Proper 6 / Pentecost 4 / Ordinary Time 11
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
-- Psalm 5:3
As a response to the injustice portrayed in the story of Naboth's vineyard, you can hear Naboth pleading his cause to God. "Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray" (vv. 1-2). When a person experiences serious injustice and is powerless to resist it, it is appropriate for that person to place his or her cause before God. In a larger sense, this psalm becomes a morning prayer in which we orient our whole day as we begin to live in a less than perfect world.
We begin our day with a plea that God might hear our innermost groaning as we present the entire day ahead of us as a sacrifice to be found acceptable to the Lord (vv. 1-3). Later Paul will speak of presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). We are well aware that there are injustices in the world in which we live, but we do not wish our lives to contribute to that which offends God.
Despite appearances in the world, we are confident that the way of the wicked, seen in the proud and the deceitful, is not acceptable to God (vv. 4-6). Our life is sustained by the abundance of God's love, and we are dependent on God's leading if we are to follow the path of righteousness (vv. 7-8). When our world is lived in praise of God, then even the injustices which we may experience can become our offering to God.
-- Psalm 5:3
As a response to the injustice portrayed in the story of Naboth's vineyard, you can hear Naboth pleading his cause to God. "Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray" (vv. 1-2). When a person experiences serious injustice and is powerless to resist it, it is appropriate for that person to place his or her cause before God. In a larger sense, this psalm becomes a morning prayer in which we orient our whole day as we begin to live in a less than perfect world.
We begin our day with a plea that God might hear our innermost groaning as we present the entire day ahead of us as a sacrifice to be found acceptable to the Lord (vv. 1-3). Later Paul will speak of presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). We are well aware that there are injustices in the world in which we live, but we do not wish our lives to contribute to that which offends God.
Despite appearances in the world, we are confident that the way of the wicked, seen in the proud and the deceitful, is not acceptable to God (vv. 4-6). Our life is sustained by the abundance of God's love, and we are dependent on God's leading if we are to follow the path of righteousness (vv. 7-8). When our world is lived in praise of God, then even the injustices which we may experience can become our offering to God.
