Praise the Lord, a Reflection on Psalm 104;24-34, 35b

Youtube has several versions of Psalm 104 including a Praise song version, an Amy Grant version, a photographic presentation.

Psalm 104 summarizes creation. In this week's lection, we give thanks to the Lord for the creatures of the earth and for the sea, great and wide. We recognize that all the gifts we have originate with the Lord, and we recognize the part of other people in ensuring that the Lord's gifts are distributed.

As we read--and pray--toward Pentecost, we read verses 30, "When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground." and we respond with verse 35b, "Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!"

Daily Prayer, Thursday, June 9

Morning
May my meditation be pleasing to you, O Lord.

Invitatory Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!

We praise you in your sanctuary;
we praise you in your mighty firmament!
We praise you for your mighty deeds;
We praise you according to your surpassing greatness!
We praise you with trumpet sound;
We praise you with tambourine and dance;
We praise you with strings and pipe!
We praise you with clanging cymbals;
We praise you with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 73

Daily Lectionary Reading, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Lectio Divina,
When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust (Psalm 104:29).

May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 104:34)

Midday Psalm 119:113-120

Prayer for Today:
We are grateful, O God, for those who have gone before us and carried the tradition of the Spirit forward: for those who have been able to dream distant dreams; for those whose visions can always see light however much darkness there seems to be; for those who teach us that life always leans forward and that to clutch too closely to the past is always a destructive posture....Amen. (from Prayers of the People, Richard Einerson).


Evening
Psalm 105

Receiving the Spirit in the Wilderness, a Reflection on Numbers 11:24-30

Repeatedly in the Book of Numbers, the Lord gives something to the people, escape from slavery, for example, and the people soon start complaining about not having one more thing. Often, their complaints seem understandable to me--when they are thirsty, they want water, but, overall, their complaints do demonstrate their limited trust in the Lord to provide everything they need.

Moses also complained. Earlier in chapter 11, he complained to the Lord about being burdened with all these complainers. The Lord responded by sharing the leadership responsibility with seventy elders.

As we today prepare for Pentecost Sunday, the remembrance of the Holy Spirit coming on the believers, we read this passage in Numbers about the Spirit coming down, speaking to Moses, and being shared with others. Those who received the Spirit were able to prophesy.

To the consternation of some, the Spirit also landed on a couple of men who had not been in the original group. When Joshua, Moses' assistant, tried to stop them from prophesying, Moses stopped him. Moses said, "Do you think I need to be the only one that hears what God says? Do you think I want God's attention on me alone?"

We continue to wrestle with the questions of who has the appropriate authority to speak in God's name and who should be in charge of this authorization.

Daily Prayer, Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Morning
May my meditation be pleasing to you, O Lord.

Invitatory Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into the Lord’s presence with singing.

We know that you are God.
It is you that made us, and we are yours.
we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.

We enter your gates with thanksgiving,
and your courts with praise.
We give thanks to you, bless your name.
For you, O Lord, are good;
your steadfast love endures forever,
and your faithfulness to all generations.

Psalms 71, 72

Daily Lectionary Reading, Numbers 11:24-30

Lectio Divina

And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, stop them!" But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prohets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!" (Numbers 11:28-29)

Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it (Psalm 104:25-26)

Midday Psalm 119:105-112

Prayer for Today:
Open us to your word even as it comes through the unexpected. Open us to the opportunities to share your word as we recognize that you have put your Spirit on us, and on others. Amen.

Evening
Psalm 104

Rivers of Living Water, a Reflection on John 7:37-39

This alternative gospel reading for Pentecost tells us about an appearance Jesus had made on the last day of the festival of booths, a time of celebrating the harvest and remembering the time of wandering in the wilderness.

Near the end of the festival, the priest would pour freshly drawn water on the altar as an offering to God. Allen & Williamson in their Preaching the Gospel say that although this rite originated as a petition for rain, it had developed into a broader statement of salvation. They cite the Babylonian Talmud's explanation of its significance by citing Isaiah 12:3, "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."

