Something that Bible scholars and commentators often suggest is using the psalms as a kind of prayer therapy--that is, using them as prayers that forthrightly expressed our deepest emotions, whether good or bad. I haven’t tried that too much, but it seems as if Jesus might have done that, given that He begins Psalm 22 while hanging on the Cross. We don’t know whether He continued on with it, but I suspect that He did.

As I said, I haven’t used the psalms in this fashion, but certainly have used the hymns in this way. And, I have found this to be quite therapeutic and quite helpful. Perhaps you might like to try it as well. Well, whether it is the psalms or hymns, there is much to set our minds and emotions on edge these days, so anything that might be helpful is well worth the try.

Today’s passage and meditation touch on something that is truly counter-cultural for much of our world’s actions and discourses today. Not replying in kind, not rendering ‘tit for tat’, is not the way that much of it works. Seldom is there a win-win situation, but rather a win-lose one. But Jesus is calling us to something different.

Now, to be honest, I find that advice to be, if I am frank about it, quite trying and difficult. There are people and opinions out there, not to mention actions, that I profoundly disagree with. I would prefer not to have to deal with them, much less talk to them. And, as for giving them any space or allowing myself to be inconvenienced by them, much less working and wishing their well-being, that is an entirely different and more difficult thing for me.

But, Jesus commanded it, and so, it stands to reason that it is not only possible, but that He aids us in so doing.

Jesus taught us that love of God and love of neighbour inextricably belong together, or put another way, that our faith and trust in God needs to be shown forth, evidenced, in our love and care for others. That isn’t always an easy task, especially given the ‘neighbours’ we are sometimes given ‘to work with’. However, in this we are not commanded to love them in the sense of ‘liking’ them or even being ‘favourably disposed to’, but rather simply to want and work for what is best in their lives. In other words, this love is not a feeling but an action, an act of the will. Knowing that, doesn’t make it easy or simple, but does clear away some of the barriers.

Probably the two most fundamental questions are those raised by Mark’s Gospel, namely ‘Who is Jesus (to each of us)? And ‘What does that mean in terms of our own individual lives?” In other words, if Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour, the Lord, then how do we respond? There will be many who say, “So what? He’s not my Saviour or Lord”, and that makes sense. But then, what about us who claim Him as Saviour and Lord? That is the ‘million-dollar question’, a question we must address--and live out--every single day.

It is too bad that most of us don’t know Hebrew, for today’s psalm, Psalm 119, is an acrostic based on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each new stanza begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line continues with that letter. Thus every line in verses 1-8 begins with the letter Aleph, lines 9-16 with the letter Beth, etc. This is meant as an aid to memorization. (You will notice that the Canadian Book of Alternative Services and the 2019 Book of Common Prayer both have these headings.)

But even apart from simply acting as an aid to memorization, this set-up wants to alert us to something so very important, namely the importance of knowing, understanding--and obeying--what God has revealed to us, His word, His commands, His teachings, His laws etc. To the psalmist, this is more than of ‘passing importance’: it is essential to our lives as God’s people.

But, herein there’s the rub: how many of us and our fellow Christians actually take the time to study and understand the Scriptures, much less meditate upon them and commit them to memory, so that they become part of our very beings, part of the way we subconsciously think and act and speak. I have to admit that, though I love the Scriptures and endeavour to read and study them every day, I am absolutely dismal at memorizing them. And, as for obeying them, well, the jury is probably ‘out’ on that one.

So, today’s Scripture and meditation are timely and useful reminders to all of us to ‘pull up our socks’ and become a bit more intentional, and disciplined, in our study and application of Scripture.

Today’s meditation put me in mind of something said in my ordination vows so many years ago, “Will you do your best to pattern your life (and that of your family) in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that you may be a wholesome example to your people?” (BAS pp. 656 and 647). It is something expected of priests and deacons, but then, is this not something that all of us, lay or ordained, should also strive for? I certainly think so. After all, the entire world is watching!

Today’s psalm comes at a very traumatic point in the future King David’s life. People have let him down--again. And, worse than that, it is his own people, his own tribesmen, and worst of all, they have gone to his enemy, Saul, of their own free will, and have offered to surrender David into his hands. How awful is that!

