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Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Easter 5A
For the most part Psalm 31 sounds just one primary note across its 24 verses. So although the Lectionary has chopped it up to carve out the opening 5 verses and then 2 verses closer to the middle of the song, the main theme and imagery of the psalm are still visible. In the verses…
Psalm 31:9-16
Palm Sunday A
Since the Lectionary each year gives us a psalm each for the Liturgy of the Palms (Psalm 118 most years) and the Liturgy of the Passion (Psalm 31 this year), each year we select just one of them to focus on. This commentary is on the Psalm 31 lection but if you would like to…
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Easter 5A
Sometimes the Revised Common Lectionary gives us the same Psalm somewhat frequently but each time it is chopped up in different ways. As it is, selecting some verses, skipping over others, and then including a few more is not always a great way to preach on a given Hebrew poem in that they were written…
Psalm 31:9-16
Palm Sunday
Psalm 31:11 says “I am an object of dread to my neighbors; those who see me on the street flee from me.” I suppose we all have our days when we feel like this but mostly we chalk it up to paranoia. “I am just imagining that everyone I meet is averting their eyes.” “It’s…
Psalm 31:9-16
Palm Sunday
Comments, Observations, and Questions It is Palm/Passion Sunday and so God’s people come to church. We Christians come to church because we believe when we do, we come into the presence of God. We believe in God and so we believe God is faithful to the promise that when we gather in God’s name, God…
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Easter 5A
A scant month ago as one of the Psalm readings for Palm Sunday, the RCL assigned portions of Psalm 31. And now here it is again. They have chopped it up a bit differently but it’s the same psalm and the whole poem hangs together and needs to be read together (no matter how much…
Psalm 31:9-16
Palm Sunday A
Psalm 31:11 says “I am an object of dread to my neighbors; those who see me on the street flee from me.” Talk about your social distancing . . . But seriously, as I read Psalm 31—all of it and of course also the RCL selection of verses 9-16—it became clear that this is a…
Psalm 31:9-16
Palm Sunday C
It is Palm/Passion Sunday and so God’s people come to church. We Christians come to church because we believe when we do, we come into the presence of God. We believe in God and so we believe God is faithful to the promise that when we gather in God’s name, God is among us. Certainly…
Psalm 31:9-16
Lent 6B
The Revised Common Lectionary has two suggested readings from the Psalms for this Sixth Sunday of Lent, Palm Sunday. The first, Psalm 118, emphasizes the positive side of this day with lots of verses that anticipate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The second, Psalm 31:9-16, zeros in on the tragedy of Palm Sunday, the gathering…
Psalm 31:1-5; 15-16
Easter 5A
“In this Psalm the panic of the people of God troubled by the persecution of all the heathen, and by the failing of faith throughout the world, is principally seen.” Those words could have been written by any alert observer of the world-wide religious scene in 2017, as we witness, for example, the cruel persecution…
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