Ordinary Times

February 23, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earthquake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
   he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is he!

Mighty King, lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at his footstool.
   Holy is he!

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
  Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
   They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
   they kept his decrees,
   and the statutes that he gave them.

O Lord our God, you answered them;
   you were a forgiving God to them,
   but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our God,
   and worship at his holy mountain;
   for the Lord our God is holy.

The word “holy” used in this scripture describes a physical presentation or personal manifestation of a deity on a throne*. In ancient times, people who sat on thrones were deemed the highest of the high. Thrones are symbolic of power. The word “holy” when applied here sets God even further apart from the kings and queens of our world. In a news interview with Senator Marco Rubio, he was asked something to the effect what should we in the USA think about the current situation in Ukraine. and he said he was praying, we all should be. He was dead serious. I understand that politicians rolling the words thoughts and prayers off their tongues in response to tragedies has grown old. Particularly when the same actions occurred over and over and are never addressed and yes, we still should pray about them. I think the Senator was expressing the severity of the events in eastern Europe and recognizing that God is better at dealing with evil than any or all of us. We still need to do our part and work for a world where people matter more than power or wealth.

Prayer: Lord, be with our leaders as they struggle to find non-violent means of addressing the problems in Ukraine.  Make our world whole, make us one, make us just. 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.