Epiphany 8/Ordinary Time 8
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
Object:
This is one of those psalms whose words have become so familiar from liturgical usage that they run the risk of evading our consciousness. How many spoken assurances of pardon have included the words, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (v. 8).
Yet they are words that bear repeating, as well as careful study. Within the central portion of this psalm, verses 8-13, are some of the most powerful and profound statements in Hebrew thought concerning the attributes of God -- although verse 8 wraps it all up in one tight package.
Let's see what this verse teaches about the nature of God:
1. The Lord is merciful (sometimes translated "compassionate") -- transgressors can return to God again and again, confessing their sin, confident that the one who judges them also loves them, and will temper judgment with kindness.
2. The Lord is gracious -- with respect to the penitent, there is no longer any keeping of score, no tally of sins; God is not an accountant of human transgressions.
3. The Lord is slow to anger -- although some may be troubled by the thought that the Lord gets angry, in fact this is good news, in that the Lord first seeks out every possible alternative to wrath. In the larger context of the verse, divine anger is but one attribute of God, pointing to God's abiding justice -- but in the end it is tempered by mercy, grace, and love.
4. The Lord abounds in steadfast love -- this rich Hebrew concept of hesed is difficult to translate in all its fullness. It communicates a sense of deep, reliable caring and protection. While human beings are fickle in their love for each other and for their God, the Lord is utterly reliable.
Does our culture believe these things about God? Not really. Shallow versions of Christianity that see the Lord as either a benignly supportive therapist, or a harsh and terrifying judge, abound. The God described in Psalm 103:8 has some similarities to these superficial views, but this verse bears powerful witness that they in no way exhaust the meaning of the divine. The Lord is both to be feared and loved, and with good reason -- but the good news is that, for those who approach the judgment seat in faith, mercy, grace, and love will always triumph over retribution.
In the words of Roman Catholic theologian Hans Küng:
From the first to the last page of the Bible, it is clear that God's will is aimed at our well-being at all levels... God's will is a helpful, healing, liberating, saving will. God wills life, joy, freedom, peace, salvation ... both of the individual and of humanity as a whole. And this is the meaning of all that Jesus proclaims.
-- C. W.
Yet they are words that bear repeating, as well as careful study. Within the central portion of this psalm, verses 8-13, are some of the most powerful and profound statements in Hebrew thought concerning the attributes of God -- although verse 8 wraps it all up in one tight package.
Let's see what this verse teaches about the nature of God:
1. The Lord is merciful (sometimes translated "compassionate") -- transgressors can return to God again and again, confessing their sin, confident that the one who judges them also loves them, and will temper judgment with kindness.
2. The Lord is gracious -- with respect to the penitent, there is no longer any keeping of score, no tally of sins; God is not an accountant of human transgressions.
3. The Lord is slow to anger -- although some may be troubled by the thought that the Lord gets angry, in fact this is good news, in that the Lord first seeks out every possible alternative to wrath. In the larger context of the verse, divine anger is but one attribute of God, pointing to God's abiding justice -- but in the end it is tempered by mercy, grace, and love.
4. The Lord abounds in steadfast love -- this rich Hebrew concept of hesed is difficult to translate in all its fullness. It communicates a sense of deep, reliable caring and protection. While human beings are fickle in their love for each other and for their God, the Lord is utterly reliable.
Does our culture believe these things about God? Not really. Shallow versions of Christianity that see the Lord as either a benignly supportive therapist, or a harsh and terrifying judge, abound. The God described in Psalm 103:8 has some similarities to these superficial views, but this verse bears powerful witness that they in no way exhaust the meaning of the divine. The Lord is both to be feared and loved, and with good reason -- but the good news is that, for those who approach the judgment seat in faith, mercy, grace, and love will always triumph over retribution.
In the words of Roman Catholic theologian Hans Küng:
From the first to the last page of the Bible, it is clear that God's will is aimed at our well-being at all levels... God's will is a helpful, healing, liberating, saving will. God wills life, joy, freedom, peace, salvation ... both of the individual and of humanity as a whole. And this is the meaning of all that Jesus proclaims.
-- C. W.
