Psalm 113

Proper 20 (25) - Year C


Ps 113 or 1 Samuel 2:1-10

Whether it be Lady Wisdom in the beginning or Hannah or a Psalmist or Mary or you or me - when we stop long enough to listen there is the echo of a far-off hymn hailing a new creation.

Are you hearing the assurance that such a new creation is a given? Even if it gets us into all manner of issues of how such a strong future allows such tragedy at the present to continue, we still proceed as though it were true. To do anything else is to settle for what is and "we are far too good not to be better" (a quote quoted two nights ago by our cluster church conference preacher).

Even in the midst of our humility may we sing loud and clear - a new order is growing among us. Don't give up for you are one of the stepping stones of its arrival; you bear within you new life.

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2003/november2003.html

 


 

Psalm 113 or Psalm 79:1-9

O God, surely we are not the worst. After all, you chose us. We're on your side. So we make a few errors -- you don't bench your star players or fine them for a few mistakes. If we weren't so tired from practice and got to play in more meaningful games, surely we would focus better. Perhaps this is a management issue, not a player one.

For the sake of a better master/servant relationship, we implore you to get mad at the real culprits - the press that magnifies our every flaw and those bums of fans who turn so quickly when championships are not automatically ours.

If only you'd get the right villains, and get them good, then we'd be better able to laud you to the heavens (at least three or four of them). Come on, God, you got the best seat in the universe, way up there somewhere, so use that privileged position to get a better perspective and you'll see we're not as bad as them.

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2004/september2004.html

 


 

Psalm 113 or Psalm 79:1-9

Laments are such fun. They have a way of reminding us that our current mountain is nothing but a molehill and we might as give up lamenting. They can also plumb the depths of despair and still find G*D as ground under the deepest hole.

It is not so much each line here, but the general progression that is so helpful.

We move from an "ouch" to a "blame" to "plea" to "trusting praise". That's a lot of work to be done in nine short verses. Here attend to the flow rather than get hung up on a particular detail. This reflects well our roller-coaster ride through any disappointment or grief. Just slap your latest difficulty in here and see how it works.

- - -

we fight our enemies
that's just what we do
without a thought
we fight

sometimes we fight
with our enemies
against a larger enemy
threatening us both

were we both
to be in touch with our laments
we might find that commonality
long before we otherwise do

under all our differences
we are joined hip and thigh
by our lamentation
a real but far off hymn of new creation

let's not posture strength
but wail our deep woe
to connect below negotiation
all the way to soul

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html

 


 

It is one things to look far down as G*D of all G*D’s observes from afar a faint image. [Verses 5-6]

It is quite another to move beyond observation to engagement. [Verses 7-8]

Mary could have quite easily turned her experience with Gabriel into an observation game. Hmm, how interesting, I’ll just let this be and see what happens.

Instead Mary takes an intentional trip to see another who had a similar experience, though from a desire for a child rather than just having one awkwardly show up. This trip shifts Mary from passive recipient to active participant. An affirmation by another does wonders to set us on the path of our gift, asked for or not and whether or not the general populace would agree. An affirmation can lead to a magnificent job description and the The Magnificat is a magnificent job description for being able to move on from an accepted order of indispensable top dog to disposable mangy cur.

In light of intentional and un-intentional infertility, you might want to either drop verse 9 or modify it outside a cultural expectation of reproduction for reproduction’s sake.

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2014/05/psalm-113.html