Eastertide

May 18, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
   your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;
   God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
   let all the ends of the earth revere him.

 Judgment of our behavior threads through the entire Bible. In the above verse, the poet wrote for you judge the peoples with equity.  I do not know which of our theological ancestors in faith emphasized personal, individual judgment as our primary concern, but we seem to miss that we are also judged as a people.  How we work together for the good is of concern to God. In the US right now God’s greater concern may be that we do not work well together at all even as we claim to be acting in God’s will. Matthew 25:31-32 states, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Later in that same chapter, Jesus outlines the specific acts on which we as a people will be judged—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, welcoming the stranger, and restoring the prisoner.

How do we influence others? How do others influence us? It takes a lot of guts to go against societal norms. We in the US claim to have a government of the people, by the people, for the people, but we seem to cater to the desires of the wealthy more than the needs of those in poverty. How many of us sit silently uncomfortably in the presence of people expressing views contrary to anything we have ever believed. In times like these, we indeed need a Savior to make us whole and make us one.

Prayer: Lord, help us be a people who add value to each other in our service to you. 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.