Psalm 18 - The Museum of Ed
One of the folks in the congregation I serve had an incredibly astute insight about my office. She and I had a meeting scheduled and I had something I was finishing up in my coworker’s office so she was just sitting looking around my office. I cam back in and she said, “You know, your office is like The Museum of Ed.” I had never really thought about it but she was exactly right. That comment flooded back to me as I am at my office waiting for a meeting to start this evening.
I just finished up reading Fischer’s version of Psalm 18 and was trying to figure out what to say about it when I looked up at this one part of my office and realized that it was all right there in front of me. Here’s what I saw from where I am sitting.
So, just in that one view are examples of my love of my family (photos of each of them, things that each have given me over the years). There’s a photo of Scout (gifted by one of the members of the church) as well as some of Scout’s accoutriments that are here for when she is “church dog.” There’s a gift I received from my coworkers at the first congregation I served on my coffee table (which itself came from a mission trip a few years ago). There are photos from family trips as well as a few other significant places in my life. There’s a wood carving my Dad made for me years ago. A painting hangs by my white robe that was a gift from a member of this congregation. My geekiness is on display with a Baby Yoda plush and a Lego from a video game. There’s a hat from one of my summers I spent on a service trip in Belize. A small figure is on the top shelf that was a gift from a minister from Malawi that I shared worship with in Sioux Falls. A BB8 pillow is on the floor that was a gift from my friend Lisa when our ministry time together ended in 2018. Many of the books on those shelves in particular also have deep meaning to me. A small ornament that spells PEACE in Scrabble letters is on one shelf - this was a gift from my Mom years ago as well. A thin wooden block also shares a quote from naturalist John Muir that I purchased at a gift shop in 2013 in one of the most significant weeks in my life. There’s also a bit of chaoticness to the whole thing as things are always a bit chaotic in my life. A candle is on one of the tables that was a gift from my sister. And I could name several other things from my wife and our kids that are there but you kind of get the idea from this lengthy, chaotic paragraph.
All of these (along with the many other things that are on similar shelves on the other side of my office) tell a story of a bit portion of my life. I can literally see things on those shelves that represent me from when I was a young child up to just a few weeks ago along with many of the people who have been a part of that journey. But most of all, I see a thread of God’s working through all of it. None of those things on those shelves exist in isolation from the others - they’re all connected.
Psalm 18 is kind of like that. It is the longest Psalm thus far - 50 versees- and those 50 verses cover an incredbile spread of experiences, reflections, hopes, dreams, wants, desires, prayers, laments, and stories. Deep faith in God weaves throughout and is tied in with times when faith was wavering.
The Psalm, both in the NRSV and in Fischer’s version, is kind of overwhelming to go through it all. Reading through it, it feels a little bit exhausting with everything that is in there. And there’s even a line in there that, like one of the earlier Psalms, brings back a song that my college ministry would sing quite often in our gathering times. So I guess I’ll end it with that but I’d like to invite you to reflect back on your life to this point - what would be on your museum shelves? What stories would be told?
Verse 46 - “The Lord liveth...and blessed be the rock...and the God of my salvation will be exalted.” I can still sing the song and still hear the double-claps that would be in between the lines.
Fischer puts it this way:
Only you live, blessed, my rock
Exalted, my protection
Only you who lifted me up
Your Input Please
Before I sign off, I wanted to drop a poll in this to get your thoughts. One of my minor annoyances with substack is that, if I don’t choose to have a post go out by email, it doesn’t show up in peoples’ feeds and barely gets seen. But in writing most every day right now, I also am sensitive to the fact that people might not want me dropping stuff in their inbox each day. So, could you vote in the poll below and let me know what you think? Should I have these go out by email each time I write them or just include them in the Psummary at the end of the week? Thanks!
Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed