Psalm 119:105-112

Proper 10 (15) - Year A


Where most english translations talk about the "wicked" being our opponents, the Contemporary English Version identifies them as "merciless people."

Either way, the psalmist goes on to say that the heritage of G*D's teachings will ground them (the psalmist) and give them peace of mind.

In the context of the whole psalm this doesn't keep the psalmist from complaining and asking for redress in the face of wicked mercilessness. It does, however, remind the psalmist that ultimately their life will be found in paying constant attention to the great teaching of mercy and goodness that will be present with them at all times, shaping them into that very same mercy.

The immediate context of the story is ouch. The expected resolution of the story is ahhh.

May we live the resolution in the context.

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2002/july2002.html

 


 

Psalm 119:105-112 or Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13

According to the song, "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose". The same can be said for Obedience. We move in one direction as far as we can, testing the boundaries of freedom or obedience, and then shift direction to the other polarity.

We also do this with the models of individual and community, as well as with categories of inclusion and exclusion.

As we hold our lives in our hands and in each other's hands, we struggle for clarity of where mercy fits into judgment in models of freedom and obedience.

As you read here what model of the above pairings did you hold when 2 or 22 or 42 or 62 or 82? What rhythms have you found working in your life and lives?

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2005/july2005.html

 


 

Psalm 119:105-112 or Psalm 65:1-13
Genesis 25:19-34 or Isaiah 55:10-13
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

What would it be like to read Paul as a frustrated parablist who simply can't get past his juridical language base?

We need a midrash cyclotron that can speed Paul and Jesus to light speed and smash them into one another. Then we might see Spirit as seed and Flesh as seed. We might understand soil as Spirit and soil as Flesh. In so doing new sparks will fly off into our lives today and we would care less about any traps of our own or others devising and simply pay more attention to a joyful heritage of a good creation and universal salvation and simply incline our hearts to both short- and long-term good at the same time.

- - -

brother wrestler
heel grabber
stew chef
lineage stealer
flock grabber
G*D wrestler

go out
anguished loneliness
to accomplish
more than you purposed
to return
a brother's embrace

even here
instead of a thorn
a sound of singing
in the myrtle
an everlasting sign
none are cut off

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html

 


 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Hearing echoes of past mercy, experiencing opportunities to pass it on, and anticipating a more expansive mercy than can currently be lived, are seeds promising abundant growth far beyond the limits of this day.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances.
I see the wisdom of and confirm the process of sowing seeds of steadfast love regardless of how they are received. This is a helpful guide to life.

I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word.
In this process I am grieved that it is a process and not a guaranteed technique leading to ease. For now this reminder leads me back to engaging life with a gentler hand.

Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your ordinances.
I am also grateful for a reminder of a larger perspective that pulls me toward a healthier relationship with difficulties.

I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.
I am ready to dive deeper into the contingencies of life as a remembrance of a yet better way to come shapes and reshapes current boundaries.

The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.
There is a strange and curious attractant that requires clear discernment to wend one’s way through the snares of those who will never love us and yet are those whom we should love.*

Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
No matter how I try to wiggle out of it, the sowing process is real. Better joy in the heart of reality than certainty in a land of speculation.

I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
And so I commit myself, once again, to a creative impetus that knows no end but a continual investment in life.

- - -

* “Forgiveness” by Susan Werner on her CD Gospel Truth

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2014/07/psalm-119105-112.html