“The choices we make”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, July 12, 2024
Psalm 16 (Forward, p. 75) CEV p. 562
Steadfastness is not necessarily one of the most notable qualities of us fickle human beings and so this psalm from David comes like something of a breath of fresh air. Over and over again in this relatively short psalm he makes mention of his commitment to God—and incidentally, to no other:
“Protect me, Lord God! I run to you for safety, and I have said, ‘Only you are my Lord!’. Every good thing I have is a gift from you” (verves 1-2).
Only you – God as his security and provider.
“You, Lord, are all I want! You are my choice, and you keep me safe. You make my life pleasant, and my future is bright” (verses 5-6).
You are all I want. You are my choice – God as his desire and
his ambition in life.
“I praise you, Lord, for being my guide. Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind” (verse 7).
My guide (your teachings) – God as His leader, director and
teacher.
“I will always look to you, as you stand beside me and protect me from fear. With all my heart, I will celebrate, and I can safely rest” (verses 8-9).
You stand beside me, protect me and allow me to rest in
peace – God as his companion and protector.
And, with all this, he can say, ‘with all my heart’. Are there many of us who can say the same thing? That God is our hope and our desire, our security and our providers, and our teacher? With all our hearts? Surely these words of David are a tough act to follow, but it is not something that we need tackle on our own, much less in our own strength. As David intimated, God is there standing beside us and always near to us to guide us and help us (verses 8,11). Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “Because he is at my right hand I shall not fall” (verse 8).
“I was excited to serve on the Episcopal Church’s inaugural delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2015. Several delegates joined a march on International Women’s Day, and it reminded me of the civil rights marches in the 1960s, where people would sing hymns together, such as ‘Like a tree planted by the water, we shall not be moved.’
“We are stronger together, and I am always excited to be a part of the church showing up in the world against injustice. The work is never easy. Building interfaith, ecumenical, and community partnerships takes time and humility. But with God at our right hand, we have the strength and ability to do this difficult work, knowing that relationship-building is not just what justice looks like; it is what the kingdom of God looks like.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Is there someone God is calling you to partner with to do the work of love and justice in the world?”
A concluding word or two: our author tells only part of the story. It is about both love and justice. It is not only about solving the wrongs, making sure that they are corrected and don’t happen again. It is also about loving them and caring for them where they are right now. And that means sharing with them the good news of God in Christ Jesus. It is like someone trapped in an automobile that has caught fire due to a design fault that the manufacturer knew about but declined to correct. Right now, the key thing, the most important thing, is rescuing the person from the fire—which basically, is what our world and its systems and values are all about right now. Dealing with the underlying issues of company profits and corporate responsibility and neglect will come later.