Year B, Pentecost 7 Psalm 1 and Acts
1:15-17, 21-26
Acts chapter one tells us about one
of the first big decisions that the apostles had to make after Jesus’
resurrection and ascension. That was,
who would replace Judas as one of the 12 apostles? They made that decision by
casting lots. Casting lots was fairly
common in the Bible. It was a way to
prove the impartiality of a decision. It
is much like flipping a coin at the beginning of a football game to see who gets
to receive the kick off. The apostles, and those who came before
them believed that God was guiding this coin or dice. In a sense, it was a way
for the person making the decision to take themselves out of the equation, so
there would be no bias.
Even knowing
that, it seems like a strange way to make a major decision. This choice was a huge choice that Peter and
the disciples were making. You would think they would want to be pretty careful
after what happened with Judas. However,
let’s keep in mind, that this was not the only method they were using. They had
already narrowed it down to two people.
How had they narrowed it down? Were there resumes and speeches? Were there interviews and background checks? No. The only qualification was this: they had to
be with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry (the baptism of John) through
the time Jesus ascended.
Both
Matthias and Justus fulfilled these qualifications. While the list of qualifications was short,
that does not make them unimportant.
Being a witness to the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus
was no small thing. That witness
required sacrifice and commitment.
Therefore, no matter which side the coin was facing, the person was
already deemed qualified by the apostles. What the coin was determining was who
God was actually calling.
The more I thought about this, the more
appealing casting lots became. I have
talked to a number of people who have shared with me that they have felt more
indecisive this year because of the pandemic.
It seemed that once COVID hit, we had to consider things that we had not
previously had to consider. Is it safe
to go to the park? Do I need to sanitize everything when I come home from the
grocery store? Can I visit family for vacation? We got a lot of rules from the
CDC and the government, but then there were gray areas and always, new
decisions to be made. One of the especially frustrating parts was that the
variables kept changing.
I remember sitting at my kitchen table, trying to plan our meals for
the week and thinking, “I can’t possibly decide what we will eat this
week. I can’t make one more
decision.” Mental health professionals
have said this decision paralysis is typical in highly anxious times. When you are anxious, it’s really hard to make
a decision. So rolling die, seems like
an ok idea to me.
Unfortunately, not all decisions
work like that. The psalm appointed for
today has a more nuanced approach to decisions.
When you first read it (or in my case the first 10 times), it seems
judgy and less than helpful. It puts
humans in two categories, the wicked and the righteous. The righteous delight in the law of the
Lord. Everything they do shall prosper. The wicked are doomed. They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
It’s very black and white and we Episcopalians usually prefer to dwell in the
gray areas (unless it’s COVID rules).
Part of the challenge of this psalm is that the translation is not
ideal. It begins by talking about those
who are happy because they have not walked in the counsel of the wicked. Instead their delight is in the law of the
Lord and they meditate on the law day and night. When we read the word law, especially in the
Old Testament, we think of rules. Who
would delight in rules or want to meditate on them day and night? I know a fair amount of good people, perhaps
even righteous people. Not one of them
delights in rules.
The Hebrew word that is translated to law is torah and can have many
translations. The better translation in
this context would be God’s teaching or God’s word. Remember, this is the first psalm out of 150. It’s essentially an introduction to a
treasure trove of wisdom. The author
might have even been suggesting that we would do well to meditate on the
following psalms as they are a way to know God better.
You might think, well that is all fine and good if your job is being a
pastor. It’s a lot easier to spend time
meditating on God’s word when you have to preach on it. That’s absolutely true. Most of us don’t have the time to meditate on
God’s word day and night. Yet I am not
sure that is what the text actually means.
While there are people who meditate on God’s word day and night, not
even the apostles did that every day and every night. What if instead…we find a way to linger or
dwell in God’s word?
When the apostles were trying to choose a new apostle, the first thing
that Peter said was, “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled….” The whole reason they were set on choosing a
12th apostle was to fulfill scripture and to do that, they had to
know scripture. Obviously I am biased
and I think that everyone should read the Bible. But I also know it’s overwhelming and a fair
amount of the Bible is kind of dull. But
the great thing about lingering in God’s word is you don’t need very many. Pick
one line of scripture that feeds your soul and commit it to memory. It’s kind of like a mantra.
But how do we choose when there are so many? A good one is what many of
us know as “The Great Commandment.” At
one point, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was. His response was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the
greatest and first commandment. And a second is
like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Write that down on a
piece of paper or put it on the home screen of your phone. Read it. Digest it. Linger in it.
The Hebrew word
in this psalm that is translated to meditate is bit more physical than
mental. It means to utter or moan or
even growl. You don’t just read God’s
word and consider it as a scholar. You
marinate in it until it is in the very marrow of your bones. That’s why churches like St. John’s have the
10 Commandments on the wall. It’s not decoration. It’s literally carved into the marble.
Because God’s word is meant to be carved into our souls.
There will be
anxious times or times when we are grieving-- when we will need to make a
decision or just need comforting words to hold on to. The Great Commandment is in our Rite 1
liturgy (page 324). If you grew up with that liturgy, you might
already have it memorized. Now you can
memorize any line. There are lots of
good ones. The reason I recommend The
Great Commandment is that it is helpful for decisions and just life in general.
If you are making a decision, you can roll the dice. Or you can ask yourself. Will this decision help me love God and love
my neighbor? If it does, then it’s the
right decision. Whatever line of
scripture you choose—read it. Digest it.
Let it become a part of you. Let it
become the best part of you. Because I
can guarantee you, that there will be a time, you will need God’s word, when
you will need it desperately. So find it
now.
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