Readings:
Exodus 20:1-20; 
Psalm 19; 
Philippians 3:4b-14; 
Matthew 21:23-32

Collect:
Holy God,
you give the water of eternal life
through Jesus Christ, your Son.
We turn to you again,
spring of life and source of goodness;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reflection

Doing and being. Being and doing. Is there a difference? Which comes first? And, does it matter?

People can spend a long time thinking about what is more important: who I am, or what I do? As I read Psalm 19, a short and to the point reflection, doing and being happen together. We are offered an image of all creation telling (doing) the glory of God (being). The psalmist’s eyes are raised, looking above, and seeing the heavens, also described as the firmament, this firmament proclaims God’s glory. 

We seldom appreciate the significance of that word “firmament”. It’s used at the beginning of the first story of creation in Genesis and refers to what we would call the sky. This is not, however, the sky of (apparently) endless space, nebulous not-nothing which we imagine. The ancients saw it as a vast up-side-down bowl, covering the known earth (which they saw as flat). This inverted bowl, resting on the ground, kept the chaotic waters of destruction and turmoil away from God’s good creation, literally kept them at bay. Just as we might trap air in an upturned bowl underwater, as precarious as it is, so they imagined we live under this giant bowl, and under the inside shell of this protecting bowl, the sun, moon and stars have their course.

This existence under this firmament was not always secure. When the heavens opened, as with the floods of Noah, the lives of those below were destroyed. This is all thoroughly earthy, though that may not be quite the right word. It is all “of creation” and it is this very creation calling glory to God in praise. In these opening six verses the psalmist sees the sun, riding in the heavens (where God resides above the firmament), and there offering praise to God. The sun. Among the psalmist’s neighbours the sun is divine, and worshipped by them. The psalmist here proclaims it is the sun who gives glory to God. No words are spoken, yet this is the voice of creation and praise resounds. This is the knowledge of creation. This is who creation is. This is what creation does.

From creation, the psalmist turns to reflect on humanity’s response to God, now using the idea of living together before God – who we are and what we do. We might see these verses as being about law or custom, and superficially they are. This is not, however, simple binary right v wrong. It is torah, the way of life for God’s chosen people. Seven different words are used by the psalmist to challenge and encourage hearers and singers. None has a good single English equivalent. Bear with me as I use different translations to explore the seven words (very often seven, the perfect number), all giving a slightly different angle into living together before God. They are: law, direction or teaching (v7a torah); rule or decree (v7b); precepts or purposes (v8a); command or commandment (v8b); honour, holding in awe or fear (v9a); ordinances or judgements (v9b); instruction or warning (v11).

All these words are interpreted by Augustine (died 430) as applying to Jesus Christ, as is the whole approach of the psalm. Jesus is the one who completes or fulfils the law, and does not destroy it. He is the one in whom we rejoice and who leads us into liberty. His judgements are true and do not change. Our reward is greater, far greater than much gold and sweeter than any honey – this is a life of praise and glory to God. It is Jesus who knows even our secret sin, and who brings us new life. Having laid ourselves before God and given new life in Jesus, Augustine makes that final prayer of the psalm his own, inviting us to pray with him: “The words of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart is always in your sight.” This is how we live together before God.

Being and doing. This is who we are. This is what we do.

Barry Lotz