Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:11-19

¹¹ On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, ¹³ they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" ¹⁴ When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. ¹⁶ He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? ¹⁸ Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁹ Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

Luke 17:11-19 (unique to Luke) (Year C October 9-15) is the story of the healing of the ten lepers and the thankful Samaritan. It is a unitary composition, since the saying of Jesus in verses 17-18 makes sense only inside the story.[1] It is an ideal scene because it embodies a truth, the reminder of gratitude, in a metaphorical situation, which arises out of the symbolic character of the story.[2] It is a story of genuine faith unfolds right before the eyes of the disciples. Yet the one whom Luke proclaims faithful is distinctly an outsider.  The point is the contrast between gratitude and ingratitude, between Jews and a Samaritan, and between the miracle of healing and the eyes of faith. I would now like to explore this story of Luke, in which the final pronouncement discloses the meaning of the story. 

This text revolves around praise, a concept that permeates the gospel of Luke from beginning to end. There were joy and gladness and rejoicing around the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Chapters 1 and 2), and at the very end of the gospel we learn that the apostles are in the temple praising God (24:53). Thus, Luke gives the reasons for joy. God has appeared among us in Jesus. He invites us to praise by the appearance of Jesus. He invites the reader to grow closer to God through our acts of praise. In moments of obvious visits from God, we will not have to remind ourselves to praise or even encourage ourselves to be grateful. Rather, praise will gush forth spontaneously.^[3] However, not everyone shows this kind of involuntary and spontaneous praise — a reality that provides the dramatic tension in the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers. This healing story opens the door for a discussion of a deep healing of mind, body, and spirit. God wants to make us well in a deeper sense than most of us realize.

I would like to focus on the surprising nature of praise and thanksgiving. We also need to have more openness than many of us do now that the Holy Spirit might inspire us in surprising ways. One of the most helpful ways to read this segment is in answer to the plea of the disciples in 17:5, "Increase our faith." If so, in verses 1-4, faith forgives; in verses 5-6, faith can accomplish everything; in verses 7-10, faith is humble; and here in verses 11-19, faith is proper praise and thankfulness. The story invites us to take the opportunity to witness to what God has done in our lives with a spirit of thanks and praise. What transforms this healing story into a demonstration of faithfulness is the action taken by just one of the 10 lepers. 

The fact that ten lepers approach Jesus in the travel narrative to Jerusalem prepares us for the healing story. 

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance. Since they were ritually unclean, they kept their distance, but they called out loudly to the approach Jesus. In Jewish culture, they were required to call out to avoid any risk of contaminating the ritually clean. they were under the strict proscriptions of Levitical law (Leviticus 13-14, especially 13:45-46). Lepers are to wear torn clothes, have disheveled hair, cover the upper lip, and warn everyone by crying out that they are unclean. Lepers are to live alone outside the camp. Cultural values ostracized these lepers from their families, their homes, their livelihoods, and their community.  Deprived of all social contacts, cultural values banished lepers to the boundaries of the village and forced them into beggary — relying on mercy and generosity for their survival. In this case, however, they address Jesus directly: "Jesus, Master (ἐπιστάτα), have mercy on us." Addressing Jesus as Master shows respect for him and his authority. They request that he have mercy on them, which at its simplest level, refers to financial support. Jesus acts on their behalf in verse 14: Go and show yourselves to the priests. Sending the lepers to the priest is necessary because the point of the story requires that the healing should take place on the way to the priest. In II Kings 5:10-14, Elisha tells Naaman to wash himself in the Jordan to receive healing, an incident that may influence the formation of this story.[4] Luke informs us that they were made ritually clean. 

One of the ten saw he was healed (ἰάθη), turned back, and praised God with a loud voice. He acknowledged his debt and gave thanks. Now, a healing story becomes a testimony on faithfulness because of the action taken by just one of the l0 lepers.  Everything about this healed leper is surprising. First, he prostrated himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The other nine are doing what Jesus said and continue to the priest in Jerusalem. Even if the benefit had not been as dramatic or miraculous, according to tradition all 10 men owed Jesus a debt of thanksgiving. Luke has this behavior of praise repeated several times to mark the occasion of a miraculous event that signifies God’s active presence (see Luke 2:20; 5:25-26; 7:16-17; 13:13; 18:43). Second, only now do we discover another important fact about this leper. He was a Samaritan. This fact makes the command to go to the priest puzzling, for why would a Samaritan go to a Jewish priest. Since the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the earliest Jewish-Christian community was to Jews (Mat 10:5-6), this part of the story hints at the Hellenistic origin of the story.[5] Luke has a special interest in foreigners that shows up here. He would not have to be such, since the point remains the importance of offering thanks. Jesus asks a good question in verses 17-18, containing the point of the story, that will not receive an answer, Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? In the eschatological situation of the coming and work of Jesus, thanksgiving and adoration, as self-evident implications of his message and its reception in faith, could always be inexpressible. Yet, in this passage, the Samaritan has offered thanksgiving and adoration to Jesus. In fact, in apostolic times, the time of looking back on the history of Jesus, thanksgiving and adoration of God for the divine action in sending the Son for our salvation have had to take a principal place.^[6] Jesus addresses the leper in verse 19, Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well (σέσωκέν). Luke uses this phrase four times. He uses it twice applied to women (7:50; 8:48), once to a Samaritan (17:19), and once to a Jew (18:42). Genuine faithfulness transcends all distinctions of gender, race, and nationality. This final pronouncement, and not the actual cleansing of the 10 lepers, best defines the essence of this segment. Through his faithful praise, the Samaritan has received divine blessing. This progression of words to describe the experience of the Samaritan leper appears intentional. He recognizes that he is now ritually clean, but this means that Jesus has “healed” him of his disease. When he returns to offer his sense of gratitude to Jesus for this healing, Jesus is the one who sees the faith of the Samaritan and proclaims him well, the same word that in other contexts will translate as “saved.” Jesus shows that healing is deeper than the body. We need healing of mind and spirit as well. His faith and gratitude have led to a deeper experience of God making “saving” him in body, mind, and spirit. Of course, this suggests that for Jesus, salvation, making people well in a deep and profound sense, was not something limited to Jews. He made it clear that such “making well” was open to anyone who has faith.

