“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.” Psalm 78:1-10

This psalm has two main purposes: to praise G-d and to instruct the believer. When we tell stories about our past, our love of G-d and the teachings that have informed our faith live in all aspects of our lives. Psalm 78 is an example of how we share our faith within the experience and celebration of our past, present and future. In this Psalm, the writer talks about the good bits of G-d’s help to Israel during the Exodus. But what is missing? If you look back toward the book of Exodus, you realize that all the complaining and ingratitude of the Israelites is missing. And what is the result of this selective recounting of the story from Exodus? Well, it’s a completely different story.

We can become forgetful when we reflect on our past. Sometimes we can live with revisionist history — but that can change how we encounter the present. In other words, even though the Israelites were acting like ungrateful children a lot of the journey in Exodus, without remembering their disobedience, we can forget how unconditionally gracious, loving and compassionate our G-d really is. Most importantly, we must remember how many second chances our G-d is willing to give G-d’s people — that is what Amazing Grace is all about.

PRAYERS

Shepherd of your people, strengthen us on our journey, we pray. Forgive our frequent rebelling, guide us through the wilderness, and feed us with the bread of angels, that we may proclaim the mystery of faith, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.