Proper 27
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals,
in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion,
for all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Alternate Image
The Singer visits a cemetery. She examines headstone after
headstone. She is amazed by how many of these people she has
known and how many of them were members of the various choirs she
has directed over her lifetime.
Standing in front of the headstones the Singer closes her eyes
and raises her arms as though to direct this choir of past
members. She whispers her instructions. She tells her deceased
choir to sing about creation, about heaven and earth. They are to
sing about their faith and about justice. She asks them to sing
about liberation and sanctuary. As she lifts her arms in
preparation for the downbeat a small boy who has been watching
tells her, "Lady, you're lookin' in the wrong direction."
The Singer pauses, smiles, lifts her eyes heavenward and
begins her direction.
Reflection
"I will sing praise to God while I have being." I think the
older translation captures something we may miss in the new. We
are often skeptical or even embarrassed by faith exclamations in
seemingly inappropriate settings. We may look away or think it an
oddity if we see folk saying a table grace in a public
restaurant. We have made prayer illegal in schools. We can be
bemused or annoyed by folk bringing scripture into a supposedly
secular discussion. And, we certainly don't expect a choir of the
deceased.
Where does our being spring? From God, of course. God is
eternal. God has provided salvation for all of us. God continues
to create in creation. God still liberates, feeds, clothes and
supports us. So why not listen for choirs to sing in graveyards?
Just be sure which way your eyes are oriented.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals,
in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion,
for all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Alternate Image
The Singer visits a cemetery. She examines headstone after
headstone. She is amazed by how many of these people she has
known and how many of them were members of the various choirs she
has directed over her lifetime.
Standing in front of the headstones the Singer closes her eyes
and raises her arms as though to direct this choir of past
members. She whispers her instructions. She tells her deceased
choir to sing about creation, about heaven and earth. They are to
sing about their faith and about justice. She asks them to sing
about liberation and sanctuary. As she lifts her arms in
preparation for the downbeat a small boy who has been watching
tells her, "Lady, you're lookin' in the wrong direction."
The Singer pauses, smiles, lifts her eyes heavenward and
begins her direction.
Reflection
"I will sing praise to God while I have being." I think the
older translation captures something we may miss in the new. We
are often skeptical or even embarrassed by faith exclamations in
seemingly inappropriate settings. We may look away or think it an
oddity if we see folk saying a table grace in a public
restaurant. We have made prayer illegal in schools. We can be
bemused or annoyed by folk bringing scripture into a supposedly
secular discussion. And, we certainly don't expect a choir of the
deceased.
Where does our being spring? From God, of course. God is
eternal. God has provided salvation for all of us. God continues
to create in creation. God still liberates, feeds, clothes and
supports us. So why not listen for choirs to sing in graveyards?
Just be sure which way your eyes are oriented.