Jesus says to them, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in my drink." John has used water as a metaphor before--The Samaritan woman who asked Jesus for living water (4:1-15) and the crowd who had been fed bread and wanted true bread from heaven (6:25-35).

Allen & Williamson mention several passages that use the metaphor of water; e.g.:

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and steams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring (Isaiah 44:3).
Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple....Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes....(Ezekiel 47:1-12)

John tells us that what Jesus was talking about is the Spirit. Since we now know that Modalism is a heresy, we need to be able to interpret "for as yet there was no Spirit," as not meaning that the Spirit did not exist before Jesus. Here's what O'Day and Hylen have to say in their commentary on John:

These words should not be taken as a general statement that Gods Spirit did not yet exist, for John the Baptist makes reference to the Holy Spirit's presence at Jesus' baptism (1:32-33). Instead, the future gift of the Spirit underscores the way in which the Spirit will become known in the life of the church after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Jesus' teachings about the Spirit's role in the church are found in the farewell discourse (chapters 14-17), and his gift of the Spirit is narrated in 20:22-23.

Daily Prayer, Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Morning
May my meditation be pleasing to you, O Lord.

Invitatory Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow for herself
where she may lay her you, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my Ruler and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.

Psalm 65, 66, 70

Daily Lectionary Reading, John 7:37-39

Lectio Divina

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scriptures has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being (Psalm 104:33).

Prayer for Today:
Holy God, you spoke the world into being. Pour your Spirit to the ends of the earth, that your children may return from exile as citizens of your commonwealth, and our divisions may be healed by your word of love and righteousness. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:97-104

Evening
Psalms 102, 103

Pentecost Blessing

Go to Jan Richardson's website, The Painted Prayerbook to see her Pentecost Blessing and image.

Jesus Comes to Them, a Reflection on John 20:19-23

The lectionary offers a choice of gospel readings for Pentecost--John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39. The one from John 20 was also the gospel lesson for the second Sunday of Easter this year. Here's what I posted for it then:

Mary had told them that she has seen the risen Jesus, but they are afraid anyway.

A sermon was not enough to liberate them from their fears.

Jesus came to them, anyway.

We may still not be willing to start our lives anew. Jesus may come to us, anyway.

They were afraid, but he breathed the Holy Spirit on them and gave them a commission. He intended for them to get out of that locked room.

Daily Prayer, Monday, June 6, 2011

Daily Prayer, Monday, June 6
Morning
May my meditation be pleasing to you, O Lord.

Invitatory Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
We come into your presence with thanksgiving;
we make a joyful noise to you with songs of praise.
You, Lord, are a great God.

Psalms 57, 61, 64

Daily Lectionary Reading, John 20:19-23

Lectio Divina

After he said this, he showed then his hands and his side. Then thee disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (John 20:21-22).

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures (Psalm 104:24).

Midday Psalm 119:89-96

Prayer for today:
Empowering God, you gave the church the abiding presence of your Holy Spirit. Look upon your church today and hear our petitions. (Pray for the church, the world, your community, the persons closest to you.) Woo us to wish for and to work for, peace and justice among all your peoples. Amen. (from RCL Prayers and from Prayers of the People).


Evening
Psalms 87, 88, 91

Difficult but Necessary Instruction, a Reflection on 1 Peter 4:12-15; 5:6-11

Not everyone will appreciate your being a Christian. Sometimes, the things you do because you are a Christian will irritate people a lot. For example, in a country that is not friendly with the U.S., Christian evangelism may be seen as an attempt undermining that country. But, besides trying to get religious people to change their religion to ours, what do Christians do that would be upsetting?

What are Christians supposed to do to be Christians? Love one another. Feed the poor. Care for the helpless. Visit prisoners. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Forgive. Pray. You can think of others.

Some groups don't like the idea of feeding the poor or making sure old people will be able to afford health care twenty years from now.

These long-ago Christians were told to humble themselves. I'm wondering how many of us Christians of today think we are still supposed to be humble. Is humble something to be desired? accepted? Wouldn't we rather have that exaltation now rather than some time in the future?