December 16, 2021 - Advent Week 3


 
picture from Wikipedia, "Parenting" (link) 

Psalm 33: 13-22

13From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
    all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.

 

When I was a little girl, we would take a trip into the “big city” of Edmonton from our home in Cold Lake to do Christmas shopping. It was a 3.5 hour journey each way, starting and ending in the dark. It was often bitterly cold with bad weather and bad roads. I was oblivious to it all, nestled in the back seat with my siblings. There would be long stretches of dark punctuated by the occasional streetlight as we drove through small towns on the way home. When we arrived, Dad would park the car and carry us into the house and tuck us into bed with a kiss on the forehead.  If we weren’t sleeping, we pretended to be, loving the feeling of flying through the cold night air in his strong arms. To me, that memory stirs great love for my Dad, blessed as I was to have a good, good father. The cold and the dark and the road conditions held no fear for me, for I was in the loving care of my parents.   

This whole psalm evokes for me similar impressions of being safe under the watchful eye of a loving God who sees me and who is big enough to handle whatever is out there in the darkness. I love the way the creeds begin: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, make of heaven and earth…” Now THOSE are some strong and loving arms to rest in!  Every time the psalmist refers to God’s love he adds the adjective “unfailing”. God has got this. “May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you”.  Amen. 

-       Karen Hammond

 


 


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