Suggested Readings: Psalm 125; Malachi 3:16-4:6; Mark 9:9-13
Suggested Readings: Psalm 125; Malachi 3:16-4:6; Mark 9:9-13
As I read and reflected on today’s readings, Psalm 125, designated as “A Song of Ascents,” kept coming to the forefront of my mind. The genre of the ascent psalm is rooted in the land and practices of the ancient Israelites. Specifically, their authors centered these poems around the image of travelers going up to the city of Jerusalem and Mount Zion at the various pilgrimage festivals like Pesach (Passover), Sukkot, and Shavuot.
My strongest memory of Psalm 125 in particular is surrounded by Belmont students. In 2012, I was one of the professors leading a study abroad trip to Palestine, Israel, Turkey, and Greece. One morning while we were in Jerusalem, I was in charge of the daily devotional. We stood as a group on the first-century steps leading up to Temple Mount, looking out on the mountains and valleys of both Israeli and Palestinian territory, and we read this psalm together. It was a poignant moment, and a memory that I treasure to this day.
Reading that same psalm today, during Advent 2023, it is particularly emotional considering the events of this fall. There is obviously not nearly enough time and space in a short devotional to unpack the complexities and tragedies of the heartbreak in Israel and Palestine, so I won’t attempt it. But it would also ring false not to mention them at all. I am grateful for the deep, thoughtful, and difficult conversations we have had in the classroom about recent and historical events, and pray that you seek out similar education and conversation partners in your own circles.
But what I will share here is the section of the psalm that resonates with me today, and how it might speak to us, in our own neighborhoods and communities. Psalm 125:2-3 reads:
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time on and forevermore. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hands to do wrong.
This passage speaks of God’s protection for Their people, and it speaks of the responsibility of the people who are thus protected. Two translation notes are important here. First, the word translated as “righteous” in the NRSV above, also means “just,” as in one who acts with justice and equity. And second, the metaphor of “stretching out one’s hand” is commonly used in the Hebrew Bible to reflect power, especially military and political power. This is, then, one of the many biblical calls for us to enact justice for those marginalized by our current power structures. May we take it seriously. God protects us, so that we can in turn protect others by loving more fiercely and seeking justice for all. As we prepare in these final days Advent to remember God’s incarnation as a human child, and to anticipate Christ’s coming again, let us heed this call in our communities near and far. Amen.
Amanda Miller
