Praying the Psalms – March 13th
Justice is one of the most important things to God: justice for the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the weak, the worn. For God, injustice for these is in direct opposition to true worship of God.

At first this statement seems obvious to us, but if we take a wider view of scripture and of our own lives, it can often be quite convicting. In various places God speaks through prophets when the worshipping and following of God had become a practice of “going through the motions”, a shallow act rather than a true living in faith. God discourages the burning of incense and animal sacrifices when they are empty acts that take place while people are going hungry or being oppressed and pushed to the margins. God closes God’s ears to the hymns and the songs of those who sing of God’s justice and do not share it with all of God’s people. In our own lives Sunday morning can become a routine, an hour of the week that we give over to God, and for many, service and discipleship ends there. God calls us to a daily living of the Gospel and justice sharing that we read, sing, and pray about on Sunday morning. Indeed, unday should act as a diving board, from light to darkness that we may scatter it, from abundance to scarcity that we might share of ourselves, and from love to hate that we may give life to hearts that beat only for anger.

In the words of this Psalm, let us also hold in our minds the story of Jesus before Pilate, of Jesus before the crowd. Pilate says that he sees no guilt in Christ, and yet the crowd calls for crucifixion anyway.

Let us pray

Psalm 146:7-10

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

Open our hearts, O God, and make them big enough to hold your lost and lonely ones.
Open our eyes, O God, and help us to see when others are being mistreated and denied the love and respect they deserve.
Open our ears, O God, to hear the silence of those whose right to speak, to sing, or to pray has been taken from them.
Open our lips, O God, to speak out against oppression, to shout of your great love for the lowest and the least, to name evil, and to call forth justice. AMEN

Blessings,
Rev. Richard