Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focussed Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 103:8-13...PENTECOST PLUS 18 (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1]The
alternative PSS
set for after
Pentecost are used here. 2]
Psalms
are poetry for singing;
personal, depending not on rhyme, but on developing an idea,
contrasting it, etc. They date from pre-1000 BC (David)
to mid 400s
BC. Being of their day, we may
find attitudes in some PSS abhorrent.
3] vv.13-18 are among the passages often used in our funeral
service.
WARMING UP: How might a painter
depict the God of this passage?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
8-10 If someone so long
before Jesus as this PSt can see God is 'full of compassion ...great
goodness' how is it the God proclaimed by many Christians is such an
unattractive if not ugly character? Which kind of God do we ourselves
mirror? Why do characteristics like 'anger' & 'chiding' appeal to
so many 'Christians' & crop up so often in the version of the faith
we present for the world to see?
Does v.9 give the
impression God might be passingly angry with us, but not for long? What
do we think of the idea that God's anger is simply the flip-side of
God's love & 'comes with the territory' of loving? Does the
'angry', 'chiding' God' appeal to us at all? Is that God more a
projection of our own experiences or our own ugly self than a genuine
picture of the God revealed in Jesus? Does the church still go on more
about sin & wickedness than Jesus seems to demonstrate God as
doing? Which kind of God do we: a) respond to better? b) worship
better? c) demonstrate better in our life?
11-13 Though
the heavens may be 'high above the earth' is that where we should
expect to find God in His
Heaven? Is 'up in the air' imagery about God helpful these days when we
know so much about the Cosmos? On the other hand, does the vastness of
the canvas the PSt paints here give a helpful dimension to hold to when
people want to cut God down to their size? How well does the PSt's
imagery of the vastness of
the heavens apply to our own experience of God's mercy? Or do we not
have that kind of experience of mercy? Can any of us really show mercy
if we haven't experienced it? Does this raise the same question about
the 'ruler' who shows mercy in today's Gospel (remembering it is a yarn
rather than an historical account)?
Do we believe, &
act as if we believe, that God has 'set our sins as far from us as the
east is from the west'? Given not all fathers were or are 'tender
towards their children' what makes us so sure God is above abusing us
in any way in His dealings
with us? Now that we're much more aware of the importance of inclusive
language, might we be better off thinking & speaking of God as,
e.g., our 'Parent' rather than referring to God as either 'Father' or
'Mother'? In this same regard have we also taken on board that God is
God, beyond human characteristics & capacities, & not a
gendered being as we humans are? What's the essence of 'tenderness'?
Humanly speaking, is tenderness only a female trait? Would a lot of
males be better off, & the women & children who relate to them,
if they practised a bit more tenderness?
As the 'fear' of God
keeps on cropping up both in the PSS & in other religious writings,
talk, & liturgies, etc., how does that understanding sit with the
image of God portrayed in Jesus? Is 'awe' an adequate / acceptable
alternative, or is that too soft an option? With regard to N.3 above,
can we see why the verses concerned could be helpful in the context of
a funeral?
PLUS: How does the God pictured in Jesus' yarn today (MT
18:21-35) stack up with the PSt's understanding of God here?
