Proper 25
Worship
Aids To The Psalms
O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying to me,
"There is no help for you in God."
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people!
Selah
Alternate Image
The Singer finds a man crying on a park bench. The Singer sits down with him and asks, "Why are you crying?" The man replies, "Because my children beat me." The man's face is bruised, one arm is in a cast, he limps when he walks. The man continues, "I have run away from home because I am frightened of my children; they are my enemies. But now I am more frightened because I don't know where to go." The Singer is angry and asks, "Who are your children?" The man replies, "Your brothers and sisters. They are your enemies, too."
Reflection
Jesus told us, "Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those that curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully." "Turn the other cheek." But how about those that abuse parents or children? How can we love them? Why do they act so heinously? Because they are sinners! All people are sinners! All people are our enemies! Our brothers and sisters are sinners and our enemies. Indeed, our foes surround us and are us. In this Psalm, David understands that clearly as he flees from his own son, Absalom. If our own families turn against us is there any place of safety? Yes, God is always present. God invades our enemies and us, invades our pettiness, our meanness, our destructiveness, our jealousies and provides peace. God turns enemies into caring families through our elder brother, the Prince of Peace.
Many are rising against me;
many are saying to me,
"There is no help for you in God."
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people!
Selah
Alternate Image
The Singer finds a man crying on a park bench. The Singer sits down with him and asks, "Why are you crying?" The man replies, "Because my children beat me." The man's face is bruised, one arm is in a cast, he limps when he walks. The man continues, "I have run away from home because I am frightened of my children; they are my enemies. But now I am more frightened because I don't know where to go." The Singer is angry and asks, "Who are your children?" The man replies, "Your brothers and sisters. They are your enemies, too."
Reflection
Jesus told us, "Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those that curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully." "Turn the other cheek." But how about those that abuse parents or children? How can we love them? Why do they act so heinously? Because they are sinners! All people are sinners! All people are our enemies! Our brothers and sisters are sinners and our enemies. Indeed, our foes surround us and are us. In this Psalm, David understands that clearly as he flees from his own son, Absalom. If our own families turn against us is there any place of safety? Yes, God is always present. God invades our enemies and us, invades our pettiness, our meanness, our destructiveness, our jealousies and provides peace. God turns enemies into caring families through our elder brother, the Prince of Peace.
