Reflection on Psalm
46: 1
by Nan
Stokes
In the first reading for today, Jeremiah uses the image of
a shepherd: a dire prophetic voice to those who have scattered
the Lord's sheep. The Lord promises that he will gather
the remnant of his flock from all the lands where they have
been driven and bring them home again to their fold where they
will know no fear and none will be missing. The people
who were listening to the prophet Jeremiah must have been comforted
because they understood how a good shepherd would guard the
sheep, and knew they could look forward to better days in the
land. But even this passage of scripture is hard, and
the gospel lesson about events at the crucifixion is difficult,
too. On this day when we honor the King of Kings, it is
wrenching to remember that the inscription on the cross said,
"This is the King of the Jews."
Once again the psalm for the day is full of natural descriptions
that are soothing to our eyes and ears: "There is a river
whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation
of the Most High." "Come now and look upon the works of
the Lord, what awesome things he has done on earth." The
psalmist was overwhelmed by the tumults occurring in earth's
natural disasters, but remembered that we are not to fear, even
though the earth be moved. As the people in those days
listenend to Jeremiah, they also were aware that their God was
with them and was a stronghold in the midst of the strife and
turmoil they were experiencing. These are words we must
listen to in our own tumultuous times.
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