Scripture Focus: Psalm 72.12-14
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight. 

Reflection: We, Your People
By John Tillman

The true king that the psalmist references is not Solomon or any political realm to follow. Jesus is the true king who liberates and brings justice.

The golden age Solomon ushered in rode on the back of immense taxes and slave labor. Solomon’s political alliances were sealed with unholy marriages and consecrated by temples built to idols. What looked like paradise was paid for by hellish means.

Jesus, by contrast, took the weight of hell on his back and set us free from its burden. Now, Jesus calls us to be part of the glorious kingdom he’s building. The true son makes us true heirs. Only through him can we establish justice, make peace, defend the weak, seek the welfare of the poor, and liberate prisoners. It is not “we, the people,” but “He, the savior.”

Let this prayer, based on Psalm 72, constitute a confession and request that Christ will make us true heirs and ambassadors of his righteousness.

Prayer of We, Your People
We, your people, Lord, acknowledge that justice deserving the name does not come from us. Our best work will be partial and incomplete…

Endow us with your justice, O God… (v 1)
Help us defend the afflicted, save the children of the needy, and crush oppression in all its forms. (v 4)

We claim your promise to us through Eve that her seed would crush evil. (Genesis 3:15)
We give our lives and bodies as Mary did. Use us to bring down wicked rulers, lift the humble, and fill the needs of the hungry. (Luke 1.52-53)

We confess we have been deaf. Give us ears to hear the needy.
We confess we have been cowardly. Give us strength to help the afflicted.
We confess we have been hard-hearted. Give us compassion for the weak and empathy with those under oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in your sight. (v 12-14)

May we work in the name of Christ our King. Anoint us with your Spirit to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and to release prisoners from darkness. (Isaiah 61.1-2)

Where earthly governments join these tasks, may we walk with them. But never let us rely on earthly kings to carry out the tasks of the heavenly kingdom.

Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen. (v 19)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
“Because the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery, I will rise up,” says the Lord, “ And give them the help they long for.” — Psalm 12.5

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 19 (Listen 6:11) 
Psalms 72 (Listen 2:21)

Read more about Calling the Kettle
David knew better than most that human leaders, especially himself, were incapable of bringing the kind of justice he wrote of.

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Scripture Focus: Psalm 68.11
11 The Lord announces the word,
    and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:

Reflection: In Great Company
By John Tillman

For a decade of ministry, I quoted this verse from the NKJV: “…Great was the company of those who proclaimed it.” (Psalm 68.11) Our traveling ministry group was called “The Company.” When we introduced ourselves, we leaned into the pun but emphasized that “great” did not refer to the quality of our group but to the great number of God’s people charged to proclaim the good news.

Some commentators describe Psalm 68 as a liturgical script for a procession. It may have been a song to accompany a reenactment of the Ark of the Covenant arriving at the Temple. As an artist and actor, this possibility is intriguing. It does seem that parts of the psalm reenact the past, and parts predict the future.

In context, the “word” proclaimed in this psalm is good news of a battle won. Powerful and wicked kings and armies are overthrown as if they are nothing. The psalmist compares them to smoke scattered with a breath or wax melting away before the flames even touch it.

It is news of a victor who is mighty to save. The vulnerable are protected. The lonely are gathered into families. The prisoners are liberated. The poor are bountifully supplied.

This word of good news is true in several ways. It is historically and literally true. God gave Israel many military victories. It is prophetically and metaphysically true. God promises to crush the serpent’s head and destroy evil throughout all time and creation.

Most of all, it is finally, physically and spiritually true in Jesus. He shed his blood for us, his enemies, and was crushed for our misdeeds. Yet, he is the victor who wins the battle. He has overthrown sin and death as if they were nothing. He is the liberator who breaks captives’ chains. He is the provider who bountifully gives to the poor.

We don’t do many celebratory liturgical reenactments in the modern church. One that we do often, however, is communion. When partaking of the cup and the bread, you are also proclaiming its message. Communion proclaims Jesus’ death, his victory, his gifts, and his glory. 

We are part of a great company charged with proclaiming the good news. Let our reenactment spill out of the sanctuary. May we reenact and proclaim the life of Jesus, not merely in art or liturgy but in action and love.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Bless our God, you peoples; make the voice of his praise to be heard;
Who holds our souls in life, and will not allow our feet to slip. — Psalm 66.7-8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 16 (Listen 3:46)
Psalms 68 (Listen 4:26)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Kings 17 (Listen 7:19) Psalms 69 (Listen 4:04)
2 Kings 18 (Listen 6:72) Psalms 70-71 (Listen 3:29)

Read more about The Facade of Worship
What platforms are we willing to sacrifice for that compete with the sole worship of God? Some things must be secondary in life; God must be primary.

Read more about Platforming Idols
Sometimes, not always, the burden in our lives is the false god we’ve decided to carry…

Scripture Focus: Psalm 63
1 You, God, are my God, 
earnestly I seek you; 
I thirst for you, 
my whole being longs for you, 
in a dry and parched land 
where there is no water. 
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary 
and beheld your power and your glory. 
3 Because your love is better than life, 
my lips will glorify you. 
4 I will praise you as long as I live, 
and in your name I will lift up my hands. 
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; 
with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 
6 On my bed I remember you; 
I think of you through the watches of the night. 
7 Because you are my help, 
I sing in the shadow of your wings. 
8 I cling to you; 
your right hand upholds me. 
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; 
they will go down to the depths of the earth. 
10 They will be given over to the sword 
and become food for jackals. 
11 But the king will rejoice in God; 
all who swear by God will glory in him, 
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Reflection: The Blooming Desert
By John Tillman

Cartoons I watched on lazy Saturdays had a familiar visual gag to depict hunger. Two companions would be stranded without food on a deserted island. Maddened by hunger, one would watch the other slowly turn into a delicious-looking ham or a turkey leg. Meanwhile, the other would watch their companion turn into a bucket of fried chicken. Soon they would chase each other around the island, but they were chasing an illusion.

