Christ is in our Midst! I can never read or hear Psalm 68 and not think of Pascha---Orthodox Easter. Toward the end of Resurrection Matins, the Church uses this mighty song as the framework for one of the most beloved hymns of this music-rich service: “Let God arise,” the choir sings, “let His enemies be scattered. Let those who hate Him flee from before His face. “Today, a sacred Pascha is revealed to us, a new and holy Pascha, a mystical Pascha, “a Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer….” Just as the Church uses Psalm 68 to meditate on the triumph of the Resurrection, so might we today “borrow” this psalm to consider our own Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is perhaps the quintessential American holiday: religious in sentiment, “squishily-broad” in theology, easily adaptable to every race, creed, color, sentiment and Weltanschauung, it allows faith, state-sponsored religiosity, gluttony, business (only 27 shopping days ‘til Christmas) and football all to mix in a virtually seamless web. Is this a great country or what? Now much that passes at Thanksgiving is perfectly harmless, and some of the annual foolery, like football, for example, is a positive good (what else would families do every year when they gather if not for food and football?). But the one thing usually missing in this “feast of St. Martha the Stewart” is, I suspect, “thanks.” We are all so busy greeting guests, cooking, eating, fighting with our families, watching football---that we too often forget what the day really is about: giving thanks. It may not seem immediately apparent what we should be thankful for. After all, the nightly headlines blare of an economy soured, of renewed threats to our security; as is ever the case after a national election, approximately half the country is looking with some trepidation to a new administration. There are national championships not won; courses failed; relationships---marriages, courtships, friendships---sundered. There is disease and ever-present death that threaten each of us. All too often, the bright promise of the holidays is extinguished when an “ancient grudge” breaks to “new mutiny.” One can always find a million reasons not to be thankful. That this attitude is remarkably selfish and short-sighted we all know. We live in a land of abundance---beyond the dreams of most inhabitants of the planet. Then there are all the things that God in His permissive will spared us last year: all the dogs that didn’t bark; all the planes that didn’t crash; all the cars that didn’t wreck; all the friends and family who didn’t desert; all the bad things that didn’t happen…. But we know all that. The problem with all these perspectives is that they are in a way deeply un-Christian. They suggest an absolute focus on the here-and-now. Even our “thanksgiving” is remarkably materialistic. Thanks God for all the stuff (please send even more), and for not giving me what you gave to those other guys this year. The study notes in my Bible suggest that Psalm 68 was a prayer used when the people of Israel moved the Ark of the Covenant. It is easy to extrapolate from this a meditation for the here and now. But Psalm 68 invites us to rise to an entirely different plane---the world of faith. For if we truly believe, then this world, however grand and appealing, is not our goal and focus. David’s words urge us to consider God’s kingdom, “God in his holy habitation,” where He is “a Father to the fatherless”; where He has “prepared of [His] goodness for the poor”; where He has “led captivity captive.” David reminds us that our God “is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belongeth the discharge from death.” So let us give thanks this Thursday---for all the good things that we have received, and to be sure for all the bad stuff that we were spared; but above all let us thank our God for an abiding love that promises so much more than turkey and football games, than avoidance of accident and misfortune: that points instead to the manger and the Nativity star. Gary Leavetaking of the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple; feast of St. Katherine the Greatmartyr. Psalm 68 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song. May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; As smoke is blown away by the wind, But may the righteous be glad Sing to God, sing praise to his name, A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, God sets the lonely in families, When you went out before your people, O God, the earth shook, You gave abundant showers, O God; Your people settled in it, The Lord announced the word, "Kings and armies flee in haste; Even while you sleep among the campfires, When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains; Bashan Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, The chariots of God are tens of thousands When you ascended on high, Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, Our God is a God who saves; Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, The Lord says, "I will bring them from Bashan that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, Your procession has come into view, O God, In front are the singers, after them the musicians; Praise God in the great congregation; Israel There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them, Judah Summon your power, O God ; Because of your temple at Jerusalem Rebuke the beast among the reeds, Envoys will come from Egypt Cush Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, to him who rides the ancient skies above, Proclaim the power of God, Israel You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
may his foes flee before him.
may you blow them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
extol him who rides on the clouds —
his name is the LORD—
and rejoice before him.
is God in his holy dwelling.
he leads forth the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
when you marched through the wasteland,
Selah
the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
you refreshed your weary inheritance.
and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.
and great was the company of those who proclaimed it:
in the camps men divide the plunder.
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold."
it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.
rugged are the mountains of
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the LORD himself will dwell forever?
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
you led captives in your train;
you received gifts from men,
even from the rebellious—
that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.
who daily bears our burdens.
Selah
from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
while the tongues of your dogs have their share."
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
with them are the maidens playing tambourines.
praise the LORD in the assembly of
there the great throng of
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
show us your strength, O God, as you have done before.
kings will bring you gifts.
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may it bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
sing praise to the Lord,
Selah
who thunders with mighty voice.
whose majesty is over
whose power is in the skies.
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
