Easter 3
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord....
-- Psalm 116:3-4
This is a psalm of a people who were almost stunned in their thanksgiving for having been delivered from a desperate situation. It is not clear whether the desperate situation from which the person was saved was that of death, illness, or some major social crisis. It is only clear that the petitioner was once in a state of desperation and turned and cried out to God. "I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications." The crisis had been resolved and the psalmist felt a deep need to "lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord." When we have experienced a deliverance from what we saw as a hopeless situation, there is a need to offer praise. To fail to offer praise at such a time would rob the experience of its importance. It is also a reminder of our dependence on a power outside of us. "O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds." For believers, there is a need to perform acts of worship making visible our thanksgiving. "I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord." While this psalm is paired with the story of the first conversions following Pentecost, it also reminds us of the importance of the church offering rituals of thanksgiving by which we can all acknowledge the providential care of God in our lives.
-- Psalm 116:3-4
This is a psalm of a people who were almost stunned in their thanksgiving for having been delivered from a desperate situation. It is not clear whether the desperate situation from which the person was saved was that of death, illness, or some major social crisis. It is only clear that the petitioner was once in a state of desperation and turned and cried out to God. "I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications." The crisis had been resolved and the psalmist felt a deep need to "lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord." When we have experienced a deliverance from what we saw as a hopeless situation, there is a need to offer praise. To fail to offer praise at such a time would rob the experience of its importance. It is also a reminder of our dependence on a power outside of us. "O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds." For believers, there is a need to perform acts of worship making visible our thanksgiving. "I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord." While this psalm is paired with the story of the first conversions following Pentecost, it also reminds us of the importance of the church offering rituals of thanksgiving by which we can all acknowledge the providential care of God in our lives.
