The text: Psalm 49 – NRSV
This is the time of year that I am most reminded of my Oklahoma childhood. It was this time of year when we would look to the west and watch the puffy clouds assemble into towering cumulonimbi around lunchtime, and we would wonder if today would be the day when a massive tornadic supercell would tear through town taking our homes, and possibly our lives, with it. Tornadoes tend to focus the mind, and have a very clarifying effect on one’s view of the permanence of physical property.
At first glance, it may be tempting to reduce this wisdom psalm to cliches: “you can’t take it with you” or “we all meet the same end”. We may feel like throwing up our hands at yet another Biblical diatribe about the dangers of wealth. But why is the psalmist not afraid of the rich and powerful? There’s a wonderful little jewel of seemingly New Testament hope in this psalm. Can you find it? When the storms of life rage, what can we truly trust? Because the thing about tornadoes is that they pass by rapidly and dissipate into nothingness, leaving one to wonder, what are the things the storm can never touch?
Curious about this series of posts? Read the initial post.
Want to catch up on any you missed? See them all by clicking on ‘Lenten Psalms” below.