David’s desert Psalm mentions things one might fantasize about in the desert or on a deserted island. He speaks of the richest of foods and of his thirst being quenched. David’s spiritual analogy may have been inspired by physical reality.

Spiritually, we live in a desert where there is no water. We walk in a land where no food grows.

Everything our culture says to drink causes thirst rather than quenches it. Everything our culture says to consume poisons health rather than promotes it. Our world is a spiritual food desert where the only food available is not true food at all. The impulses and instincts they call life-giving make us starved and shriveled devils.

“The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs. There is not one of them which will not make us into devils if we set it up as an absolute guide. You might think love of humanity in general was safe, but it is not. If you leave out justice you will find yourself breaking agreements and faking evidence in trials “for the sake of humanity,” and become in the end a cruel and treacherous man.” — CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

Satisfying instinct leaves us unsatisfied. Filling physical desire leaves us unfulfilled. Like the cartoon companions, we chase seemingly satisfying illusions. Not only are they not real, but if we ever catch them, we’d reap only sorrow and guilt.

David found life that really matters is not fed by natural things. God is better than food, better than drink, better than sleep. He is the bread and water of life. He is our peace and our rest.

Jesus is a fountain springing up in the desert that enlivens the driest, most hopeless ground. When we drink deeply of living water, we can make the desert bloom.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Small Verse
The Lord is my shepherd, and nothing is wanting to me. In green pastures, He has settled me.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 13 (Listen 4:33)
Psalms 62-63 (Listen 2:42)

Read more about Quotations from the Desert
Christ and the Israelites weren’t hungry in the desert for no reason. Nor are we.

Read more about Ready to Exit the Desert
May we leave sin and doubt in the desert, crossing the Jordan toward God’s calling to be his city on a hill.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 49.5-15
5 Why should I fear when evil days come, 
when wicked deceivers surround me— 
6 those who trust in their wealth 
and boast of their great riches? 
7 No one can redeem the life of another 
or give to God a ransom for them— 
8 the ransom for a life is costly, 
no payment is ever enough— 
9 so that they should live on forever 
and not see decay. 
10 For all can see that the wise die, 
that the foolish and the senseless also perish, 
leaving their wealth to others. 
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, 
their dwellings for endless generations, 
though they had named lands after themselves. 
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure; 
they are like the beasts that perish. 
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, 
and of their followers, who approve their sayings. 
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die; 
death will be their shepherd 
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). 
Their forms will decay in the grave, 
far from their princely mansions. 
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; 
he will surely take me to himself. 

Reflection: The Promise of Justice
By John Tillman

The Bible is the most grounded and realistic of holy texts. Scripture doesn’t blink when things go bad. It weeps. Biblical authors don’t shy from distressing realities. Cries for justice ring out in every book.

Modern people deceive ourselves that evil is only a disagreement about mutual benefits. The Bible knows that evil is real and people both cause and suffer from it.

Complaints and cries for justice come from an awareness of its lack. Deep down, humans know a moral standard exists. Those who deny moral absolutes cannot show that they lack anything. Without a moral ideal, no complaint regarding justice can be made. Without some measure of wrongness, there is no reason to expect goodness. How can a world with no absolutes be upset about evil? So you suffered or were harmed… Well, what did you expect? Who promised you something else?

Only amidst the Bible’s moral absolutes do we find a promise of justice.

We know, soul-deep and sinew deep, that sin exists. This is what it means to have partaken of the fruit. We KNOW evil. It looks good and tastes sweet, but soon, it cramps us up, doubling us over. The knowledge of good and evil sickens our stomachs and rumbles through our guts. We soil ourselves with it, and the runoff soils the earth, awakening Death.

The psalmist pulls no punches about death, the greatest evil of all. Death is the last enemy to be defeated. (Even though he has already lost.) Death treats rich and poor with perfect and efficient equity, yet every death is unjust to the Lord of life.

We work whatever justice we can on earth, but when death comes, human justice is insufficient. We cannot restore or repay, even with our lives, the loss of a victim of murder, cancer, starvation, Covid, or any other cause. But just as evil exists, righteousness does too. Whatever meager form of justice humans offer, Christ’s justice is incomparably greater.

Death’s victims need not stay in his grasp. Death’s grasping arms were broken in a wrestling match lost at the cross. Christ kicked in Death’s doors, opening the pathway to life for all who believe.

Like Old Testament sacrifices, human justice is not meaningless, and we must enact it, but it is a mere shadow of the justice wrought by Christ. We do justice, as we do all else, in remembrance of His promise.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. — Psalm 31.24

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 4 (Listen 6:17)
Psalms 49 (Listen 2:10)

Read more about Justice Starts Within
Justice starts within. It doesn’t stop there. May we answer the call…shining a light of justice and truth

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