Psalm 62:5-12
62:5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
62:6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
62:7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
62:9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
62:10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
62:11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
62:12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
This week Pastor Margo will offer devotions on the week’s lectionary texts, which are concerned with the powerful call on all of us to preach (and to understand, seek, experience and live) the good news of Jesus Christ. The devotion resource is the Christian Century website. Find the daily lectionary texts at https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=62.
Today’s devotion, by Ismael Ruiz-Millán , challenges us to adopt a particular posture of watchful urgency. Ismael Ruiz-Millán is director of the Hispanic House of Studies at Duke Divinity School. See All Articles.
In our third Sunday after the Epiphany of Jesus, and the third week of a new year, the risk we run is to lose a sense of urgency. What’s so urgent? Simply put, preaching about the reign of God—the kingdom Jesus came to establish.
A sense of urgency is what keeps us focused, our sight placed upon the things that really matter—the things that reflect Jesus’ kingdom. A sense of urgency is what challenges us to not be moderate or neutral on issues related to the perpetuation of violence, tragic inequities, and the dehumanization of minoritized bodies. A sense of urgency is about living in the ongoing tension between adapting to the demands of our world and adopting what Jesus’ kingdom requires of us—which is a sign of trusting God without reservations.
The psalmist offers some guidelines for living in this tension, summarized in three key points:
- Waiting in silence. Our readings remind us that preaching about Jesus’ kingdom will often lead us to undesirable places and uncomfortable situations, in which God seems absent and silent.
- Hopeful posture. When God seems absent and silent, we must remember that our hope does not depend on what is tangible or visible, but rather in believing in what is not a reality just yet.
- Steadfast love. Maintaining a sense of urgency is a form of love. Urgency is what makes us upset when the powers of evil are more visible than the signs of the reign Jesus came to establish.
Pray: God Who urges us to pay attention- continue to wake us up, to heal our sight, to speak urgently to us, so that we can pray in faith, “Thy Kingdom come.” Amen.