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"Until"... Endlessly Enacted, Now Urgent
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"Until"... Endlessly Enacted, Now Urgent Psalm 73; Luke 15:11-32 Psalm 73 stands at the center of the Psalter, the first psalm of the third "book." It stands, moreover, at the center of the pietistic tradition of faith in which I have been nurtured and in which I gladly stand. I am aware that Psalm 73 does not really fit the theme of this colloquium, but this is my last chance. Besides that, Psalm 73 may be the model for all television commercials that are organized as "before" and "after," so consider this remarkable statement of faith. I The premise of the Psalm in v. 1 is the premise of Old Testament faith, the premise of the faith in which we stand: Truly God is good to Israel. This attestation knows that God is deeply, genuinely, abidingly, reliably committed to God's people. This is the creator God who does good and gives good abundantly. This is the electing God of Exodus who has settled on this community of the beloved. This is the God of wisdom who keeps the world functioning generously. This is the God of whom the church confesses, "That all things work together for good for those who love God who are called according to his purpose " (Rom 8:28). II But some doubted (Matt 28:17)! Among those who doubted is this psalmist. He did not doubt out of careful reasoning. He simply found another practice of life more attractive and more compelling. He was an Israelite under Torah discipline; when he looked beyond his own rigorous practice, however, he noticed those who held Torah loosely, who got along very well indeed, without all the restraints that he had 2ol learned to take as normative. He watched them carefully . . . and envied them: For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. (Ps 73:4-5) They live very well. They are easy with casual morals; they are not worried about their neighbors; but they go from strength to strength, from party to party, from portfolio to portfolio. And out of that carefree way in the world, they become celebrities: Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them. (Ps 73:10) Eventually they are so successful and so full of themselves that they scoff at the notion of a God who watches and monitors and judges. Our speaker noticed them; he disapproved of them; and then he wanted what they wanted. He wanted to be like them! He could not keep his eyes off of them. He decided to give up his Torah piety because it wasn't worth it: All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning. (Ps 73:13-14) I imagine this psalm to be the voice of a pastor who is required to go to church seven days a week, not treated very well or paid very well, who eventually notices how well off are those who do not live that way, who at least have free weekends! There is an aching ambivalence in this utterance when faith becomes too expensive and other ways tempt and seduce, so that faith relaxes and Torah is compromised. Ill But then, beginning at verse 18, speaks a second voice in the psalm, a contrasting voice that comes out of the same mouth. For this psalmist, like all of us, is double-minded and double-tongued. This is the 2o2 [54.160.243.44] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:14 GMT) "after" as I havejust characterized the "before." Now the psalmist is in a new place. He is a convinced, confirmed child of the covenant, confident of Torah, glad for his identity as a child of God. He now knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the mad pursuit ofcommodity by his consuming neighbors is not all it's cracked up to be. He now knows that the wild life of eager self-indulgence cannot be sustained, and even while it is sustained, it cannot bring joy or well-being. He now knows that easy living without caring much is risky. He had seen the model of life at ease and with no pain. But now, on second thought, Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to...