Singing a Psalm

Psalm 118

1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let Israel say,

    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

3 Let the house of Aaron say,

    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

4 Let those who fear the Lord say,

    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

    the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

6 With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

    What can mortals do to me?

7 The Lord is on my side to help me;

    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to put confidence in mortals.

9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to put confidence in princes.

Over the next couple of posts, I will dwell with Psalm 118.  These words help to set the stage for Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday on March 24.  What I love about the psalms is, like Isaiah, the writers do not mince words.  They are honest, heartfelt, raw, and offer us an opportunity to reflect on our own emotions within this life.

Psalm 118 begins with offering thanksgiving.  So, when was the last time you said "Thank-you" to someone?  When was the last time you said, "Thank you" to God?  Anne Lamont claims that "Thanks" (along with "Help" and "Wow") is one of the most essential prayers.  Thanksgiving for this day...even if it is dreary and rainy.  Thanksgiving for my family....even if they spill on the carpet.  Thanksgiving is at the heart and soul of our faith.  Thanksgiving for a relationship with God.  That relationship is characterized by the sacrament of communion, or what is sometimes called, "Eucharist," which means - you guessed it - "thanksgiving."  At the heart of our faith we celebrate our connection to God with a meal of giving thanks.  

Psalm 118 is also about proclaiming love.  Love is an overused word today.  And so why not add God to the list of items people talk about loving like our cars, kites, that cloud formation, ice cream, our family, and so on.  Yet, God's love, the psalmist proclaims, is steadfast.  Steadfast has an always and eternal quality.  Steadfast has a constant and continual quality.  God's love was there from the very beginning.  Before we knew God, God knew us and loved us.  That truth led C.S. Lewis to call God's love, "the intolerable compliment."  I don't always understand Lewis, but that makes a lot of sense to me.  I cannot earn God's love.  I did not deserve God's love.  Yet, there God's love is constant and eternal.  God's love does not waver when I get angry, God's love does not cease no matter where I wander.  In a world of constant comparisons and wondering if I measure up, God's love is an emphatic 'Yes!' 

And because I know that I do and say things are don't full reflect God's love for me and others, that creates conflict.  Moments when I want to hide from the intolerable compliment of God's love because that love keeps reaching out for me even when I want to run away.  Moments when I would prefer to sulk in my pity party for one, and God (like the Prodigal Father - Luke 15:11-32) keeps leaving the party to come out and find me.  That constant and always quality of God's love, I think, is why Lewis calls it intolerable compliment.  What do you make of that phrase?

I invite you to re-read this Psalm over the next couple of days.  Where are you giving thanks?  Where do you sense God's love?  And may the traces of God's grace be with all of us as we inch closer to Holy Week this year.

Blessings and peace!