I have had A LOT OF FEELINGS lately, and have found it difficult to blog. I hope to slowly creep back into the blogging now that I've moved from Georgia to Kentucky.
I co-led morning prayer this morning at the Presbyterian Center. I offered a very brief reflection before asking others gathered there for their reflections.
Psalm 65
This psalm may have been used for thanksgiving celebrations during harvest times. We speak of God's mighty acts, of God's bounty, of God's unending goodness toward humanity.
All this goodness is difficult to comprehend when there is so much suffering in the world. God is good and generous and powerful, but still dictators murder those who disagree with them, soldiers shoot at children, families go hungry and homeless in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, religious minorities are driven out of their homes, and money buys elections. Still, the sun shines, we find beauty around every corner. "The hills are dressed in pure joy."
This psalm doesn't excuse or explain away suffering. This can be a reminder that stands up to the reality of suffering, and insists that creation is also joyful, people are also delivered from evil, that peace is the alternative to what we see around us. It is humanity that has decided peace is too hard, that human suffering and destruction of the earth are somehow acceptable, or inevitable. This psalm reminds us of God's desire for humanity and for the earth. It reminds us we are created to be more. It reminds us of the inevitability of God's love.
I co-led morning prayer this morning at the Presbyterian Center. I offered a very brief reflection before asking others gathered there for their reflections.
Psalm 65
This psalm may have been used for thanksgiving celebrations during harvest times. We speak of God's mighty acts, of God's bounty, of God's unending goodness toward humanity.
All this goodness is difficult to comprehend when there is so much suffering in the world. God is good and generous and powerful, but still dictators murder those who disagree with them, soldiers shoot at children, families go hungry and homeless in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, religious minorities are driven out of their homes, and money buys elections. Still, the sun shines, we find beauty around every corner. "The hills are dressed in pure joy."
This psalm doesn't excuse or explain away suffering. This can be a reminder that stands up to the reality of suffering, and insists that creation is also joyful, people are also delivered from evil, that peace is the alternative to what we see around us. It is humanity that has decided peace is too hard, that human suffering and destruction of the earth are somehow acceptable, or inevitable. This psalm reminds us of God's desire for humanity and for the earth. It reminds us we are created to be more. It reminds us of the inevitability of God's love.
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