Fifth Sunday in Lent: April 2, 2006.Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 119:9-16 Hebrews 5:5-10 John 12:20-33 Cupped Ear/Psalm Sounds Listen for the combination of the words "delight and God's word" in this section of Psalm 119. I wonder how many of our people equate e·quate v. e·quat·ed, e·quat·ing, e·quates v.tr. 1. To make equal or equivalent. 2. To reduce to a standard or an average; equalize. 3. keeping God's commands with a sense of delight. This is the longest psalm in the entire collection of 150. For many, it appears unending, intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. , and monotonous. Yet, this psalm is a masterpiece. It is shaped by the use of all twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet Hebrew alphabet Script used to write the Hebrew language and a number of other languages used as vernaculars by Jews, including Ladino and Yiddish. The modern 22-letter alphabet in use today differs only slightly from the script adapted by Jewish scribes in the early . Each of the twenty-two sections begins with a letter in the alphabet alphabet [Gr. alpha-beta, like Eng. ABC], system of writing, theoretically having a one-for-one relation between character (or letter) and phoneme (see phonetics). Few alphabets have achieved the ideal exactness. . Then, each section has eight lines beginning with the same letter. Verses 9-16 use the second letter, [??], for each line. The theme of Psalm 119 is the torah-centered life. God is our teacher, and we are God's students. The world is our classroom, and the lessons are about the "law/teachings" of God. The psalmist psalm·ist n. A writer or composer of psalms. psalmist Noun a writer of psalms Noun 1. is like a young student seeking the wisdom of a pure life (v. 9). God is the psalmist's teacher who guides him to keep and to remember God's torah in his heart (v. 11). The psalmist thanks God for God's gift of law and finds delight in keeping it, for it is more valuable than any material riches (vv. 14-16). Obedience to the word of God is a gift from God (v. 12). Open Mouth/Psalm Speech Here is a wonderful opportunity to preach preach v. preached, preach·ing, preach·es v.tr. 1. To proclaim or put forth in a sermon: preached the gospel. 2. on the delight and joy of God's instruction. We all are called to be disciples who are always learning and growing in the faith. Yet, I would venture to guess that most preachers know that the majority of their parishioners have quit studying the Scriptures. After all, some of them were confirmed and therefore have "graduated." Besides, they still know a few Bible verses and don't want to appear to be too fanatic. And, to be honest, many people find the Bible boring and difficult. The Bible carries a sense of heaviness, work, and punishment. Now, what a difference there is between this understanding and the understanding of Holy Scripture in Psalm 119! Maybe the preacher could develop a sermon contrasting these two very different views in order to raise the importance of learning the Bible. DRB DRB Design Review Board DRB Development Review Board DRB Douay-Rheims Bible DRb Distributed Ruby DRB Dispute Resolution Board DRB Digital Radio Broadcasting DRB Defence Research Board (Canada) DRB Disciplinary Review Board |
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