The Transfiguration Of Our Lord (Last Sunday After Epiphany)
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
-- Psalm 99:1
Psalm 99 is best heard as a psalm to the people of God when they have grown comfortable and indifferent to their relationship with God. "The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake" (v. 1)! Few people in our church tremble at the thought that God might really be in charge. Even in the church, we are more focused on the moment than we are touched by the eternal. The psalm challenged the people to praise God because God is holy -- totally different from and apart from us and yet rules over us: "The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples" (v. 2).
It is more than just the presence of the eternal God. This God who rules over life is a lover of justice and an establisher of equity as has been demonstrated in the past (v. 4). We are charged to worship or give first priority to this God of justice. "Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he" (v. 5)! The psalmist reminds us of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel as people who cried out to God, and God responded to them (v. 6). God told them how they should live. "He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and statutes that he gave them" (v. 7). This God who answered them was not only a forgiving God but also punished their wrongdoing (v. 8).
Now we know why we should tremble. God is more than a magic amulet that assists us in living. God is someone totally different from us who expects us to reflect God's love for justice and equality. "Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy" (v. 9). Precisely because God has responded to us, we know that God expects something from our lives. There is reason for us to tremble when we come into God's presence. "Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!"
-- Psalm 99:1
Psalm 99 is best heard as a psalm to the people of God when they have grown comfortable and indifferent to their relationship with God. "The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake" (v. 1)! Few people in our church tremble at the thought that God might really be in charge. Even in the church, we are more focused on the moment than we are touched by the eternal. The psalm challenged the people to praise God because God is holy -- totally different from and apart from us and yet rules over us: "The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples" (v. 2).
It is more than just the presence of the eternal God. This God who rules over life is a lover of justice and an establisher of equity as has been demonstrated in the past (v. 4). We are charged to worship or give first priority to this God of justice. "Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he" (v. 5)! The psalmist reminds us of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel as people who cried out to God, and God responded to them (v. 6). God told them how they should live. "He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and statutes that he gave them" (v. 7). This God who answered them was not only a forgiving God but also punished their wrongdoing (v. 8).
Now we know why we should tremble. God is more than a magic amulet that assists us in living. God is someone totally different from us who expects us to reflect God's love for justice and equality. "Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy" (v. 9). Precisely because God has responded to us, we know that God expects something from our lives. There is reason for us to tremble when we come into God's presence. "Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!"
