Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 116:1-4, 11-18...Easter 3... Year A
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: Psalms
are poetry for singing;
intensely
personal. Saying
them may not get the best out of them. PSs depend not on rhyme, but
parallelism: repeating an idea in
a different way, extending it, developing, contrasting, etc..A colon
marks where the change takes place PSs were
composed by people from pre-1000 BC (David) to the mid 400s
BC. Being of those days, no
wonder we find views expressed in some PSs abhorrent. * PS
116 is a
thanksgiving, maybe at being saved from death (v.3). * v.12 was the text for the first
Christian service at Sydney Cove in Feb.1788! * There are
inconsistencies in verse numbering here.
WARMING UP: When others look at us do they see a thankful
person?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1-2 If we were to list reasons why we love
God, would 'because He
hears my entreaty' be on the
list? Might the PSt's sentiments be a wake-up call to us to be more
aware of why
we love God? In our experience is the converse of what the PSt says
also true: that we stop loving God if He
doesn't seem to hear us? Is
'inclining His ear / bending down' simply a poetic way of picturing God
hearing us?
Is God only aware of us when we call on Him?
3-4 Have we ever
felt the cords of death, real or metaphorical, encircling us; Sheol
(the place of the
departed) threatening us; distress & anguish gripping us? Did any
of this do wonders for, make any difference to our praying? Are there
circumstances when we might call on God, "Save my life!", or do we pray
that constantly?
11-12 Do we ever give up
on people as the PSt says he does here? If the thrust here
is of alarm, or rashness, what brings us to that point? How
do we discern the
trustworthiness of people round us? Is there any adequate
return we
can make to God for all His goodness to us? If the 'cup of salvation'
means the cup from which wine offerings were poured on an altar in
ancient days, how
well do we transfer that imagery to our taking the cup at the Eucharist
(= 'Thanksgiving')?
13-14 Do we have any
current vows we've made to God? Are any that we have made more likely
to be private than public? Where do we draw the line between private
& public religion? Is there a danger we can draw that particular
line too soon?
15-16 While it obviously
lends itself to interpretation in Christian theology, is YHWH's concern
at the 'death of one of His
faithful ones' perhaps a little surprising coming from so long ago,
& so long before Jesus? Does the reference to the PSt's mother
smack at all of piggy-backing into God's favour on someone else's
qualities rather than our own? Or, do we find favour with God only
through grace, and not anything we do? Does 'unfettered' raise the
issue of freedom & licence?
17-18 Does the PSt's
commitment to offering a thanksgiving sacrifice encourage us to always
'offer our sacrifice of thanksgiving' at the Eucharist, as well as in
any other appropriate way open to us? Does it also remind us of the
importance & public nature of thankfulness & worship? Is it
also a timely reminder that we need to redress the balance between
private & public aspects of religion if necessary?
