning out of "knowing God." When we really know God, we know God's people. The psalmist writes, "You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." In other words, had we been in the company of God by means of a committed, intimate relationship, we would never have allowed the exploitation of the weak and the needy.
The final verse points to the ultimate hope underlying the psalmist's meditation. The expression, "when God restores the fortunes of his people" could very well be an allusion to the Jubilee year detailed in Leviticus 25. The jubilee celebration was marked by the restoration of all property to those who had become poor through the intervening years.
Common sense would suggest that, were we forced to give land we had held for fifty years back to the original owner, this would be an occasion for anger and resentment. But if we "know the Lord," the coming of the great restoration is an occasion for rejoicing and celebration within the entire community. This response is only possible if we have a lively relationship with God. By means of an intimate connection with God's presence, we learn to want what God wants. We will want what is right and fair.
After all, only fools -- who say and act as though there is no God -- are comfortable in a world where the poor suffer while the wealthy prosper.
-- J. E.
