Psalm for Today

 

Read Psalms 22-24

These are three of my most favoritest Psalms!  First, I love that they sit side by side with no commentary.  Psalm 22 is one of disorientation; the Psalmist is singing the blues of feeling deserted and devasted by God.  Then, Psalm 23 comes in with its green pastures and cool waters, which feels a bit like going back to orientation.  Psalm 24 is a reorientation.  Notice that sometimes the framework of orientation to disorientation to reorientation can be shuffled like cards of a deck.  It doesn’t always have to follow a linear, logical line.  In fact, the Psalmist loves to be creative with weaving together moments of laying out an orderly way to the chaos to the continuing “And yet” of our Eastering God.  In the span of a few verses, you can find all three dancing together. 

 

Today, hold these three Psalms with me.  What is evoked and provoked as you read?  For example, in Psalm 23, when God prepares a meal for me in the presence of my enemies, does that mean that God has invited both of us to the feast??  Does that mean I don’t get to pick the guest list?  Or, in Psalm 22, after lamenting about God who is distant or distracted or at some exotic location destination vacation, suddenly the psalmist is in worship singing with people.  The orientation to disorientation to reorientation moves at a dizzying and soul shifting or shaping pace.  Finally, I love in Psalm 24, the Hebrew Hymn writer sings, who is God?  And who am I?  Who is this God we are singing to?  Who is this God we are encountering (and I pray experiencing) as we read these Psalms?  This is one of the reasons why I return to the Psalms, because these words open me to God in new ways, stretch me in the shape of the sacred and remind me that people for centuries have wrestled with the Divine ~ it isn’t just a modern problem.  Who is God, who is this table-setting, forsaking, praise-evoking, leading, shepherding, waking us up, God?  May that question continue to stir your soul today and keep you reading the Psalms for the weeks to come.  Amen.