But probably all of us have been let down by someone we trusted, by friends perhaps, or sad to say, perhaps even one’s own family. Yes, I have seen far too many family situations over the years where family members were at odds with each other--or worse!

But here we have some good news. Both Psalm 27 verse 10 and Isaiah 49 verse 15 speak of situations where someone near and dear to us has let us down. But then they assert that the Lord will never, ever do so. God will always and ever be there for us. That is the message of today’s meditation, and it is ever good news for us to hear. Thanks be to God.

Today, according to one lectionary, is Good Shepherd Sunday, and happens to be one of my favourite Sundays of the year, namely because it focuses so intently on God’s incredible and never-ending, never-failing love and care for us. To me, that truly is something worth remembering, and celebrating.

The book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Scriptures has all sorts of pithy and wise sayings. One of these is Proverbs 3:7, which reads “Be not wise in our own eyes” (also translated 'own conceit, wisdom or opinion’). Other translations render it, 'Don’t depend on your own wisdom’, ‘don’t consider yourself to be wise’, and ‘never let yourself think you are wiser than you are.’ The next phrase puts it all into the proper perspective: ‘fear/ respect/ obey the Lord.’

All of this coincides nicely with what our psalmist for today has learned: namely that it is best to seek God’s ways and God’s wisdom rather than our own, and to seek to understand it more completely and then obey it.

It is good advice for everyone, regardless of what age or place we happen to live in. God’s way is best.

Unfortunately, it is far too easy to sit back and ‘rest on our laurels’ in terms of our relationship with God. What I mean is this: to be satisfied if we, and hopefully our friends, family and other loved ones, are right with God and know and love and follow Him, but not really think that much about all ‘those others out there’. And yet those very ‘others’ are also people that God calls us to minister to, with the hope and intention, of course, that they will hear, really hear, of God’s love and faithfulness, and want to explore it, accept it, for themselves. The trick, of course, is that our faith, Christianity, was never meant to be a solitary religion, but for far too many people that is what it has become. So, what about us? It is quite a challenge, one that most of us are not really ‘up’ to. Fortunately, we have a God who can help us with it. Thanks be to God.

Unfortunately, over the years, countless individuals or groups have misused or twisted passages of Scripture to their own ends, using, for instance, the crowd's words in front of Pilate (his blood be upon us and upon our children, Matthew 27:25) as their justification for persecuting Jews, or the story of Israel entering the Promised Land as a model for ‘taking over’ other lands as their ‘promised lands’, or shunning people who have somehow transgressed church people’s sensibilities, following the lead of Matthew 18:15-17.

But this is not all: people routinely take Scriptures written in another time or place, and within a totally different context, and seek to draw a direct parallel to us today. Thus they see God’s provision of manna to the Israelites as an indication that God will invariably provide for us today. Sadly, this does the Scriptures a grave injustice. What we need to do is two things when we come to the Scriptures. Firstly, to look intently at the context and see whether there are indeed any parallels to us. And secondly, to look at the whole witness of Scripture. Often other passages can help us see more clearly what God wants to say to us, especially if the first passage seems to be unclear.

Anyway, something to think about.

Probably most of us feel overwhelmed at times, though probably not on the scale of the future King David when he was being pursued, hunted down, by King Saul. There he was at risk of losing his very life. We seldom are at ‘such straits’, but nevertheless, we can feel pretty frantic, worried or helpless at times. This is where David’s example is a good one to follow, namely his fervent prayers to God for help. It’s a good thing for all of us to do as well.

At those times when we are under stress and facing great difficulties, it is easy to become fixated on our problems and issues, and forget that the Lord is there, and that He is ever faithful and ever helpful. Our psalmist today reminds us of this fact, and asserts that as God has helped us in the past, He will continue to do so even today.

The experience of being ‘orphans’ is a powerful one for anyone who has been through it. But even more powerful is what Jesus offers us. After giving my life over to Him as an adult in June 1970, I felt an incredible sense of being safe and secure, almost like that of a child being held in his or her parent’s arms. And then, in the fall of that same year, encountering the Holy Spirit, not as a presence ‘out there’, but as a presence within, made it all complete. I certainly did not feel like an orphan. And such is the kind of presence that God offers to each and every one of us.