Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (NRSV)
DEVOTIONAL:
I remember a Palm Sunday celebration in Guatemala several years ago, where the worship was filled with festivity. The marimba music was playing as we arrived, the dirt floor was covered with pine needles that filled the room with a sweet aroma, and bright colors of woven cloth draped the front of the church.
The atmosphere was one of celebration and praise, but I noticed that the woman seated next to me was crying. She had two small children playing at her feet and an older daughter by her side.
Later she told me, “Sister, things are really hard right now. My two children are sick and our corn supply is low. But,” she said “if there is only one egg in the house, there is cause for praise. We will always praise the one true God, knowing the Lord will be with us during the difficult times.”
Psalm 118 opens and closes with the same verse: O give thanks to God, for God is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever! The psalmist deliberately uses repetition to call the congregation to testify to the abiding grace of God. Then in the midst of this thanksgiving, there is a petition. Verse 25 states, “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord.”
The psalmist speaks both praise and petition in the same breath. The people of Israel praised Yahweh’s faithfulness and recognized their need to be held with “steadfast love.” May we face today with an attitude of praise that encompasses thanksgiving and our petition for Yahweh’s blessing.
Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (NRSV)
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
2Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
21I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
22The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
29O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.