May 19, 2011

May 19, 2011
Psalm 1
13 days and counting. I have opted to begin my reading of the Psalms today and begin with Psalm 1. In my New Revised Standard version it is labled "The two ways" It's focus is the difference in the two ways of life: The righteous and the wicked. This sounds pretty simple doesn't it. Yet in reality it is much more difficult. All day today I encountered those who knew their way to be the one and only "right" way. All other ways are evil. How easy it is to dismiss those who disagree with us. We know that we are on "God's" side. So if we are on "God's" side and they are not "with" us, then they must be on the side of the wicked. Isn't this the world we live in? It is a world filled with "Us" and "them."

Yet as I look at the Gospel, I find a God who continues to redefine who the "Us" of the Gospel includes. In fact, maybe, the Gospel calls us to include all of the "thems" of the world.

Lord Jesus, Thank you for setting the example of welcoming the "thems" of your world and making them a part of "us." Open my eyes, heart, and hands to the "thems" of my world. Help me to reach out like you and make them a part of "us." Amen.