Psalm 101:1 I
will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
Psalm 101 starts off so well. The
writer declares his intent to sing of noble ideals like love and justice, as
well as praising God. Sounds like a great idea and a wonderful way to express
his faith; unfortunately, the rest of the psalm does not live up to the initial
opening statement.
Very soon, the psalmist goes into a
self-righteous mode and quickly begins to condemn those who do not follow God’s
ways. At one point he further declares that:
v5 - Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I
will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will
not tolerate.
We are all guilty of this and have experienced
it on numerous occasions, from those with deeply entrenched views, as well from
those who call themselves tolerant people. Sadly, we all currently see this all-too-human
trait in the many forms of moral iconoclasm where opposing groups on abortion,
sexuality, war, politics, or poverty tear down each other’s beliefs and
standards, in the forlorn hope that the last person standing will win the day.
As I read the rest of Psalm 101, I
wish that the writer had just written a spiritual haiku, for his first words
speak so well of what faithful folks like us should aspire toward. The world is
full of wounded people and in need of a merciful holy healing, but if faithful
people are wounding one another, then how can God’s message be effectively
witnessed to, in our communities? I honestly think that if we get rid of our agendas
and instead subscribe to the love, mercy, and truth of Christ, then we will
have a substantial message to proclaim; otherwise, we will fall like the wounded
around us, and be of no use to anyone.
Questions for personal reflection
How can I support
God’s work of love and justice? Where is God working in my congregation and community
today?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all have sinned and
fall short of God’s standards and we know that we are unworthy of Your mercy.
However, we do know that You love us and command us to love one another. Help
us to see where You are working among us, in our congregation, our community,
and our country. Enable us to become better servants of Your healing ministry.
In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.
John
Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville,
Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions about today’s message,
please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.
Today’s
attached image is one of John’s bulletin covers for churches. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Easter7B.
