Today, people in the United States are celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s a Thanksgiving like no other in that due to COVID 19, many families are not gathering, including mine. No big family gathering, no roasted turkey and my sister-in-law’s stuffing (based on my mom’s) and homemade turkey gravy. Instead I’m warming smoked turkey legs, having stove […]
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There is a moment after watching a wonderful fireworks display or hearing a magnificent symphony or concert, or seeing a phenomenal performance, that you just want to sit in the afterglow of the experience and bask in the memory. After the four great Alleluia psalms we just read, especially Psalms 147 and 148 that explode […]
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There is something compelling about using your body to praise God, not just with spoken words. Some feelings are just too powerful to put into words. They require your whole body. The love of God compels me to dance just as love of a spouse needs to be expressed in a physical form. David danced […]
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Psalm 148, the third of the alleluia psalms that end the psalter, is a simple song of praise to God found in creation, paralleling the creation story of Genesis. All creation is called upon to praise God, starting with the heavens, sun & moon, then moving to the earth, the animals, and finally humans. Psalm […]
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Psalm 147 is the second of the Alleluia psalms that bring the book of the Psalms to a close. It enumerates many reasons to praise our God, any one of which is sufficient reason unto itself. Put together into one psalm, it resonates and resounds so that only the most closed of mind could refrain […]
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I’m looking for a few good women or men, people who are more concerned with helping others than promoting themselves. No sense in looking in congress for such persons. If they are there, they are pretty much invisible. These public servants are too busy trying to ensure they are re-elected, doing insider trading, and protecting […]
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Every created being has an end. The book of Psalms has an end, and so does our study of this book. (Until we start again!) With Psalm 145, we are at the beginning of the end. Psalm 145 is the preface to a series of five psalms of praise that end the psalter. It is […]
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There’s something in the Bible for everyone: for young lovers full of vigor, seniors struggling with disability, for kings and leaders, for the poor or depressed, for simple farm laborers, for family members. That’s part of the beauty of Scripture. It can also be problematic because people often chose to manipulate Scripture to fit their […]
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Do you struggle to know when to stop? Do you have to have the last word in an argument, add a jab at your opponent? Such appears to be the case for the writer of Psalm 143. Not Knowing When to Stop We all know the type. They make a good point in a presentation […]
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If prison walls could talk . . . you would hear stories as unique as all of the individuals who have resided therein. The walls of Long Kesh prison in Northern Ireland would have tales of hunger strikes and protests as IRA prisoners demanded to be treated as political prisoners and refused to put on […]
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