“A gate, a way through”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, April 18, 2022
Psalm 118:19-24 (Forward, p. 79) CEV p. 629
Experts in Biblical study and interpretation often counsel readers of the Scriptures to read any particular text in more than one translation, and no wonder. Today’s short passage from Psalm 118 is a good case in point:
Verse 19 for instance:
-in the Good News Bible, it is quite bland: “Open to me the gates of the Temple; I will go in and give thinks to the Lord”
-the NRSV (here the KJV is similar) puts a slight ‘cutting edge’ to it; “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord.”
-But then the CEV makes it downright challenging: “Open the gates of justice! I will enter and tell the Lord how thankful I am.”
How often we think of righteousness solely in terms of us and God, or in terms of our personal piety, our practice as defined in purely or mostly religious terms. But in describing it as ‘justice’, it tells us that our conduct also needs to have an ethical and human dimension, that is, to involve our relationships with our fellow human beings.
Verse 20 in the CEV expands on this: “Here is the gate of the Lord! Everyone who does right may enter this gate.” Interestingly, the Good New Bible says, “only the righteous can come in.”
Here, then, we are talking about the gate or gates, the way through, the ways that we might come into or access the presence of God.
All of this, at least so far, seems to depict this ‘gate’ or ‘gates’ in symbolic terms, that is, as the state of one’s character and conduct. But, what if this is a place? This makes sense, for many persons see this psalm as a ‘song of ascents’, a psalm that was recited by pilgrims ascending into the heights of the Holy City from farther regions round about. Certainly, the verses that speak of the Temple of the Lord or the house of the Lord (verses 19 & 26) or that talk of pilgrims ‘marching with palm branches all the way to the altar” (verse 27) give credence to this idea.
But then, what if the ‘gate’ or ‘gates’ also refer to a person? Verse 22, for instance, speaks of the stone which the builders tossed aside or refused or rejected as worthless now becoming the most important stone, the chief cornerstone. And elsewhere in the New Testament, we see that Jesus uses this image to describe Himself in terms of those who reject Him (see Matthew 21:42 and Mark 12:10). And in John 10:7, Jesus explicitly describes Himself as the gate, the gate for the sheep, that is, us.
So then, maybe our means of entrance into the presence of God is not our righteousness, our doing of what is right, our track record of promoting and carrying out justice. Maybe, it is Jesus. That puts an entirely different light on the question of our access to God. Indeed, the apostle Paul says (1 Corinthians 1:30) that Christ has become our righteousness and that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). What a relief this is then. Our access to God isn’t something that we have to ‘pull off’ by ourselves, on our own as it were. No, it is something that God in Christ Jesus alone makes possible but makes possible in and through us. However, it doesn’t mean that it comes automatically, that is, without our cooperation and effort—but that can and does happen, nonetheless. Wow. This is a result of Jesus’ death on the Cross and His resurrection on the third day. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Forward notes: “On this day the LORD has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (verse 24).
“During a staffing change at the church where I serve, I had a meeting with the interim priest who was guiding us through the transition. The week following our conversation, this priest would end the pastoral relationship with the church so that a new permanent priest could take on the role of leading the church.
“In our conversation, I asked her if she knew what was in her future. She did not, but she was discerning about paths forward. She reflected on how she most looked forward to slowing down and taking a breath: being able to enjoy each day without deadlines, spend time with the ones she loves, and do the things she relishes.
“In many ways, the conversation was filled with the sadness that comes when things, relationships, and chapters of our lives end. Yet, it was also full of gratitude for what had happened and been accomplished and what was to come. Throughout, we smiled and laughed. We rejoiced and were glad. We knew in the days past and during this day that the Lord had acted.”
Moving Forward: “Do one new thing today to rejoice in the Lord.”