Psalm 123

“To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” vs. 1

The words of the psalmist are familiar–we’re accustomed to thinking of God as being “up there” someplace. We even talk about praying to the “Man Upstairs” and wondering if “He’s” been watching everything that we’ve been doing. While we can appreciate the psalmist’s piety and even emulate his cry for divine mercy, the imagery is unfortunate. It’s simply not true that God is enthroned somewhere in the heavens waiting to throw a crumb or two in our direction when we’re in need. God is where we are, within and around us. God is more than a heavenly being, God is the universe, and even more than that. And when we are in tune with the Universe we sense God’s presence in nature, other people, and most unexpectedly, in ourselves. God permeates all that is! What a humbling and beautiful thought, and perhaps this is what the psalmist was getting at. With such a God, there is no point in our waltzing around this earth as though we are in charge. In fact such a notion is a mockery. We are humans, possessors of the divine image, and servants of one another. And with our divine hands and feet we can bring amazing love and light to every other creature on the globe. God is more than we can even imagine, full of grace and steadfast love, and we rejoice in all of our benefits.

Thought for the Day: Why do some use masculine imagery for God?