Eastertide

May 22, 2019

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.

As I write this, I am receiving more and more ominous warnings about impending dangerous weather. “Flash flood warning” “A tornado watch has been issued for current location” “Oklahoma City opens disaster bunker as severe weather threat looms.”  There is more than one storm expected and they apparently all are not good. Our lakes are full, and more water means more floods. Tornados are not that unusual in May in Oklahoma, but this seems to be a particularly dangerous situation. It is good to have alerts. When I was a child, we spent a lot of time in our cellar because we knew the weather was bad, but we did not know how bad.

I open my computer and see the above scripture and wonder how this scripture relates to my reality today. Being under the protection of God’s wings would have been immediately meaningful to me. So I read it again and again and take a walk inside my house because walking helps me organize my thoughts. As I passed by my “safe place” which is where I will go if a tornado gets close, I was intrigued with what I thought was necessary.  The scripture puts emphasis on the power of God particularly as it relates to judging the people with equity and guiding the nations.

Our nation is in chaos making me feel like I do when surrounded by tornadoes. It is in times likes these when lust for power and greed are ruling our land and we are being divided in support of those sins. In times like these we do need to cling to the gracious God who blesses us. God is our safe place. In following God’s guidance, we can overcome the world.

Prayer: Lord, help us not be distracted by the things of the world, but to seek your guidance in all that we do. 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.