Observation: Psalm 106 is a historical psalm that uses poetry to retell the story of Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea. This feels like home, because I've spent all summer preaching on this story. But what grabs me is the introduction, "Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise? / Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times."
Application: I'll bet one of the top words you would hear from people in a Western country when you ask them about their faith is, "it's personal." We know that talking about faith with people you don't know well, or even some people you do, can lead to big problems. Best to keep it private. Between you and God. It's become so highly individualized that even some Lutherans, who may have never heard this phrase in a sermon (nor read it in their Bibles because it's not there) believe the thing they should value more than anything is "a personal relationship with Jesus."
Don't get me wrong. I don't think it's bad to have a relationship with Jesus, or with God as you understand God to be, that's all your own, based on your individual experience and spirituality. That's fine. But when we get to a psalm like 106, that says you really shouldn't be "uttering the mighty deeds of the Lord" until you "observe justice" and "do righteousness at all times," you may realize that faith was never meant to be a total secret or even private. Faith should lead to justice on behalf of others, and justice is not a private phenomenon. Dr. Cornel West famously said, "Justice is what love looks like in public." If we want to speak about God, we should also be willing to speak on behalf of our most vulnerable neighbors. Some aspects of faith should be personal, but if it all is, then we've got a problem.
Prayer: God, help me take my faith public in support of justice. Amen.
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