Proper 18 / Pentecost 16 / OT 23
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands.
-- Psalm 149:6
We tend to treat worship so casually in our society. Even for believers, it is a nice thing to do but hardly a critical thing, let alone a dangerous thing to do. The central event in Israel's liberation from slavery is re-enacted in worship. The Jewish liturgy stands as a challenge to all forms of slavery. It is a remembrance of the liberating power of God. Our time of worship becomes an act of celebrating victory over the forces of chaos and darkness. We have made it through another week without being overcome by the enemy. The psalmist suggested that continual praise of God was like a two-edged sword that executed vengeance on nations and punishment on people. Edward Gibbons, in The Rise and the Fall of the Roman Empire, suggested that when Christians praised God, it gave them a loyalty greater than the state and that was the beginning of the fall of the empire. So one cut of our sword of worship is that it reminds us that even nations are accountable to the God of justice and that our ultimate loyalty is to this God. The other cut of the sword of worship is that we also are accountable to God for justice and mercy to others in need. The "glory for all faithful ones" is to recognize again that it is God, not kings, nobles, CEOs, judges, or senators who shape the world. In praising God, we regain perspective on reality and are once more liberated to reenter the world to love our neighbor. It is an appropriate occasion for a party.
-- Psalm 149:6
We tend to treat worship so casually in our society. Even for believers, it is a nice thing to do but hardly a critical thing, let alone a dangerous thing to do. The central event in Israel's liberation from slavery is re-enacted in worship. The Jewish liturgy stands as a challenge to all forms of slavery. It is a remembrance of the liberating power of God. Our time of worship becomes an act of celebrating victory over the forces of chaos and darkness. We have made it through another week without being overcome by the enemy. The psalmist suggested that continual praise of God was like a two-edged sword that executed vengeance on nations and punishment on people. Edward Gibbons, in The Rise and the Fall of the Roman Empire, suggested that when Christians praised God, it gave them a loyalty greater than the state and that was the beginning of the fall of the empire. So one cut of our sword of worship is that it reminds us that even nations are accountable to the God of justice and that our ultimate loyalty is to this God. The other cut of the sword of worship is that we also are accountable to God for justice and mercy to others in need. The "glory for all faithful ones" is to recognize again that it is God, not kings, nobles, CEOs, judges, or senators who shape the world. In praising God, we regain perspective on reality and are once more liberated to reenter the world to love our neighbor. It is an appropriate occasion for a party.
