Psalm 27 Triumphant Song of Confidence (NRSV)
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall fear? One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, … Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, ….
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Devotion
This honest cry explodes from a human heart not as formal “Statement of Faith,” but as fervent song/prayer/exhortation whose audience shifts among Lord, the psalmist, and other Israelites. Its content alternates between proclamations of “triumphant confidence” (per the added subheading) and pleas for rescue. The unspecified dangers might be David’s calamities or later ones preceding the temple’s destruction and Exile, but the psalm teems with adversaries, evildoers, foes, an army, enemies, and false witnesses “all around.” The psalmist bases his trust in God’s goodness on the Lord’s past help, but begs as well as boasts. Importantly, he seeks a close, personal relationship with God under shelter of the temple or tent (tabernacle), where God dwelt among his people.
How does this relate to Holy Week or to a 2024 church with a “Hospitality and Service” Lenten theme? Some ways: 1) The psalm resonates with Jesus’ prayers at the last meal with his disciples (John 17) and in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26: 39-42). He expressed confidence in God’s will and love amid this awful end to his earthly ministry, but still pleads for himself, his disciples, and future believers. 2) God “tabernacles” with LPC as we practice and extend love, hospitality, and service among those inside and outside our walls, welcoming people in all stages of triumphant confidence and weary doubt. The content and tone of our worship, education, and activities exude joy, praise, and faith while acknowledging the imperfections of ourselves and the rest of the world. This is my 9th church, and it best excels at combining success, humility, and change. 3) Our efforts to address needs of neighbors, refugees, and the world is deep and broad, not just in mission dollars but in engagement by children, youth, and adults. Our desire to express God’s presence tangibly should be boosted by this year’s “Mission and Service Lenten Challenge” booklet, which offers action ideas possible for all. Like the psalmist we pray hard—and then we act.
Prayer
Dear God-with-us, thank you for knowledge of your love and presence we gain through the history and prayers of ancient generations; through Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection; and through daily encounters with your love working in mysterious ways. Help us to do more than say words of ritual celebration in our beloved community, but to find new ways of meeting the world’s needs near and far, through humble witness and courageous action. Amen
Carroll Leslie Bastian
“Sometimes It Just Seems to be Too Much”
By Ted Loder, in Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle (1984)
Sometimes, Lord,
It just seems to be too much
too much violence, too much fear,
too much of demands and problems;
too much of broken dreams and broken lives;
too much of war and slums and dying;
too much of greed and squishy fatness
and the sounds of people
devouring each other
and the earth;
too much of stale routines and quarrels,
unpaid bills and dead ends;
too much of words lobbed in to explode
and leaving shredded hearts and lacerated souls;
too much of turned-away backs and yellow silence,
red rage and the bitter taste of ashes in my mouth.
Sometimes the very air seems scorched
by threats and rejection and decay
until there is nothing
but to inhale pain
and exhale confusion.
Too much of darkness, Lord,
too much of cruelty
and selfishness
and indifference…
Too much, Lord
too much,
too bloody,
bruising,
brain-washing much.
Or is it too little,
too little of compassion,
too little of courage,
of daring,
of persistence,
of sacrifice;
too little of music
and laughter
and celebration?
O God,
make of me some nourishment
for these starved times,
some food
for my brothers and sisters
who are hungry for gladness and hope,
that, being bread for them,
I may also be fed
and be full.