Psalm 37

On the seventh day of each calendar month, the Book of Prayer assigns Psalm 37 (part 1 &2) for recitation at Evening Prayer. The (St. Benedict) monastic practice of praying through all of the psalms each week (as they gathered for communal prayer seven times throughout the day) has influenced the formation of the Church of England and this is manifest in the Episcopal church. The psalms are also the book of prayer which Jesus would have known and many times He refers to them in His teaching and disputation (and His cry from the Cross, Psalm  22, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?").
Psalm 37 is an alphabetical acrostic. The first word of each verse begins with the next letter of the alphabet (the equivalent of a, b, c, d…), which creates some challenges in word choice. The psalm itself is part of the wisdom writings which might be called theodicy (or the problem of God and evil). The Bible has different streams of thought on this complex issue, and the particular author of this psalm might be said to embrace the belief “God is in charge, so trust Him.”
One recurring theme is the difference between the “righteous” and the “unrighteous.” The Pauline dictate (Romans 3:10 “as it is written there is none righteous, no not one” in reference to Psalm 14:3, Paul knew the psalms too!) is a central tenant of the Christian faith. However, the Biblical revelation is more complex and nuanced than this quote from Paul seems to imply. In Luke, for example, the issue of righteousness is more complicated. For example, Zachariah and Elizabeth (Lk 1:6) both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. In the next chapter Luke 2:25 declares that old Simeon is righteous, and Matthew 1:19 says the same about Joseph! (Others declared righteous are found Abraham in James 2:21 and Noah in Genesis 6:9). Jesus calls Abel righteous (Mt 23:35), says He came to call sinners not the righteous (Mt 9:13) and that God makes sun shine and rain fall on both the righteous and unrighteous (Mt 5:45). In Mt Jesus speaks of the righteous as a group numerous other times (10:41, 13:17, 13:43, 13:49, 23:27, 25:41). There are other similar uses in the Christian Scriptures because it is also a theme of the Jewish Scriptures. That is why we find it present in this Psalm. J. Clinton McCann (The New Interpreters Bible, Vol. 6) “Psalms”, p. 828-9 clarifies: blamelessness connotes not sinlessness but dependence on God…Thus, as in Psalm 1, the righteous are those who do not pursue their own ways but are open to God’s instruction because they recognize God’s sovereignty. James May (Interpretation: Psalms) similarly states (p160) The wickedness of the wicked lies first of all in their enmity toward God (v20), which is evident in their autonomous way of life. They follow their own way and their own schemes…Righteousness is first of all trust… As I have often said, ‘saved by faith’ is a very present revelation of the (so called) Old Testament!
Ps 37 (BCP 633)
Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do wrong. For they shall wither like the grass and like the green grass fade away.
The "fret" in Hebrew literally means "hot, kindled, heated up in vexation, or incensed" (the Psalmist is saying, "cool it" on anger) and is repeated later v 7&8. The spiritual issue here is the anger which blocks God’s salvation. Anger (based on our own sense of what is fair, what God should do) serves as an internal barrier to the “effectiveness of grace,” the “inflow of the Spirit” and the “fruits of salvation health. The image of withered grass (stereotypical of the Bible) is a declaration of the ultimate demise of the wicked (see Psalm 1).
The belief that the ‘bad guys’ are getting away with something is, in the end, a lack of faith in God. Is God just? Will God redeem? Our offended sense of justice (based on our disappointment with God) means that we are often angry with God. we are angry at others and even ourselves. Our failure to forgive is in part a refusal to believe that God will vindicate us, that He cannot be trusted to do the right thing. It is as if we have decided to “tell” God that He needs to vacate the Throne and let us mete out righteousness. “Burning” about how the “bad guys” are doing fine only cuts us off from the life and love of God. It is a self-imposed exile. Healing happens when we let go our our bitterness and resentment, our anger and unforgiveness--our lack of trust in God.
Put your trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and feed on its riches. Take delight in the Lord, and He shall give you your heart’s desire. Commit your way to the Lord, and put your trust in Him, and He will bring it to pass.

