“An outpouring of gratitude”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, April 6, 2023
Psalm 116:1,12-19 (Forward, p. 67) CEV p. 627
Sometimes the designers of the lectionary, the selection of daily Scripture readings, puzzle considerably. Today’s psalm, Psalm 116, is a song of thanksgiving to God for having saved its author from death, and the verses selected for our reading describe his response, his gratitude, but not their reason, their context. And so, I can’t really understand why the designers of the lectionary would leave this out, especially in light of what today is, namely Maundy Thursday, when we remember Jesus’ sacrificial meal and His prediction of His own death—and resurrection.
Sure, at the time His death seemed like a total ‘dead-end’ and so some of today’s verses seem irrelevant, or, just plain wrong, for as we all know, He did indeed die. God did not save Him at that point in time:
“Death attacked me from all sides, and I was captured by its painful chains. But when I was really hurting, I prayed and said, ‘Lord, please don’t let me die!’ (verses 3-4);
“You, Lord, have saved my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. Now I will walk at your side at this land of the living. I was faithful to you when I was suffering, though in my confusion I said, ‘I can’t trust anyone!’” (verses 8-11).
But I happen to think that Jesus was of the belief, of the conviction, that God would indeed ‘come through for him’ in the end. And so the psalm’s offering of praise and gratitude is quite appropriate, even from the lips of Jesus:
-that He would offer a cup of salvation, an offering of wine, to God;
-that He would pray in God’s name;
-that He would keep His promises, His vows, to God.
What question this poses to me is whether we too can praise God in all things and at all times, yes, even when things seem stacked against us and things don’t seem to be going very well? Will be faithful to Him and prayer and trust, even at such times? And will we continue with the vows we have made to Him in our baptism and confirmation, to renounce all that is evil
and sinful and turn to Christ and trust Him and obey Him in everything. That is what Jesus did, and did, in even more perilous and difficult situations that we will ever find ourselves in. Something to think about.
Forward notes: “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of his people” (verse 12).
“I have taken three vows in my life thus far: wedding vows and two ordination vows (deacon and priest). I regret to say that after 25 years I could no longer honour my marriage vows: I had to choose my own safety and well-being. My vows as an ordained minister have likewise not always been easy; after being treated terribly by a parish, I was so disillusioned that I told my bishop I wanted to renounce my vows. Thankfully, he would not accept my decision without a ‘cooling-off period,’ after which I realized I had mistaken the (fallible) church as institution for God. That’s embarrassing to admit as a priest, but I am human.
“Jesus gave us the commandment to love one another, but there are times when I have failed to live up to this mandate—and times when I’ve experienced others’ failure as well. Even when we are not able to love one another, God loves us and gives us an example of humility. Honouring vows takes love—and humility.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Do you need help in living into your vows? Pray for guidance and support.