Psalm 8 New Revised Standard Version

¹ O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.

² Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;

⁴ what are humans that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

⁵ Yet you have made them a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶ You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,

⁷ all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

⁸ the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹ O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

This year, Monday Matters will focus on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen.

What are humans that you are mindful of them?

Good question.

You may have heard the observation: I love humanity. It’s people I can’t stand. The quote is variously attributed to Charles Schulz (actually Linus in one of the cartoon strips), Albert Einstein and Fyodor Doestoevsky, among others. It points to truth we all can affirm, that we have fallen short of the glory of God, to borrow a phrase from St. Paul. Even the most noble among us could prompt the queston: What are humans that God is mindful of them?

The question is posed by Psalm 8, which you may have heard yesterday at church (and is reprinted above). It’s a psalm selected for the observance of Trinity Sunday, the one Sunday of the year dedicated to a doctrine of the church. It’s a doctrine set forth by the church some centuries after Jesus’ ministry, suggested but not explicitly set forth in scripture. Volumes have been written to try to explain it. A lot of what’s been written shows theologians tying themselves in knots with less than satisfactory metaphors, all in hopes of describing the character of God in accessible language.

I’m satisfied to live with the mystery, with limited understanding of heavenly dynamics, trusting that someday all will be revealed. The thing I feel able to say about the doctrine of the Trinity is that God is presented as a community, a personal presence whose essence is relationship.

One of the books most helpful to me over the years was written by Martin Smith. It’s called The Word Is Very Near You, a book about how to pray with scripture. I was particularly helped by the chapter entitled “God is a conversation.” His point is that there is an ongoing, eternal conversation between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The amazing premise of our faith is that we are invited into that conversation. We have a seat at the table. We’re in the room when it happens. Which leads to the question: What are humans that God is mindful of them?

Here's how Psalm 8 addresses that question. On the one hand, the psalm celebrates the majesty of God. We could spend time trying to reclaim that word “majesty,” to think beyond the understanding we might get from watching The Crown. Psalm 8 in this translation refers to God as sovereign. In other versions, God is referred to as governor, the only place in scripture where God is referred to as such. Interesting choice of words, suggesting that God is in charge, even when it can seem like no one is in charge these days. But it’s way more than simply God as manager or caretaker. The psalm reminds us that all of creation owes its existence to this governor.

And here’s the kicker. We are invited into relationship, into conversation with that holy power. In fact, we’re given responsibility to care for all that God has made, delegated by the governor of all things. The question for us then, this Monday morning: What are we doing with that responsibility?

The doctrine of the Trinity may seem abstract. But it reminds us that the source of all life is the power of love. Augustine wrote lengthy volumes about the Trinity, some of which I've understood. What I have been able to take away is that Augustine presents the Trinity as love. God the father the lover. Jesus as the beloved. The Holy Spirit as the love that flows between them. More recently, former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry put it this way: If it’s not about love, it’s not about God. That’s not a bad doctrine of the trinity. Can we believe that is true of the governor, the sovereign of the universe?

Once we wrap our pea brains around that, recognizing the amazing grace of the invitation to be part of that loving exchange, can we show that love to all of creation, especially to our neighbors. That can be the hard part. Rowan Williams put it this way: The one thing you know for certain about your tiresome, annoying, disobedient, disedifying fellow Christians is that God has welcomed them. That becomes your challenge.

Celebrate the amazing grace that God is mindful of each one of us. And as you wrap your mind around the mystery of that relationship, the marvel of that love, the hope of that invitation, find a way this week to extend it to those around you. Widen that holy conversation.

-Jay Sidebotham