We are saved by God, but faith/trust is the means that that salvation is manifest. Saved by faith is not an activity which earns salvation. Saved by faith is the action whereby we give ourselves into God’s care and concern to receive His saving/redeeming/rescuing love and grace. Trusting God is a foundational attitude (an expression of our base narrative) and what flows out of that is goodness. God is good and those in relationship with God must be good and do the good to others. To imitate God is to be good. To be good is to resonate with His intent at creation (see how often the word appears in Genesis 1!) If we are good where we dwell, we help create the environment to receive the goods. The Hebrew is literally “to shepherd/pasture/graze faithfulness/steadfastness/firmness.” The Good Shepherd is God (Ps 23) who provides for His flock.

Our heart’s desire (He will give, bestow, gift- ‘nathan’) will be realized. We are not self-aware enough to know our heart’s deepest desire. Those who know God is the center and delight in Him will get their heart’s desire. (Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added to you). These verses are the expression of the narrative which I have said we need to embrace. These verses say what we need to know about God. As we open up in trust we receive what He is giving.  

Praying Like a Priest

[we will address this in Sunday School on Advent 3 12/13]

Priestly prayer is made with hands extended upward. While many are nervous about this, it feels too "pentecostal/charismatic" to them, I prefer to to think of the psychological impact of the physical stance. Human beings are Spirits and Body/Soul. The spiritual and physical impact and interpenetrate one another.

If you stand up and stretch your hand upward how do you feel? For me, it is the toddler position. It is the gesture which goes along with the words, "Pick me up, Dadddy/Momma." It is also an open position, welcoming an infilling. It is also better for your neck!

Secondly, a priest's prayers are liturgical. They are usually written in a text. The format is based on Jewish Biblical prayer. It includes a heavy dose of praise, remembrance of God's saving activities, thanksgiving and a cry for God's salvation. The breadth of the prayer is universal and extends beyond one's personal concerns. Left to my own, I pray for me and mine. The church prays for the People of God. However, that is liturgical prayer of a community. 

The key to praying is focus on God not yourself. Praying from the heart means that one is sincere. Trying to "sound good" and use fancy words is not prayer, it is play acting. 

Unfortunately, without a robust prayer life and a deep connection with our Father in Heaven, it is difficult to pray publicly (whether liturgically or spontaneously). As we have looked at the "Narrative of God" in which we believe, we have offered an approach which takes seriously God's faithful love of each of us. We also believe that God's resources are available here and now, but that we must be open to receive them in faith. Obstacles in the spiritual realm (demonic), the community (unbelief) and within us (sin, unforgiveness, fear and unbelief) impact breadth, depth, and speed of that flow of God's power. 

Last week Linda Miller taught on "disappointment in prayer." Jesus was thwarted by the unbelief of those familiar with Him and we, familiar with the experience of  "God failing to answer our prayers," live under the same blanket of doubt. Too afraid to be hurt again, too angry to trust, we would rather see God as "a ticket to heaven" and live our daily lives at a distance from the Kingdom vision of the Bible.

Last week Linda spoke on Zachariah and the angel. Luke 1:13 "your prayer has been heard" is directed to a priest at the altar. It was the only time Zachariah would ever stand before that altar in his life. He would have been praying prayers assigned to the circumstances, probably some form of praise, petition for mercy and salvation. Some think it was a version of the Jew's daily prayers (Amidah), as here:

*http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/14019/is-there-any-tradition-with-regards-to-zechariahs-prayer-in-luke

AS Kohen ( Priest ) Zachariah would have been praying the Amidah from what I've learned. These are 18 prayers that the Jews would pray three times a day , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amidah .

Avot ("Ancestors") this prayer offers praise of God as the God of the Biblical patriarchs, "God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob

Gevurot ("powers"), this offers praise of God for His power and might. This prayer includes a mention of God's healing of the sick and resurrection of the dead.

Kedushat ha-Shem ("the sanctification of the Name") this offers praise of God's holiness.

Binah ("understanding") this is a petition to God to grant wisdom and understanding.

Teshuvah ("return", "repentance") this prayer asks God to help Jews to return to a life based on the Torah, and praises God as a God of repentance.

Selichah, this asks for forgiveness for all sins, and praises God as being a God of forgiveness.

Geulah ("redemption") this praises God as a rescuer of the people Israel.

Refuah ("healing") this is a prayer to heal the sick.

Birkat HaShanim ("blessing for years [of good]"), this prayer asks God to bless the produce of the earth.

