Epiphany

January 7, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendor.and

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace! –Psalm 29:1-2, 9-11

The horrible ice storm that whirled through Oklahoma City in October did indeed strip the trees bare. We were well reminded of the power in the universe the All-Powerful One created. Three months later, I look out on a 15-foot pole in my backyard that looks scalped and like someone tried to sharpen into a spear at the top. Otherwise, it is stripped bare of leaf or branch. The man who takes care of my yard when he came to clean up the damage from the storm said, “let’s let it go for now and see if it will come back.” I have my doubts. I wonder if my reaction to my sad yard is like the Israelites reaction to arriving back in Jerusalem after the exile and finding the temple in ruins.

The Psalmist reminds us that we are not alone. The Lord gives strength and peace to God’s people. God emboldened those returning Israelites to rebuild the temple and start their lives anew. Humans go through various stages of starting over throughout life. Some of those challenges are welcomed and planned, like starting a family. The first child always turns a couple’s world upside down. Equally, impactful is the loss of a loved one. Likewise, such change comes on nations as our political season is now impacting us. The entire world is struggling to deal with the COVID pandemic. We will never be the same. However, we have the choice of how we rebuild—how we elicit the strength and guidance of God to learn from the mistakes we have made and build a better future for all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, give us strength and bless us with your peace as we deal with the impacts of change in our world today, Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.