Difference between revisions of "Sermon for July 31st, 2022"
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==Psummer of Psalms V: Psalm 129 (Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out)== | ==Psummer of Psalms V: Psalm 129 (Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out)== | ||
| − | + | One day a man discovers a magical lamp, and upon rubbing the lamp, a genie appears offering him three wishes. But there's a catch. Whatever the genie does for the man, he must do twice as much for the man's worst enemy. The man thinks about it for awhile, and (quickly forgetting the catch) wishes for a billion dollars. The genie grants his wish, and the man is now a billionaire. This makes him tremendously happy...until he discovers that his most hated enemy is now a multi-billionaire. Furious and green with envy, the man goes back to the genie, and this time he wishes for great fame. His wish is granted, and the man is happy...until his fame is eclipsed by his greatest enemy, who becomes twice as famous. Finally, he returns to the genie, who informs him that this is his final wish. The man looks the genie in the eye and says, "Genie, I wish to be beaten half to death." | |
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| − | + | In the gospels, Jesus famously said that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But what does that look like? What exactly should we pray? Do we pray for our enemies' health and happiness and wellbeing? Do we pray for their success...in persecuting us? Or that they might somehow come to see the error of their ways and stop persecuting us? | |
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| − | + | Psalm 129--the last in our series this summer on the Psalms--is a case study in how to pray for your enemies, and those who persecute you. The NRSV subheading calls this a "Prayer for the Downfall of Israel's Enemies" and that's a pretty fitting title. The Psalm begins with a complaint: "Often have they attacked me from my youth" and then invites the whole nation of Israel into the story: "Let Israel now say, Often have they attacked me from my youth." | |
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| + | We don't really know who the "they" is, but if you read the Old Testament, there are plenty of candidates: The Egyptians, the Philistines, the Amalakites, Hittites, Jebusites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians...take your pick. | ||
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*NRSV subheading: Prayer for the Downfall of Israel’s Enemies | *NRSV subheading: Prayer for the Downfall of Israel’s Enemies | ||
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#no one wants | #no one wants | ||
#no one blesses | #no one blesses | ||
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| + | May those who love us, love us. | ||
| + | And those that don't love us, | ||
| + | May God turn their hearts. | ||
| + | And if He doesn't turn their hearts, | ||
| + | May he turn their ankles, | ||
| + | So we'll know them by their limping. | ||
Revision as of 19:40, 30 July 2022
Psalm 129:1-8
A Song of Ascents.
1 Often have they attacked me from my youth
—let Israel now say—
2 often have they attacked me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward.
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops
that withers before it grows up,
7 with which reapers do not fill their hands
or binders of sheaves their arms,
8 while those who pass by do not say,
“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”
Psummer of Psalms V: Psalm 129 (Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out)
One day a man discovers a magical lamp, and upon rubbing the lamp, a genie appears offering him three wishes. But there's a catch. Whatever the genie does for the man, he must do twice as much for the man's worst enemy. The man thinks about it for awhile, and (quickly forgetting the catch) wishes for a billion dollars. The genie grants his wish, and the man is now a billionaire. This makes him tremendously happy...until he discovers that his most hated enemy is now a multi-billionaire. Furious and green with envy, the man goes back to the genie, and this time he wishes for great fame. His wish is granted, and the man is happy...until his fame is eclipsed by his greatest enemy, who becomes twice as famous. Finally, he returns to the genie, who informs him that this is his final wish. The man looks the genie in the eye and says, "Genie, I wish to be beaten half to death."
In the gospels, Jesus famously said that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But what does that look like? What exactly should we pray? Do we pray for our enemies' health and happiness and wellbeing? Do we pray for their success...in persecuting us? Or that they might somehow come to see the error of their ways and stop persecuting us?
Psalm 129--the last in our series this summer on the Psalms--is a case study in how to pray for your enemies, and those who persecute you. The NRSV subheading calls this a "Prayer for the Downfall of Israel's Enemies" and that's a pretty fitting title. The Psalm begins with a complaint: "Often have they attacked me from my youth" and then invites the whole nation of Israel into the story: "Let Israel now say, Often have they attacked me from my youth."
We don't really know who the "they" is, but if you read the Old Testament, there are plenty of candidates: The Egyptians, the Philistines, the Amalakites, Hittites, Jebusites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians...take your pick.
- NRSV subheading: Prayer for the Downfall of Israel’s Enemies
- Jesus said to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." But what exactly do we pray?
- Shame (internal and external recognition of wrongdoing)
- Turn backward (same as repent)
- wither before its time (dry up, become powerless)
- no one wants
- no one blesses
May those who love us, love us. And those that don't love us, May God turn their hearts. And if He doesn't turn their hearts, May he turn their ankles, So we'll know them by their limping.