Galuyot ("diasporas"), this prayer asks God to allow the ingathering of the Jewish exiles back to the land of Israel.

Birkat HaDin ("Justice") this asks God to restore righteous judges as in the days of old.

Tzadikim ("righteous") this asks God to have mercy on all who trust in Him, and asks for support for the righteous.

Bo'ne Yerushalayim ("Builder of Jerusalem") asks God to rebuild Jerusalem and to restore the Kingdom of David.

Birkat David ("Blessing of David") Asks God to bring the descendant of King David, who will be the messiah.

Tefillah ("prayer") this asks God to accept our prayers, to have mercy and be compassionate.

Avodah ("service") this asks God to restore the Temple services and sacrificial services.

Hoda'ah ("thanksgiving") this is a prayer of thanksgiving, thanking God for our lives, for our souls, and for God's miracles that are with us every day.

Sim Shalom ("Grant Peace"); the last prayer is the one for peace, goodness, blessings, kindness and compassion.

These are the prayers that Zachariah would have been , praying in the temple while offering incense. 

Obviously, the context of Second Temple Judaism would predate some of these petitions, but the theme of the salvation of Israel is clear. Zachariah and his wife, they are too old and she is barren, were likely not praying for a child at this point. No mention is made of such a prayer and the angel makes clear that the purpose of the child is an answer to God to the prayer for the salvation of Israel. My sermon last week on the canticle of Zachariah showed this to be the focus of this prayer (Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, He has visited His people to redeem them). The birth of John is a blessing (it takes away her shame and reproach) to the family, but even more he will be a blessing to Israel and to the world. God's vision is bigger. The answered prayer for salvation, in this case by the birth of a child to two people who are unlikely candidates, is a particularly poignant example of God's hesed (faithful covenant mercy and love). Linda's point is well taken, I merely take it to a deeper and broader meaning.

I am also struck by the silence of Zachariah. It seems to be a punishment, but a review of the word might also broaden this understanding as well. The trigger for me was Revelation 8:1 (When the Lamb opened the 7th Seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour) and Habakkuk 2:20 (The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him). In Deuteronomy 27:9 Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, "Keep silence and hear, O Israel, this day you have become the people of the Lord God." Lastly, the beloved verse of Ps 62:5 (for God alone my soul in silence waits) reminds us that the Seeker and the Sought encounter one another in a mutual dance of quiet waiting and peaceful abiding!

So the take away? To pray like a priest is our vocation (as we read this week in Morning Prayer, Revelation 1:5-6 "to Him who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood and made us to be a kingdom, priest serving His God and Father..." The priestly prayer ministry is one which is especially appropriate with one another, but also in our daily lives. Pray, intercede, give glory and thanks to God, and always in the context of the Promises of God.

The Canticle of Zachariah

(Book of Common Prayer p 92)
Luke 1:67 says "and Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesied" and the canticle today are the words of that prophecy! St. Benedict introduced its use and it is on page 92 of our Morning Prayer. Since sincere and faith filled prayer has power, this is potentially a spiritual nuclear generator.

The proclamation of Zachariah is a Berakah, a Jewish prayer of Blessing. The Hebrew root, barak, means to kneel, and by extension to praise and thank Him. To "bless" God is to worship Him (for "blessings"). "Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel." Our Christian prayer is always to the God of Israel. Our Jewish roots must inform our theological and spiritual imaginations.

He has come to His people and set them free...
God has come, the Greek word literally means "to look at carefully" and "visit." In the Hebrew Bible, it connotes coming with care and concern. When God comes to His people in the story of Israel, He comes most often to rescue them. "I have seen their plight and heard their cries," YHWH told Moses in reference to the Hebrew slaves. "I remember my covenant and so I have come down to save them." The first exodus is the gospel of the Jewish Bible. The story of Jesus is the new exodus Gospel. Zachariah declares God has visited His people to set them free: lytrosis - to ransom , redeem, deliver is a salvation word. Salvation is not simply the getting into heaven. It is heaven getting into us. The  afterlife matters, but so does this life. God is already among us as Redeemer and the salvation begins now!  Our God comes to us, here and now, with healing and deliverance, with renewal and abundance life. We are free and growing into perfect freedom!

