Thursday June 3 Trinity
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Psalm 50
This psalm imagines God’s response to the people doing evil and abandoning justice. Rather than simply reacting or punishing, God lays out the case as if God were taking them to court—the idea is that God is being completely fair and getting an unbiased opinion about what the people have done. They have substituted religion for being just and if this continues there will be consequences, but if they return to justice all will be well.
Psalm 98
The people, the nations, and the whole of creation delight in God’s victory and rejoice when God comes to put all creation right. This psalm is used at Easter, and is often used on Sundays, mini-anniversaries of Easter. There is some lovely imagery of the sea deliberately making a noise with its waves and rivers doing the same by clapping their hands.
Deuteronomy 16: 18-20, 17: 14-20 What’s Deuteronomy about?
In this passage, reflecting a much later perspective from the time following their release from Babylon, Moses says that the people must follow only justice, and they are to have a justice system which will be fair to all and ensure that nothing distorts fair legal decisions. The compilers of these stories, in light of the injustice committed by their kings which caused the Babylonian exile, present Moses as anticipating the appointment of absolute kings, but requiring that the king never enrich himself and so abandon justice. To ensure the kings remain just, Moses is imagined as insisting that the king must read the 10 commandments—the law of justice and fairness—every day.
Luke 18: 1-8 What’s Luke about?
Jesus says if we begin to worry that the kingdom won’t come, then we should think of a corrupt judge who hears a case from a homeless destitute woman (called a “widow” because she has no male sponsor) just because she keeps bothering him, even though he normally insists on a bribe before pronouncing judgment. So if we ask for the kingdom to come, the God of justice and inclusion will certainly act!
This week’s collect:
Father, we praise you:
through your Word and Holy Spirit you created all things.
You reveal your salvation in all the world
by sending to us Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
Through your Holy Spirit
you give us a share in your life and love.
Fill us with the vision of your glory,
that we may always serve and praise you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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