Wednesday November 9 Pentecost 22
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Psalm 119 Part 5
Psalm 119 is a meditation on responding to God’s call to justice. Each of the 176 verses is a variation on the theme of what it means to follow God’s call to justice, using terms such as “command”,”law”, “word”, “statute”, and the like. The psalm is arranged in 22 groups of eight verses—one group for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Within a group, each of the eight verses starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the groups are in Hebrew alphabetical order. So the first group of eight verses all start with A, the second group all start with B and so on. The first seven verses mirror the seven days of creation, with the eighth sometimes pointing to the next group. This very careful construction mirrors God’s creating the universe by overcoming chaos with order.
In the human world, justice, dignity and fulfilment – the outcomes of justice—are the human expressions of order. Thus the human world and the rest of creation are united in the same foundation. Today’s three sections begin with the letters M, N, and S (in Hebrew alphabetical order). As you read them, imagine the effect of each line in today’s first section beginning with “M” and so on.
Joel 2: 12-19 What’s Joel about?
The prophet imagines the nation responding to God’s call to change priorities, and God then gifting the nation with abundance. The political philosophy is clear: loyalty to justice is the only foundation for security and fulfillment.
Luke 15: 1-10 What’s Luke about?
Jesus is popular among outcasts, traitors and the despised. But the leaders criticize him for encouraging bad behaviour. So Jesus challenges them with three perspective-changing stories of things lost and then found. First, the shepherd who leaves an entire flock to find one sheep, then a woman who is overwhelmed with joy on finding her lost wedding ring, and, tomorrow, the father who delights in the return of his of his lost son who had betrayed him. The well-behaved critics are being challenged to celebrate and be delighted when outcasts, traitors and the despised are embraced.
This week’s collect:
Eternal God,
who caused all holy scriptures
to be written for our learning,
grant us so to hear them,
read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast
the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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