Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focussed Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 69:7-10, 16-19....PENTECOST PLUS 6 (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1] 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. 2]
For the APB text see the reverse of the PB's title page. 3]After Pentecost, the alternative PSS
are set here. 4] vv.37-8
may date the PS to a controversy over rebuilding the Temple after
exile in Babylon (mid 530s BC)
WARMING UP: How often & how well / how poorly do we
play
the blame game?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
7-10 When we suffer 'reproach' of any kind
are we likely to see it as being 'for God's sake'? How do we usually
receive 'reproach' from another person? How clearly are we able to
discern the difference between 'for God's sake'
& bringing something on ourself? Do we ever feel shame that we have
'let God down'? Or anyone else? How are we to discern the truth of any
shame we bear? Is any
shame we feel about anything just as likely / more likely to be
our own pride on the line or taking a battering? Do our efforts on
God's behalf ever alienate us from family members? If we really are
doing something on God's behalf, do we & anyone close to us just
have to wear that? As a consequence of our discipleship? On the other
hand, how aware are we of any 'over the top' church involvement we
have? Might we
& others sometimes just have to wear that too?
Has the decrease in the
practice of fasting as a religious discipline had any identifiable
effect on our own discipleship? Has it ever been an issue for us?
Is society as a whole playing any price we can see for over-indulgence
as distinct from restraint in any area of life? Are we?
16-19 What kinds of
'floods' do we ever feel dragging us under these days? What kinds of
things do we sense 'swallowing us up'? Is the flood motif maybe a
powerful (& primitive?) way of expressing our fear of death? Given
the hugely changing attitudes to death & funeral practices in
modern society, are we Christians winning or losing the battle to have
resurrection taken seriously & what it means embraced as a key
life-value? Have
we made belief in Jesus' Resurrection & our own an 'optional extra'
rather than a keystone of Faith?
How confident are we of God's continuing 'loving-kindness' &
compassion towards us? What convinces us of them? Might these
God-qualities have more
persuasive power for us & the community if we were to practise them
more ourself?
Do
we ever feel God is 'hiding His
face' from us? Might it just be that we've turned our back, not God? Is
God ever not near us - even if we can't seem to see Him? Is it time to rethink the idea
of 'redeeming' & 'ransom' from ancient world terms & into
language more meaningful for today? Is it legitimate to express what
God & Jesus have done for us without enshrining it in ancient
terminology that locks us into an old understanding & out of a
modern one?
PLUS: Does PS 69 offer any
insight into today's Gospel (MT 10:24-39) or the HB reading from JER
20:7-13?
