Love Rules

Psalm 136

The psalmist gets ridiculously repetitive in this psalm. I think we all got the point about line four--the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Got it. 

But do we actually consider what it is that the psalmist is trying to communicate to us?

Here is one of the most powerful theological expositions one will find in scripture. God is love. God’s love is wherever God is. God is with us everywhere, in every time. God’s love is with us everywhere and in every time. 

What wondrous good news!

But also, what a wondrous challenge is laid before us.

So how do we respond to the ever-present love of God?

First, we acknowledge that it IS present. So much of our lives we live in oblivion to the presence of God. This is especially true if we think about how we treat the world in which we live. What else could explain the people in my neighborhood who use the grass along the entrance as their personal landfill? The wonder of God’s love, though, is present everywhere, all the time. Our faith confesses that God made all that is in and through love. It was God’s gracious choice to bring into being something outside of himself, something that could express and embody the wondrous love that is God. We need only stop and pay attention. God’s love reveals itself. Letting the dogs out can became an act of prayerful meditation if I go with ears and eyes wide open. The morning brings the shifting light of dawn. There are mornings when the colors, clouds, and wind coalesce in such a way that it is not hard at all to imagine the beginning when the morning stars began to sing. The same is true at noon and then again in the evening--each hour brings a different palette, one that reveals and speaks of the mighty power of God and God’s infinite imagination. But to grasp it, we have to tune into it. We have to go seeking it. 

Second, if God’s love is forever present in creation itself, we need to rethink how we interact with the world in which we live. We need to treasure the earth and care for our home. Yes, God gave humanity dominion over the created order (Gn. 1:26), but God did so that we might share in God’s loving care of all that is. God made a world that is miraculous in its providence. It can sustain all life upon it. All that is necessary is here. So, we need to be more careful in our working with the unnecessaries. We need to consider the sheer mountains of waste we create. We need to be sure we practice an ethic of “enough” as take from the world, so that everyone else will also find enough with which to live. We also just need to spend more time out in the world, taking in its wonder, grandeur, and scope. Look at the beauty of the earth. Take in the miraculous depth of space. Enjoy them. They are God’s loving work.

Third, if we take in the reality of God’s love as the foundation of the created order, that also means we need to consider deeply how we regard one another, for we are the crown of creation (cf. Ps. 8). It is not that some people are, while others, not so much--no, every human being is a child of God, wrought by God, breathed life into by God, and blessed with a creative imagination with which to interact with creation and with each other. Every human being is a unique act of God’s creative will. Remember that in each encounter. Stop, breathe, and listen before launching into an encounter. Remind yourself that the person before you is an embodiment of God’s steadfast love. Perhaps that will temper our tendency toward reactionary responses to each other--speaking without thinking, acting without filters. 

Fourth, remember that you yourself are a unique act of God’s creative will. Treasure your own self and being. You have value. You have worth. As you breathe, God is with you. God’s love is present for you. No matter where you are, how you are, or what you have done, God’s love is present for you. As we learn to love our neighbors, we can move more fully into loving ourselves; as we move more fully into loving ourselves, we find that loving our neighbors is a lot easier. 

Fifth, remember that God’s ever-present love is also an assurance of God’s abiding grace. Doing the four things above is hard work. It takes mindfulness. It takes awareness. It takes an effort to slow ourselves down to love the people with whom we interact. It takes effort to love ourselves. We will not be perfect. That is beyond us. Ergo, we will need second chances, other options, and new beginnings. We will need forgiveness. God’s steadfast love is no less than grace. There are new days, new starts, and cleansing of slates. No mistake is final. No misstep is irredeemable. If we mess up, we can clean up. If we make a wrong turn, we can turn around. But also remember that the fullest experience of grace is not only to be a recipient, but also one who shares grace with the rest of the world. Grace is fully realized as we become gracious. Grace is to be communal. 

Finally, realize that all of this is a lifelong process. We do not have to have it right right now. Experiencing, living, and sharing the love of God is something that will be with us all of our lives. We will swing between moments of nearly mystical awareness of it, but we will also experience the nadirs when nothing is right and most everything is wrong. Learning of the steadfastness of God’s love takes time, work, and continuing education in it. God will be with us wherever we are. God will meet us with grace sufficient for that moment. Pray. God will be there.

So, begin with me, let us repeat to ourselves--

The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.