As has been our habit over the last couple of months,
We continue to look at texts from the lectionary
For each week.
Hear the word of the Lord:
Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the Lord?
There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the company of the righteous.
You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Some have said, “Sin is no tragedy.”
Yet, is that true?
From the perspective of the psalmist, sin is tragedy.
“Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers?”
Their foolishness causes grief in the lives of others,
grief for which these others didn’t ask,
grief for which they did no wrong. Is that not tragedy?
Their foolishness brings upon them “great terror”
which comes from the consequences of their sin.
terror that comes from being separated from others,
from any community, separated from God himself.
Can terror ever be far from tragedy?
From the perspective of God, sin is tragedy.
The Lord looks down from heaven, seeking the wise,
seeking the righteous souls with love and purpose
in their lives. Yet all have gone astray,
all have eventually chosen drama and tragedy
for their lives at some point in time.
If it grieves God, is sin not tragedy?
Yes, the future can be different.
If, by the grace of God we accept his grace
and allow him to change our story, he will
change tragedy into history, which puts our
grief behind us in history and connects our
lives with the everlasting story of God.
Or the tragedy can be made permanent
by our refusal to let go of the drama.
Don’t tell me that sin is no big deal,
don’t tell me that sin is no tragedy.
If it grieves my sister or brother,
if it grieves my God,
That is tragedy.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 14 – NRSV