Application

The Samaritan identity of this man suggests two quite different observations about this text. First, because he is outside the faith of traditional Judaism, the concern of the Samaritan to return and give proper worship now reminds readers of another healing of a non-Jewish leper. In II Kings 5, the mighty warrior Naaman, who is also a leper, receives a miraculous healing from his disease under the instruction and guidance of the prophet Elisha. In 5:15, Naaman responds to his experience of healing with faithfulness, not just gratitude. This Samaritan leper also responds to his healing with faith that results in authentic worship. Second, the healed leper’s Samaritan identity could suggest that he originally “turned back” for an entirely different reason. Jesus had commanded the 10 to go to the priests — for the nine who are Jews, this still means journeying to Jerusalem. Yet, for a Samaritan, the center of worship and the location of his priests were at Mt. Gerizim in Samaria. When he saw Jesus healed him, this Samaritan may have turned back to make his own pilgrimage to Mt. Gerizim. However, even in route to that separate place of worship, this Samaritan finds a third and satisfying place to offer this thanks to God in worship. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him.  Instead of directly addressing the prostrate form before him, Jesus first wonders aloud to his audience (the disciples) about the absence of the other nine and the presence of only one. Only then is this one -- an "outcast" by the norms of Jewish society -- identified in verse 18 by Jesus as "a foreigner" and held up as a positive example before the disciples. The term Jesus uses to describe him is the same as is inscribed on the wall of the temple that separates the Court of the Gentiles from the sacred inner courts reserved only for Jews. By using such a harsh, segregating term to describe this man, Jesus highlights the fact that this Samaritan, who was outside the people of God as identified by Judaism, has become through his faithfulness one of the “saved” ones. In a sharply divided society, Jesus showed openness to the outsider. All ten were outsiders, but one was an outsider in special sense. Society erects many barriers. The natural response for most people is to refrain from crossing the lines society establishes. We do not relish the embarrassment, scorn, or rejection society can bring. In some cases, we might feel like we are putting ourselves out on the limb and fear someone will chop off the limb! Yet, we are part of society. We help make the barriers and support their continuance by our words and actions.^[7]

In offering thanks to others, we acknowledge our dependence upon another. We need to learn to surprise people with our gratitude to God and to them. Yes, many experiences can cause us to be resentful about the hand life has dealt us. The leper could have done that in a large way. Gratitude focuses our attention upon the positive dimension of life rather than its trials and barriers. We do not express gratitude because life is perfect. Life does not run smoothly for anyone. It has twists and turns, hills and valleys. Yet, along the way, focusing on those aspects of life that have helped us along the way will lift our spirits. Expressing gratitude will also lift the spirit of others. This story might inspire us to surprise others with our gratitude. 

Offering thanks and gratitude will not solve every issue in your life, of course. However, developing a spirit of gratitude in your life can take courage.

Viktor Frankl, the eminent psychologist, and founder of the so-called Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy (Logotherapy), provides a revealing example of what it means to express gratitude for wholeness and wellness. Frankl, who died in 1997 at the age of 91, was a prisoner in the concentration camps during World War II. Dr. Gordon Allport, in his preface to Frankl's significant work, Man's Search for Meaning, says that 

"there he found himself stripped to a literally naked existence. His father, mother, brother and his wife died in the camps or were sent to the gas ovens, so that except for his sister, his entire family perished in these camps. How could he -- every possession lost, every value destroyed, suffering from hunger, cold and brutality, hourly expecting extermination -- how could he find life worth preserving? A psychiatrist who personally has faced such extremity is a psychiatrist worth listening to" (7).  

