Meditation for October 29, 2008

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Psalm 49:1-9, 15-20 (Book of Common Prayer version)

1 Hear this, all you peoples;

    hearken, all you who dwell in the world, you of high degree and low, rich and poor together.

2 My mouth shall speak of wisdom,

    and my heart shall meditate on understanding.

3 I will incline my ear to a proverb

    and set forth my riddle upon the harp.

4 Why should I be afraid in evil days,

    when the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,

5 The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods,

    and boast of their great riches?

6 We can never ransom ourselves,

    or deliver to God the price of our life;

7 For the ransom of our life is so great,

    that we should never have enough to pay it,

8 In order to live for ever and ever,

    and never see the grave.

9 For we see that the wise die also;

    like the dull and stupid they perish

    and leave their wealth to those who come after them.

15 But God will ransom my life;

    he will snatch me from the grasp of death.

16 Do not be envious when some become rich,   

    or when the grandeur of their house increases;

17 For they will carry nothing away at their death,

    nor will their grandeur follow them.

18 Though they thought highly of themselves while they lived,

    and were praised for their success,

19 They shall join the company of their forebears,

    who will never see the light again.

20 Those who are honored, but have no understanding,   

    are like the beasts that perish.

Keeping God In Our Sights

The Psalmist says several things here that are just as applicable today as they were thousands of years ago, when these words were written.

First, people of all times and generations can get caught up in the acquisition of material goods, and "put their trust in their goods." (verse 5)  The implication is that this is a very slippery slope.  We can head down this road and squeeze God right out our lives, making money or wealth our god.  Our ultimate security is not found in how much we own or in what we have in the bank (or in the stock market).  As much as we'd like it to be so, our security can never be found there (or in military might, for that matter).  Our security depends on the goodness and mercy of God - plain and simple.  Anything else that you try to put ultimate security in will fail you.

Second, the Psalmist has a very high view of what human life is worth.  "We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life." (verse 6)  He (she?) goes on to say that even if we lived forever and ever, and never died, we could never have enough to pay for the ransom of our life (verses 7-8).  Our value is completely related to how God sees us.  We are made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14), the apple of God's eye (see Deuteronomy 32:10; cf. Zechariah 2:8), the beloved children of God (see 1 John 3:2), God's own - each one of us known by name. (Isaiah 43:1)  (If you do nothing else with this meditation, meditate on those images for a few minutes!)

Third, only God can ransom our lives (verse 15).  Another way to say this might be that only God can give our lives meaning.  Only God can break in to my life... when it gets flat and dull, and my sights are way too low, and I settle for way less than I should settle for... only God can break into my life and make things new, and bring about transformation in such a way that I experience new life.  Not only that, only God can offer me a new life after this one is over, and actually follow through on that offer!  Only God can say "follow me" and lead me to places that I never imagined - in my finite mind - and take me to the places where I desperately need to go.  Only God can work on me in such a way that my heart of stone can be turned into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), and I can begin to respond to the world with a little bit of the compassion that God exhibits every second of every day.

Fourth, the Psalmist reminds us that we can be honored and praised and live in grandeur, and still have no understanding (verses 16-20).  What would be our reaction if we got to the end of our life, and discovered that we had put our focus on all the wrong things? 

Let us seek God and God's wisdom and guidance.  Let us seek the will of God over the praises of mankind.  Let us keep God in our sights, for if we do not, we shall surely perish.  On the other hand, if we do keep God in our sights, we will find life, and life in abundance.  (John 10:10b)  May we go after the truly abundant life, which comes to us as pure gift from God.