Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 106:1-23; Ezekiel 36:8-21; John 8:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Psalm 106:24-48
One of the defining characteristics of us these days is that we have lost a sense of personal and collective history. We have bought so thoroughly into the notion that each new day is a blank canvass that we often totally forget about the other canvasses that we have painted earlier. Now don’t get me wrong. There are some very positive aspects to such an approach. Treating each day as if it were a blank canvass allows us to break free from ruts and routines that have dominated our lives and start anew. And the notion of letting go of some things like guilt from earlier canvasses/days can be an essential aspect of living into a life shaped and formed by the New Covenant that we came to understand through the work of Jesus. But in reading this morning’s Psalm, I was reminded of the values of remembering one’s earlier canvasses as well. In today’s Psalm, for example, I can hear God trying once again to ground God’s people by showing them the big picture. In the midst of walking them through the highlights (i.e. God’s parting of the Red Sea - their experience of salvation from their life of oppression in Egypt) and the lowlights (i.e. their demands of God in the desert – their creation of the golden calf), God was able to lay out for them their relationship in all its fullness. In a sense, God created an art gallery that displayed ALL of their canvasses. The beautiful thing about this so called gallery was that their relational history wasn’t used as a tool to crush or belittle them; rather, it became an instrument that better grounded them. The sense of perspective they gained from experiencing the gallery of canvasses freed them up to eventually join in the concluding words of the Psalm which said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, ‘Amen’. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 106:48 – NIV). Today – during this season of Lent – let us follow the psalmist’s example and integrate our past with our present in order to arrive at fuller understanding of the way God has been at work in our lives. Perhaps then we too can join in the psalmist’s hearty chorus of praise as we recognize not just where we are today, but where we have come from as well. Til next time…
One of the defining characteristics of us these days is that we have lost a sense of personal and collective history. We have bought so thoroughly into the notion that each new day is a blank canvass that we often totally forget about the other canvasses that we have painted earlier. Now don’t get me wrong. There are some very positive aspects to such an approach. Treating each day as if it were a blank canvass allows us to break free from ruts and routines that have dominated our lives and start anew. And the notion of letting go of some things like guilt from earlier canvasses/days can be an essential aspect of living into a life shaped and formed by the New Covenant that we came to understand through the work of Jesus. But in reading this morning’s Psalm, I was reminded of the values of remembering one’s earlier canvasses as well. In today’s Psalm, for example, I can hear God trying once again to ground God’s people by showing them the big picture. In the midst of walking them through the highlights (i.e. God’s parting of the Red Sea - their experience of salvation from their life of oppression in Egypt) and the lowlights (i.e. their demands of God in the desert – their creation of the golden calf), God was able to lay out for them their relationship in all its fullness. In a sense, God created an art gallery that displayed ALL of their canvasses. The beautiful thing about this so called gallery was that their relational history wasn’t used as a tool to crush or belittle them; rather, it became an instrument that better grounded them. The sense of perspective they gained from experiencing the gallery of canvasses freed them up to eventually join in the concluding words of the Psalm which said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, ‘Amen’. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 106:48 – NIV). Today – during this season of Lent – let us follow the psalmist’s example and integrate our past with our present in order to arrive at fuller understanding of the way God has been at work in our lives. Perhaps then we too can join in the psalmist’s hearty chorus of praise as we recognize not just where we are today, but where we have come from as well. Til next time…
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