He raised up for us a mighty savior born of the house of His servant David.
The Greek actually says "a horn of salvation is raised." The horn (think rhinoceros) is a symbol of power. The promise of Messiah is through the house of David. The promise of God to the Jewish people through their Jewish king is now realized in Jesus. In the Apocalypse Jesus is described as A Lamb with Seven horns. The mighty Jesus, however, will not wield earthly power, His power is to forgive, to heal, to reconcile, to love, to suffer and die to save us.

What will salvation look like?
through His holy prophets He promised of old that He would save us from our enemies and the hands of all who hate us.
The recent spate of terrorist attacks remind us that we have enemies who hate us. There are physical and spiritual enemies. Life is a struggle because, in part, there are Haters who seek to harm us. But with the coming of Jesus the freedom is already begun. The power of hatred is defeated by the love of God in Jesus. Jesus' ministry will illustrate what that freedom is: forgiveness and reconciliation, healing and exorcism, food and fellowship. The enemy would empty us into death, Jesus will fill us with life.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant. This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship Him, holy and righteous all the days of our life.

Hear the repetition: Again remembrance, again the covenant, again deliverance from our enemies...
If you know your Jewish Bible it all makes sense. God promised to bless the world through Abraham. This promise affects us all. Hesed is god's covenant faithful love and mercy. It is how God acts towards His people. Zachariah is connecting Jesus to the ancient covenant.
God told Pharaoh to release His people so they could worship Him. Freedom 'from' is also freedom 'for'---free to worship God and to live in right relationship with God. It is a freedom of consecration to be holy. Grace (salvation) calls for a response (the worship of holy and righteous people) You and I are those people! 

Now the old priest speaks to his baby son;

You, my child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way...
 Today's Gospel tells of John baptizing and preaching in preparation for Jesus' arrival. However, as we pray these words let us extend this vocation to each of us. We are also this child. We are called to be a prophet of the Lord, as we go before Him, preparing for Jesus' return.

To give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins 
We are messengers, we announce this Good News. Sin needs to be forgiven, not ignored. Sin needs to be confessed but only mercy and hope can free anyone to make such a confession. In Jesus the debt is paid. We can put our hands on the sinner and say "you are reconciled to God!" We know that The Father has tender compassion, mercy, kindness-- we must share this knowledge with others!

In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet in the way of peace.
Turn to page 87, Canticle 11 (found in Isaiah 60:1ff)
 Arise, shine, for your light has come...for behold, darkness covers the land...But over you the Lord will rise...Nations will stream to your light....violence will be no more [nor] ruin or destruction...
The ancient prophecy of Isaiah 9 (The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. you have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing)
Our world, says Ephesians 6, is a battle field! "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but the spiritual and cosmic powers of this present darkness." The present age is ruled by the Prince of Darkness, it is an age of suffering, sin and death. It is an age of conflict. It is, however, already, penetrated by the Light. Light defeats darkness by its mere presence. We do well to open our minds and hearts to God's light--a healing light of salvation and truth. Jesus is the light, Jesus is our shalom peace. Peace is His gift to us, and peace is manifest most powerfully in the minds and hearts of those who trust Him.

But the temptation is to only half listen, say "yes, heard that before" and smile at it all as if it were a pious platitude but nothing more. The temptation is to read words with the lips but never pray the words from the heart. So meditate on this prophecy. Embrace it and let it simmer in your soul.
Let us pray it with conviction, until we find ourselves compelled "to go before the Lord and bring knowledge of salvation to others."
Let us trust the prophecy so that we can know the freedom, light and peace of God's salvation in Jesus the Messiah.
Let us live this prophecy and actually become a light in the dark world (just like Jesus said we are).

2 Peter

2 Peter is written in the literary form of a farewell discourse. The pending death of the "chief" apostle is used as a setting for an eloquent call to faith. It is worthy of note that the earliest mention of this letter is in Eusebius' Church History (early 300's)  quoting Origen (182-254) who says that "Peter left one authentic epistle and possibly a second, which is doubted." Apparently St Jerome (347-420) had doubts as well. Many contemporary scholars think it was written toward the end of the first century. But the message is revelation. It gives Christians a message of hope and a challenge to live in Christ.

