May 24, 2023 — Psalm 39

“I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth —surely everyone is but a breath. “Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.” Psalm 39

The psalmist says, “Show me Lord the number of my days.” We all have wondered from time to time what the length of our life will be. We look at the lines on our palms wondering if they have something to say — though not seriously. But for sure, if we had some concept of how much time we have left on this earth, would it change how we view the world? After all, we have certain things that we think about evil, about crime, about how the wicked seem to prosper and the good suffer. So, if we knew we only had another year, would we spend more time fighting evil rather than saying “I just don’t have the interest or the time?” And, do we really feel as if “G-d is capricious and doesn’t really care?”

The psalmist comments on the capriciousness of life. If you think about it, we are just a puff of smoke in this universe, and all that we do is quite pointless in the context of the eternity of the universe. We are all “but a breath…dwelling like foreigners”. “Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)

So this psalm helps us face our inherent mortality. And it also makes us face a crucial spiritual question: Will I trust in G-d even though my life is a puff of smoke and I will eventually pass from this life? If we can embrace a trust in G-d, then–as Paul says–though we will all die, our death will lead to new life. Those who try to hold on to life will lose that battle no matter how long they struggle. But through the resurrection of Jesus, we too will live a new life.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, through your Son you taught us not to fear tomorrow but to commit our lives to your care. Withhold not your Spirit from us, but help us find a life of peace after these days of trouble; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May 23, 2023 — Psalm 38 

“O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,  or discipline me in your wrath. For your arrows have sunk into me,  and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me. But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;  it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me, those who boast against me when my foot slips.” For I am ready to fall,  and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity;  I am sorry for my sin. Those who are my foes without cause are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good are my adversaries because I follow after good. Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me; make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.” Psalm 38:1-4, 15-22 

The Psalmists could not see nor understand the most powerful metaphor for sin we have today: the presence of “cancer.” We talk often about how sin can become so insidious within a person or people that it acts like a “cancer” — eating away at the goodness within. But they surely knew enough of the effects of sin to call it a sickness that robs the body of “health” and “wholesomeness.” They understood that sin, like cancer, gets deep inside us, penetrating even to the bone. They realized that sin spreads, that it’s a silent killer moving often undetected to the farthest reaches of our beings, making itself at home as it consumes its home from the inside out. I am sure they saw the effects of cancer; they may even have seen open wounds that were the results of cancer. They just did not have the word “cancer” — but they had the results. 

Today, we are afraid to talk about sin — we find other ways to define it — ways that psycho-analyze our behavior, even explain it away. We see ourselves more as victims than as sinners; as wounded, misunderstood and doing the best we can. We don’t sin; we just make mistakes. 

The psalmist makes no excuses — his sins are a burden upon him — his body is failing; his mind is troubled; his spirit is in turmoil. But the psalmist also knows he’s the one who has brought him to this state — he has no one to blame but himself.  

This is where we need to remember that the psalms are meant as prayers, not the rantings of hopeless sinners. The psalmist made his claim, and now has shut his mouth and raised his arms in surrender. There are no excuses — he turns to the only place he can: the mercy of G-d — the goodness of G-d that shines all the brighter when we admit our human frailty and recognize sin as sin. It’s when we face our sin, when we admit that our lives have not been obedient as they should, that our thoughts have not been as righteous as they should, it is then that the light of G-d’s merciful love shines brightest. 

Prayer: Lord our God, you did not forget the pierced body of your Son nor the mockery his love received. Do not abandon us, your children, weighed down with sins, but give us the fullness of your mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.