Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 31:1-5, 17-18...5th S of Easter (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1] Psalms
are poetry for singing;
intensely
personal. They depend not on rhyme, but repeating an idea in
a different way, developing it, contrasting, etc..A colon
marks the change. PSs date from pre-1000 BC (David)
to the mid 400s
BC. Being from their own
times, now we find views
expressed in some PSs abhorrent. 2]
Make a habit of reading / praying / using the Psalms in 1st & 2nd
person language (I & You).
WARMING UP: Do we depend on any set pattern of words in talking
with people or God?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1-2 What kind(s) of shelter
/ protection are we personally currently in need of? How might someone
caught up in housing unaffordability respond to the PSt & to God?
Or those who live in desperate poverty, fear, homelessness, etc.? Does
shame, or fear of shame play any role in our life? What does
'deliverance' mean? Can we put it in 'non-churchy' language? If that's
difficult, might 'churchy language' itself be a 'shelter' we take
refuge in from reality? Is there a connection between righteousness,
deliverance, saving?
3-4 Is the
way the PSt develops his case here adding any dimension he hasn't
introduced up to now? Is there a line between praise & flattery?
How good are we at discerning the 'leadership & guidance' God
offers
us? Do we take any more notice of God's than anyone else's leadership
& guidance? When we do discern God's 'L & G', how well do we
mirror it in the L & G we offer others? Is responding to L & G
as voluntary as offering them is? Does Jesus come into this? Though the
PSt is referring to nets set to catch & destroy enemies in battle,
are we ever aware of other kinds of 'nets' being laid to catch? Or do
only paranoid people think like that? How much do we think of
'strength' as being an attribute of God?
5
Given these words are
on Jesus' lips as He dies, how thoroughly do we commend our spirit into
God's keeping now while we live (as Jesus did)? Is 'redeem' just more
'churchy language' we can take refuge in, instead of in the reality of
God's Own Self? Was Jesus just doing that? When we talk about Jesus as
'Redeemer' what does that mean? Is it legitimate to try to
express what Jesus does for us in other than ancient language /
concepts / beliefs?
17-18 Does this
burst of confidence from the PSt encourage us in our journey as a
pilgrim? How do we know when God's face is 'shining upon us'? Is it just when everything in the
garden is rosy, or is there something deeper than that in there
somewhere when the going's harder?
