Proper 12 / Pentecost 10 / Ordinary Time 17
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
-- Psalm 85:10-11
Psalm 85 celebrates Israel's return from exile but probes the fact that upon their return all was not well. From Israel's perspective, the fact that Cyrus let them return was a sign of God's forgiveness for the sins that had gotten them into trouble in the first place. "You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin." But when they returned, they found a land of abject poverty. The psalmist challenged God to complete the divine forgiveness by saving this people from the ruinous poverty in which they found themselves (vv. 4-7). This psalm invites us to boldness in our prayer life that many might at first find uncomfortable.
It is one thing to thank God for the blessings of life and quite another to challenge God. "Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?" The psalmist was confident that the character of God was one of steadfast love, and that the conditions of his people did not reflect this steadfast love. So he put his case before God, "Let me hear what God the Lord will speak...." We are encouraged to place our case before God because we know the character of God.
One of the intents of God in calling a people to be God's people was to make God's glory manifest on earth. While the psalmist could understand that the exile was God's punishment for the sins of the people, their restoration was a sign of God's forgiveness. That forgiveness would not be visible to the world if it meant that God's people now lived in abject poverty. "Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land."
To pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," is to pray for a transformed earth. "Steadfast love [of God] and faithfulness [of people] will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other." By the instructions of the psalmist, we learn that our prayer life is expected to be a two-way street of shared expectations. God expects faithfulness from us, and we can expect steadfast love from God. "Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky."
-- Psalm 85:10-11
Psalm 85 celebrates Israel's return from exile but probes the fact that upon their return all was not well. From Israel's perspective, the fact that Cyrus let them return was a sign of God's forgiveness for the sins that had gotten them into trouble in the first place. "You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin." But when they returned, they found a land of abject poverty. The psalmist challenged God to complete the divine forgiveness by saving this people from the ruinous poverty in which they found themselves (vv. 4-7). This psalm invites us to boldness in our prayer life that many might at first find uncomfortable.
It is one thing to thank God for the blessings of life and quite another to challenge God. "Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?" The psalmist was confident that the character of God was one of steadfast love, and that the conditions of his people did not reflect this steadfast love. So he put his case before God, "Let me hear what God the Lord will speak...." We are encouraged to place our case before God because we know the character of God.
One of the intents of God in calling a people to be God's people was to make God's glory manifest on earth. While the psalmist could understand that the exile was God's punishment for the sins of the people, their restoration was a sign of God's forgiveness. That forgiveness would not be visible to the world if it meant that God's people now lived in abject poverty. "Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land."
To pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," is to pray for a transformed earth. "Steadfast love [of God] and faithfulness [of people] will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other." By the instructions of the psalmist, we learn that our prayer life is expected to be a two-way street of shared expectations. God expects faithfulness from us, and we can expect steadfast love from God. "Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky."
