Please read Psalm 104:24-34. The King James of verse 28b is gorgeous: ‘thou openest thine hand; they are filled with good.’  The text holds touches of the same themes of Genesis, blessing, and creation--especially the appearance of Leviathan. Leviathan was the image of a beast of the sea, an example of the power of chaos, the lurking of harm that a three year old knows is just under the bed. Leviathan represents the chaos we fear under the bed, or in a conversation, or what may rise up and break our hearts. This psalm presents a God who can play with chaos like a three-year old with a pole off the pier. Why be afraid? ‘Thou openest thine hand; they are filled with good. ‘When the UMC put out an ad campaign, we selected, ‘open hearts, open minds, open doors.’ How have we been a people blessed by a God whose hand is open? Were you raised to learn of a God whose hands were open or closed? When did you see God’s generous hands of late? Deut. 15:11 says, ‘for the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee saying, ‘open thine hand wide unto thy brother, thy poor, and to thy needy…’  Is our spirituality open-handed or closed?

Please read Psalm 1.  This song of wisdom introduces the entire collection of devotional poetry.  Notice verse one,’ happy is the one,’ or ‘blessed’ comes from the Hebrew, ‘escher,’ which is an interjection: ‘how happy,’ ‘or how blessed!’  The first word of the psalm—and the whole psalter-- is, ‘oh, how happy!’  The how is in verse three, ‘like a tree planted by streams of water, that bears its fruit in its season…’ Happiness is the one planted.   Fruit comes from the rooted in God. The book of Job is the one that whispers, ‘not always.’ This psalm echoes the wisdom tradition that intends to answer, ‘on most days, what is wisdom?’ Can you name a recent joy that has risen from being planted? Where have you seen the fruit of God’s abiding?

Please read Psalm 98, especially verse 1: ‘O Sing to the Lord a new Song, for God has done marvelous things.’ Once again the psalms pair interesting elements of the walk of faith. The line about marvelous things shares language of Exodus 15, the song relating the Exodus, and so what we sing is recalls our reasons to sing. In short, people with memory of God can sing. People who have an exodus in their lives can sing. As we have said before, the last evidence of healing is being able to tell of it.  Think of the power of telling or not being shamed by the secret of addiction, abuse, or bullying.  What comes out of our mouth is evidence of our well-being—and new orientation. A culture or place where one can not speak the truth in love—don’t ask, don’t tell is not the spirit of the scripture. What is God causing you to sing about these days? What exodus do you hold dear?

Please read the end of Psalm 22, the song of thanksgiving in verses 25-31. You will find the heart of the Hebrew scripture in the parallel of verse 26: ‘the poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek God shall praise the Lord.’  The psalms do not separate physical and spiritual hunger—every hunger is met with abundance.  We who know our need know we are all in need of God and, in that, we share our humanity. Interesting that Karl Marx said,’ the ideas of the dominant class become the dominant ideas.’ The ideas that dominate today are geared toward scarcity and fear, and disdain for the poor, but the poor are in the text with God. What dominant ideas, stories, or narratives need to be let go of? What dominant ideas or narratives no longer work for you? What has God been satisfying, completing, or fulfilling for you lately? How does the ministry of FUMC demonstrate a counter-narrative to scarcity?

Please read Psalm 23 and let’s zero in on v. 6, ‘surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.’ The Hebrew is, ‘tob (what we render as goodness) and chesed (rendered here as mercy, but is also steadfast love). In Exodus 33:19 when Moses cries out for God to show God’s face, Moses hears God say, ‘you won’t see my face, but my goodness (tob) will pass before you.’  Now this line follows the promise that a banquet (plenty) is set in the presence of enemies, and when conflict or enemies are present, or when we simply wish to see God’s face, we are assured that we will know God when tob/goodness (and now chesed/mercy) pass before us. What goodness or mercy revealed God recently? How does your ministry pass goodness and mercy before those who seek God? How does First UMC reveal tob and chesed?