In this post I would like to do something I have yet to do. And this is ignore the first reading (Amos 7:12-15), and the second reading (Ephesians 1:3-14), and even the gospel reading (Mark 6:7-13), instead this week I would like to focus on the short reading we often don't read, but rather that we so often so beautifully sing! This of course is the psalm.
The specific psalm from the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time (July 12, 2015) was psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14. Again for those against reading below is a link to a sung version. However I strongly encourage you to not only listen to the beautiful voices, but also give it a quick once over.
Psalm 85: 9-10, 11-12, 13-14
"I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
May they not turn to foolishness!
Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
glory will dwell in our land.
Love and truth will meet;
justice and peace will kiss.
Truth will spring from the earth;
justice will look down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
our land will yield its produce.
Justice will march before him,
and make a way for his footsteps."
Now before unpacking this psalm specifically I think it is important to address what the psalms are and why they are important.
The book of psalms is the longest in the bible, now according to my quick math and the NAB version I have the book of psalms starting on page 674, and ending on page 791, that is 117 pages. To which my response is, "my God this book never ends, it's over a hundred pages, and God help us thats bible pages!"
Yet if you actually open your bible beyond the table of contents (something I encourage all my Catholic friends do more often) you begin to realize that while the psalms are a lengthy stretch of the bible, its not nearly as daunting as it originally sounds with 117 bible pages worth of reading.
This is the result of how the psalms are written, and what purpose they have. The psalms as we so often do are songs, 150, to be specific. you will find them structured over 100 pages in the bible very similarly to how I have them set above. The psalms, these songs, are the bridge of emotions offered to us by the bible. These 100 pages, 150 songs, are the playground where reason and emotion meet, where they wrestle, and where they perhaps finally make sense.
Now psalm 85 specifically, that beautiful hymn you listened to above and remember singing along to so many weeks ago. What does it mean? What is the significance of it? Is it more than just a beautiful song?
The answer to the last one is easy, of course it is, more than that, however that should not take away from how beautiful it is! This psalm is labeled as a national lament, with the early parts of the psalm (not read/sung) reminding God of past forgiveness, and favors, as if he could forget. Next is the begging of forgiveness and favor, something that the people of God seem very accustomed to doing. This psalm placed in its historical context would be in the early postexilic period, after the Babylonian captivity presumed the 5th century BCE. However what I find to me most interesting and most worth paying attention to is the pairing of the virtues, not only do I find this captivating on its own, but most explicitly worth noting, as a result of knowing that this pairing of virtues to meant to represented Divine activity personified*.
So yes there is something more to what is there, there is a meaning behind it, but at the very least, it is a beautiful song that can very easily, given the opportunity illicit an emotional response from us.
Peace and Blessings Always
~M
*Insight/dates from USCCB. Thanks Bishops of the US!
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