Lent Week 2

Psalm: Psalm 27
Old Testament: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Gospel: Luke 13:31-35 or 9:28-36
Epistle: Philippians 3:17-4:1

I want to briefly discuss the Psalm this week because it is a well-known Psalm and it has been a while since we have mentioned them. In fact, the last few weeks we have read a number of well-known Psalms and ones that are quoted in the New Testament. The interesting comparison comes between the first verse and the last. The psalmist begins with such hope and trust. He writes, 

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

Whom shall I dread?

There is complete trust in the Lord to take care of everything that is necessity for the writer's salvation. Indeed, much of the Psalm is of this nature and declares that God will be faithful to his servant. But listen to the closing line, verse 14,

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

I was reading the whole Psalm thinking that the psalmist had been delivered, that he had seen the great salvation of the Lord. Perhaps in the past he had, which is where the assurance came that it would happen again. But I think this line places us right into the reality of life and the reality of waiting. We have hope; we know God will save us; we know that we have no one else to turn to, and yet we find ourselves waiting on the Lord. Faith comes at the point where our waiting meets our trusting. It comes at the point of reading the first 13 verses of Psalm 27, so that even when we are in the midst of the waiting in verse 14, we know that we are still in God's hands. And this is good news! I am reminded of the words of Psalm 23, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Why? Because the Lord is with him! David knows that no matter what, even if all else is in despair, the Lord is present.

The importance of reading and praying the Psalms is that they display the whole range of human emotion and experience. Just as in Psalm 27 today, we are brought through a whole host of the human experience. As we pray and read the Psalms we are reminded that God is with us in all experiences, we are connected to our fellow humanity and we are not the first to experience what we are experiencing. Additionally, we are reminded that even when we are praying/readings things that don't apply to us currently, we can turn them into prayers for others we know who are experiencing those things. We live in community (the Church) and someone is probably going through the "valley of the shadow of death" at most times. We have the privilege and responsibility to lift them up in prayer through those words even when they don't apply to us directly.

This week is a bit short, but I want to encourage you during this time of Lent to focus on the Psalms in prayer and see how they can direct your prayer for yourself and for others.

Grace and Peace.