Scripture Focus: Psalm 8
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
John 15.5
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Reflection: The Moon and the Cross
By John Tillman
In 1969, Buzz Aldrin, an elder in his church, got permission to take communion elements to the Moon. From the Moon’s surface, he radioed Houston, calling for a worldwide moment of reflection. Then Aldrin silently read John 15.5 while taking communion. He read Psalm 8.3-4 over the air on the journey home.
The psalmist who wrote, “You have put everything under their feet,” might be shocked that the Moon would be under human feet one day. But the spiritual reality is even more impressive than the Apollo missions.
Psalm 8 is the first psalm without a hint of lament. It is a perfect circle of praise in the center of a group of psalms that are laments or mixed bags of praises and worries.
The enemy, the foe, and the avenger are silenced. What stops these forces that oppose God and his creation? Fire from Heaven? A chaotic beast? A mighty warrior? No. At the center of this psalm, we see the power that defeats evil. It is not the command of a king or the sword of a warrior but the praise of infants.
When children praised Jesus, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” religious leaders objected. Jesus was not the Son of David they wanted. He healed the sick and cared for the poor instead of throwing off Rome and stoning adulteresses. Instead of galloping in on a warhorse, Jesus plodded through the streets on a donkey. Jesus defended the children by quoting this psalm.
The contrast of Aldrin’s verses is interesting. In one, we marvel that the God who made the moon and stars condescends to honor humanity. In the other, we see the depth of that honor. Jesus sits with his followers at Passover. He has just washed their feet. The one whose fingers formed stars scrubbed dirt from human toes. He is about to die on their behalf. The one who hung the moon will hang on a cross. Then Jesus tells his disciples they can do nothing without him.
God uses the weak to oppose what is strong and what is humble to shame what is proud. If we give Jesus our childlike praise, we will find strength for our steps, no matter who scoffs at our weakness. Let childlike praise strengthen our steps for the great leaps of faith he will show us.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Know this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. — Psalm 100.2
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Today’s Readings
Job 27 (Listen 2:21)
Psalm 7-8 (Listen 2:58)
Read more about Learning from the Suffering
Many “deconstructors” are spurred into this process by suffering. Some experienced sexual abuse or abuse of power. Many witnessed the defense and covering up of these kinds of abuse.
Read more about Pause To Rea
A new podcast episode, Urban Legends and Good Shepherds, is out tomorrow. Share and rate the episodes to spread the word.