God has bestowed the long promised salvation in Christ. In 1:1 we hear the stunning declaration that if we flee the world which is corrupted (phthora- self caused moral destruction) by lust we can share in the Divine nature (physis). This is a foundational belief of the mystical theology of the church. One aspect of salvation is that Jesus took on our human nature so that we can share in the divine nature. It may be another way of speaking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or "the life" of God in us. This is how salvation works-- we empty ourselves/ are emptied of the world (the flesh and the devil) so God fills us with Himself (share in His Nature). It is a process of grace and our cooperative discipline. The list: virtue-faith-discernment-self control-perseverance-piety/godliness-care-love reflect the Roman response to a patron; here the Christian understands the Patron to be God the Father. The right living is a response to God's saving kindness, and those who fail to live in such a way are deemed "blind" by the author.

1:16-21 One major argument for the truth of Christianity is that it is incarnate, happening in time and place. Jesus is not a "myth" (like the gods of the pagans) but someone whom eyewitnesses have known. [cf. 1 John 1-2-- "what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have touched"..."the life became visible; we have seen it and bear witness to it]. The reference to the Transfiguration is part of the apostolic witness, it is a reason why these people were willing to suffer and die for Jesus. 2 Peter connected the events of Jesus life with prophecy, that is what is found in the Jewish Bible. However, he warns against private or individual interpretation. Scripture comes from God. Prophecy is the work of the Spirit. It is not simply an human endeavor. People should not pick up their Bible to read and spin their own interpretations outside the received wisdom of the church.

Much of the content in chapter 2 of 2 Peter seems related to the Letter of Jude. [For this reason the chapter is skipped in the lectionary. Jude will be read at the weekend.] The disaster of heresy in the early church was a major concern. While love is central, and theological disputes can often be merely a divisive "wrangling over words," false teaching does have death dealing effects. Lies produce evil behavior, as is documented from Scripture, and God's justice saves His people but also brings wrath on those opposed to Him. Three illustrations are used: fallen angels were sent to Tartarus (Greek mythology, the horrible prison under Hades. Side note, not a reference a Jewish Gallilean fisherman would be likely to conjure up), Noah's flood, and Sodom (for men unprincipled in their lusts). "The Lord knows how to rescue devout men" and "how to punish the wicked up to the day of judgment" the writer says, providing us with both sides of judgement (salvation and perdition). Echoing John 8, he says that we are a slave to whatever overcomes us. The false teachers are advocating the freedom to follow one's passions. Freedom to sin is only bondage.  He accuses the heretical teachers of providing a condition which dehumanizes the human person.

Chapter 3 concludes the short letter. Embrace the Jewish Scripture and teaching of Jesus (the Lord and Savior) he exhorts the readers. In another sign that the letter is of a later Christian generation, the author addresses the issue of the death of the forefathers. From an early time Christian faith was ridiculed because the world seemed to go on just as before. 2 Peter says that the first judgment (Noah) was water, but the second will be fire--the Day of Judgment when God moves against godless men. In a hopeful reframing, 2 Peter says that the Lord is not delaying in judgment but showing patience. One more day, the Lord seems to think, and so many more can be brought into the Kingdom. After all, God experiences time differently than us. For Him a thousand years are as a day, and vice versa. By such an accounting, Jesus was born a couple of days ago, and the Exodus was a day before that... However the stunning revelation is that God is influenced by humans. His plan includes response to human choices.

The logical argument ends with an unavoidable conclusion. If the world is going to end in fire (as we wait for the new heaven and earth--note the apocalyptic imagery) how should we live? Then a stunning statement, our behavior can hasten the coming of the Kingdom. This runs counter to the idea that the "Plan of God" is predetermined and set in stone. Christians are told to help make the Day come sooner. "Our Lord's patience is directed toward salvation."  That is a verse worthy of rumination. God patiently waiting for us to turn to Him...

2 Peter says some of Paul's letters are hard to understand and get misinterpreted. At the time this letter was written Paul's writings were being equated with Scripture. Heretics have long descended on Paul, despite 2 Peter's warnings, to be distorted (interpreting on their own) as advocating false teaching (including lawlessness and licentiousness in the name of grace). 2 Peter makes it clear, "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Faith is also a way of life.

If you understand the world is passing away, if you know that God is doing all He can to bring us into the kingdom, if you know that salvation is offered--then choose wisely!