Psalm 145

1 I will exalt you, O God my King, and bless your Name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless you and praise your Name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; there is no end to his greatness.
4 One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your power.
5 I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty and all your marvelous works.
6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, and I will tell of your greatness.
7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; they shall sing of your righteous deeds.
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 The Lord is loving to everyone and his compassion is over all his works.
10 All your works praise you, O Lord, and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They make known the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power;
12 That the peoples may know of your power and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14 The Lord is faithful in all his words and merciful in all his deeds.
15 The Lord upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down.
16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season.
17 You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving in all his works.
19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully.
20 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them.
21 The Lord preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.
22 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever.

This year, Monday Matters is focused 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.

Does God have favorites?

Some years ago, I received a gift from a sibling, a bumper sticker that read: "Jesus loves you, but I’m his favorite." Of course, my sibling was kidding. Of course. But it’s only funny because we all have moments when we think we have the inside track.

Which brings me to the psalm you may have heard yesterday in church. It’s a psalm appointed for the sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Coincidentally, it is also appointed for the observance of Independence Day. (Independence Day is one of three somewhat secular holidays that make their way into the liturgical calendar. Extra credit if you can name the other two.)

Here’s what struck me as I linked this psalm with the national holiday of a country that has been known to celebrate exceptionalism. Throughout the psalm there are references of a universal nature. Praise covers generations (v.4). The Lord is loving to everyone. His compassion is over all his works (v. 9). All God’s works praise him. (v.10) God satisfies the needs of every living creature. (v.17) All flesh are called to bless his holy name. (v.22)

There is nothing parochial here. No one is exceptional, except that maybe everyone is exceptional.

There’s a message here for us as individuals. What part of all do we not understand? Another bumper sticker from a friend’s bulletin board: "How much sinning can I do and still go to heaven." That message reminds me of the person who asked Jesus about the intertwined commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. The questioner asked Jesus to narrow the definition of neighbor. How far do you expect me to take this, Jesus? In response, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, an outsider who taught what it means to be a neighbor. That timeless parable speaks because we all face the temptation to regard some particular folks as outside our circle. Maybe outside the circle of God’s love. Our baptismal promises course corrects that, with a call to seek and serve Christ in all people, even when Christ comes very well disguised. Where do you need to work on that?

There’s a message here for those of us in worshipping communities. For those of us committed to a congregation, especially clergy, we may think our way of worship, our building, our programs, our staff are better than others. We may imagine that God regards us as favorite. What might you learn from communities of faith that differ from yours? There’s a message for those of us aligned with a denomination. I’m reading a book right now on Vermeer. He lived in the Netherlands during the 1600's, a time when Calvinists and Catholics and Mennonites and Arminians and people who believed in Christianity without churches were all at each other, sometimes killing each other. Nothing new under the sun.

There’s a message for those who celebrate love of country, as we did this past weekend.. The psalm not only calls us to see all of humanity, all of creation as object of God’s love. While scriptures suggests God’s special relationship with the people of Israel, that gift was meant so that Israel would be of service, would be a light to the nations. That's what it means, in my mind, to be chosen, to be elected. This message that God’s love extends to all people rebukes Christian nationalism, and the cruelty that often accompanies that heresy.

I’m struck by the readings chosen by the church for Independence Day. The church could have found passages that warm the hearts of Christian Nationalists. But in readings chosen for Independence Day, we find no hint of exceptionalism. Simply a call to see all people as related, a call to see independence as opportunity for service, as a mission. The Old Testament reading points to the character of the God of gods and Lord of lords…who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. The scripture offers this mandate: You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Feel free to send these verses to your congressional representative.) In the Epistle, we read about Abraham, from whom descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” And we heard Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous."

As I reflected on all this, a favorite hymn came to mind, as it speaks of the wideness of God's mercy. Check out this final stanza:

For the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind. And the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful, we should take him at his word, and our life would be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.

In the wake of this national holiday, how can we celebrate the wideness of God's love as it extends to all God’s creation? How can we see our faith communities as bound to other faith communities, even those outside the Christian tradition? How can we examine our own lives, to see where we draw limits on neighborliness? That would be exceptional work, and cause for celebration.

-Jay Sidebotham