Psalm 107:1-16, a Psalm of Thanksgiving.
O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good;
for God’s mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim,
that God redeemed them from the hand of the foe,
gathering them in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
they found no path to a city where they might dwell.
They were hungry and thirsty;
their spirits languished within them.
Then in their trouble they cried to the Lord,
and you delivered them from their distress.
You led them on a straight path
to go to a city where they might dwell.
Let them give thanks to you, O Lord,
for your steadfast love,
and your wonderful works for all people.
For you satisfy the thirsty soul,
and fill the hungry with good things.
Some dwelt in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
because they rebelled against the words of God,
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
So you humbled their hearts with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was none to help.
Then in their trouble they cried to the Lord,
and you delivered them from their distress.
You led them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
Let them give thanks to you, Lord for your steadfast love,
and your wonderful works for all people.
For you shatters the doors of bronze,
and break the iron bars in two.
Meditation
This psalm of Thanksgiving is a poetic retelling of the stories of scripture. We may recognize some figures in it… Abraham and Sarah; the enslaved people in Egypt. And there’s more to the psalm, which actually goes on for another 27 verses, if you want to look in your bible. There are other figures, painted in cloudier outlines, faded watercolors—those who were sick, and languished because of their sin… is that you David? Or those who went down to the sea in ships… is that you, Jonah? Or… how did the psalmist know? Is that you, Paul?
The people of scripture: Do you see them yet?
If you look again at this psalm, you may find something else: a family history. Stories of people who struggle and wander, before God guides them to a better place. Stories of people who are oppressed and knocked down, before God lifts them up again. Stories of people like us—of a different era, but those who still, fundamentally, are kind of familiar. People who want a better life for themselves and their family. People who encounter challenges that mean they have to start fresh—more than once. People who are pigeonholed and judged for their background, or the neighborhood they live in, or for the different ways they see and process the world, or for who they love, or how they look, or, or, or…
Do you see yourself yet?
My mother’s mother insisted that the family understand themselves to be “lace-curtain Irish,” a term adopted in order to distinguish themselves from “shanty Irish,” a slur against those who suffered the worst kind of poverty. Even after the Great Depression killed my grandfather and plunged her into single motherhood of 5 children; even after she came to depend on the bootlegger boyfriend of her oldest daughter for groceries and other necessities, the name stuck. They were lace-curtain Irish, because that’s how they saw themselves, poverty or no.
What about now? Do you recognize this woman? Isn’t this familiar? The identities we stick to, even beyond common sense? Is it faithfulness or just plain stubbornness? Maybe both?
And all of it—the identity, and the adventure, and the struggle—all is gathered together, into words of thanksgiving.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is so very good.
God’s mercy endures forever."
Give thanks for a woman who found strength
in the midst of unimaginable losses.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is so very good.
Give thanks for her daughters, who learned to be strong.
God’s mercy endures forever.
Give thanks for the learning: we can do hard things.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is so very good.
God’s mercy endures forever.
Now you try it. Name something in a previous generation for which you are grateful. (If it’s that you survived them, say that. God knows.)
Name it, and then say: Give thanks to the Lord, who is so very good…
Name another, and say: God’s mercy endures forever…
We who know the love that has been scattered like breadcrumbs throughout the generations… no, scratch that: the love that has been hidden like yeast folded into the dough of rough lives… we can give thanks to the Lord, who is so very, very good. We can sing God’s mercy, which surely endures forever.
Thanks be to God. Amen.