Psalm 123

[jimkenney12]

Psalm 123, part of the readings for November 19, really spoke to me when I was checking out the readings.

Here is the NRSVUE translation:

Psalm 123

1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

 

[jimkenney12]

Psalm 123, part of the readings for November 19, really spoke to me when I was checking out the readings.

Here is the NRSVUE translation:

Psalm 123

1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

It seems many people today feel under attack or scorned by others. For people who attend the United Church, we get scorn from several directions. People who have no place for religion can scorn members for believing what they see as fairy tales. People from more conservative denominations often criticize us for not being really Christian, for being what they see as deviant from the faith.

 

[Mendalla]

It seems many people today feel under attack or scorned by others. For people who attend the United Church, we get scorn from several directions. People who have no place for religion can scorn members for believing what they see as fairy tales. People from more conservative denominations often criticize us for not being really Christian, for being what they see as deviant from the faith.

And those conservatives take heat back for their positions, too.

The fact is, I think almost everyone feels under attack at some point. It may not be for their theology or philosophy. Could be for lifestyle choices, like what career they pursued or how they conduct their personal business or how/what they eat. Could be for something inherent to who they are, like their gender identity or orientation or even their appearance.

So I think this psalm is one of those ones that really comes from the heart and speaks to the heart by reflecting something almost everyone has felt at some point. The call to God for mercy, the invocation of a "higher power" as something that can offer the mercy other humans do not when we are feeling put upon seems a very natural reaction.

 

[paradox3]

What does the mercy of the Lord look like in this context?

 

[paradox3]

When have any of us ever felt scorned? It's a strong word isn't it?

 

[Mendalla]

When have any of us ever felt scorned? It's a strong word isn't it?

I certainly have at many times. People looking down their nose at you is scorn. People not respecting you for who you are is scorn. It's not like they have to be beating you up or something. There are degrees of scorn, but I suspect most people have been the target of some form of scorn at some point.

 

[paradox3]

Gym classes always made me feel completely humiliated. Couldn't learn the steps to those folk dances to save my soul and being forced to run outside was even worse.

But I recognize my privilege in never feeling scorned for my race, religion, sexuality or education.

 

[Mendalla]

Gym classes always made me feel completely humiliated. Couldn't learn the steps to those folk dances to save my soul and being forced to run outside was even worse.

Yeah, me, too. But even in some other classes, I felt looked down upon. Teachers weren't much better than the students at times.

 

[BetteTheRed]

Pregnant teenager in the 1970s sure knew what scorn felt like.

 

[jimkenney12]

What does the mercy of the Lord look like in this context?

Great question. First thought was assurance that the scorn is a problem for that person and we are just fine. Second thought was that events will make that person regret showing scorn. Third thought was that we would be inspired to offer a response that would be helpful for everyone.

 

[jimkenney12]

Verse 2 rubs me the wrong way. Maybe I have two much pride. The idea of making sad eyes at God feels wrong to me.

 

[Luce NDs]

Who supports those I's and Ayres? Yet we declare the power of observation even in a people blinded in belief systems ... that declare: "Alice don't look!"

Why Alice doesn't live here any more ... a subtlety in the myths! It is profound and beneath us for when we fall and gather to the core ... the fate of scattered intellect ... it just will not cooperate when believing it is all alone and in control of all power ... avarice???

The mind, psyche, sol triad is a funny monad ... separated people cannot see it in their secular divisions ... a season of life if only for the learning process!

Few believe in learning for sacred reason ...

 

[Mendalla]

Verse 2 rubs me the wrong way. Maybe I have two much pride. The idea of making sad eyes at God feels wrong to me.

OTOH, you are beseeching the Ruler and Creator of all that is for mercy. Is there any other approach than abject humility? I mean it does sound a bit like the parody prayer in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, "Oh Lord, you are so so big" (roughly) but it is also reflective of just how the psalmist sees themselves in relation to God.

 

[Luce NDs]

Is humility and pride like oil and water ... complex solutions! Thus fatty acids mostly due to NA's! They form ribbons ... dark as most cannot even form an abstract perspective of *em ... enter the olive tree ... pho busts out and pop's Ayres! Sires ... what a crock without the alternate mate! Re bated ... as it returns ... juised ...

Dark points in the night guise ... Pixels? Mysterious particles ... Bo Sons about to be spectacularly confused? Considering what we know due to inhibitions (mostly phobias, in and out). It is a mystery ... the mists having been drawn up ... valis?

With some research valis is a whale of a word ...

 

[paradox3]

And is there any tie-in to the parable of the talents?

The third servant received more than his fair share of scorn in that passage.

 

[jimkenney12]

I included this psalm in the service to provide an opportunity for people to acknowledge or accept the feelings in the psalm and to consider how approaching the Holy Mystery can help. The Thessalonians reading I will offer next week provides the core of my message about staying awake, about living in the light.

 

[Luce NDs]

And is there any tie-in to the parable of the talents?

The third servant received more than his fair share of scorn in that passage.

It may explain many mixed feelings and scattered mental processes given exposure to real folk ... lure of folk from beyond! The mystery continues considerably, perhaps another indeterminate is born ... atheistic ... being unsure about believing in nothing absolutely ... cause you never know what happens when youth mess with nothing ... old folk have expectations that the outcome can be malevolent or maleficent ... and require much up keep! That's secular output ... explicate?

 

[jimkenney12]

After rereading Matthew 24 and 25, I now read verse 2 as pointing to the need to rely on our relationship with the Holy Mystery, to trust in it, if we are going to be able to deal with the scorn helpfully. From the most troublesome verse in this psalm, it has become the key verse for me.

 

[Luce NDs]

Imagine the holy mystery embracing love of knowledge, wisdom and that Magi Garden ... many trees of Logos? That's the word!

Many despise word (s) ... just too wordy to describe eternal stretches of mined ... wastelands?

 

[paradox3]

After rereading Matthew 24 and 25, I now read verse 2 as pointing to the need to rely on our relationship with the Holy Mystery, to trust in it, if we are going to be able to deal with the scorn helpfully. From the most troublesome verse in this psalm, it has become the key verse for me.

Yes it can be read as quite comforting.