 

Frankl answers Allport's question when he recounts his experience immediately following his liberation from the camps: 

"One day, a few days after the liberation, I walked through the country, past flowering meadows, for miles and miles, toward the market town near the camp. Larks rose to the sky and I could hear their joyous song. There was no one to be seen for miles around; there was nothing but the wide earth and sky and the larks' jubilation and the freedom of space. I stopped, looked around and up to the sky -- and then I went down on my knees. At that moment there was very little I knew of myself or of the world -- I had but one sentence in mind -- always the same: "I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and he answered me in the freedom of space."  "How long I knelt there and repeated this sentence, memory can no longer recall. But I know that on that day, in that hour, my new life started. Step for step I progressed until I again became a human being" (96).

 

Frankl, released from the most "leprous" episode in the history of humankind, could do nothing but kneel before his Creator in a posture of overwhelming gratitude. From that point of thanksgiving, he marked his renewal as a human being. Likewise, our wellness, our wholeness, our very healing and health, our becoming wholly human depend on our being able to celebrate and give thanks for the "freedom of space," for the liberation and cleansing God has brought to us, often mediated by influential people we love and the people who love us.

Thanksgiving is not such an obvious response to life and world. The senseless suffering in human life, the at least temporary success of evil, is enough to remind us of the faith, hope and courage it often takes to give thanks. Today, we need to look for ways to say and to write “Thank you” to those in our circle of friends and acquaintances. We need to develop the habit of gratitude. In fact, a large part of the stewardship of life includes offering gratitude to others. 

The American tradition of setting aside a day of Thanksgiving is a case in point. It was not easy. We do not find the most intense moments of thankfulness in times of plenty, but when difficulties abound. 

Think of the Pilgrims that first Thanksgiving. Half their number dead, men without a country, but still there was thanksgiving to God. Their gratitude was not for something but in something. In 1777, over 100 years later, the continental congress proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving after the American Revolution victory at the Battle of Saratoga. However, it was twelve years later that George Washington proclaimed another national day of thanksgiving in honor of the ratification of the Constitution and requested that the congress finally make it an annual event. They declined. Yet, the custom grew in various colonies as a means of celebrating the harvest. Another 100 years later, in 1865, and the end of a bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving. It might surprise you to learn that it took still another 40 years, the early 1900's, before the tradition really caught on. For you see, Lincoln sanctioned Thanksgiving to bolster the Union's morale. Many Southerners saw the new holiday as an attempt to impose Northern customs on their conquered land.

Thanksgiving today is a mild-mannered holiday full of football, hot apple pie, and family reunions. However, that is not a realistic historical picture of Thanksgiving. It is more often born of adversity and challenging times. So many of the greatest expressions of thanksgiving have occurred under circumstances so debilitating one wonders why people give thanks. It would seem the more reasonable response would be bitterness and ingratitude.

It is not that life is so wonderful.  It is not.  It is not that people are so wonderful.  We are not.  It is because of God, it is because of confidence in God, that we can be grateful.  If you really want health of mind, body, and spirit, you might have to dig down deep and be grateful. If you really want to be well, let praise gush forth. If you want to be clean morally and spiritually, let Jesus come in and make it so. Here are some proverbs that remind us of this truth.

            Anxiety weighs down the human heart,

              but a good word cheers it up.  (12:25)

 

            The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

              and good news refreshes the body.  (15:30)

 

            Like vinegar on a wound

              is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.  (25:20)

 

            A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance,

              but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.  (15:13)

 

            A cheerful heart is a good medicine,

              but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.  (17:22)

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[1] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 33, 239, It depends on Mk 1:40-45, and thus, is a secondary healing story and of Hellenistic origin. Luke has transposed Mk into an imaginary story, in which gratitude and ingratitude are depicted on the same dramatic canvas. 

[2] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 56-7.

^[3] (Mark Hillmer, “Luke 1:46-55,” Interpretation, October 1994, 391-93). He was professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary.

[4] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 33.

[5] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 33.

[6] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Volume 3, 210. 

[7] Jimmy Carter, Sources of Strength, New York: Random House, 1997, pp. 74–75

II Corinthians 9:6-15

II Corinthians 9:6-15

⁶ The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  ⁷ Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  ⁸And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.  ⁹ As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."  ¹⁰ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.   ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; ¹² for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.  ¹³ Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others,  ¹⁴ while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.  ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

II Corinthians 9:6-15 is part of a larger that context that has the theme of a financial appeal. Paul explains the blessings they can expect from the collection. they should give willingly and cheerfully. The one who sows bountifully in terms of this offering will also reap bountifully in the blessing they will receive. He acknowledges that ⁷each of them must give as they have made up in their minds. He also acknowledges that he does not want them to give reluctantly or under compulsion. God loves a cheerful giver. He then refers to Psa 112:9. Such a charitable act had a deeper connection to the larger righteousness of God by which they live. This depicts the good fortune and conduct of those who fear God, emphasizing mercy to the poor as a special proof of piety.[1] He uses images from Isa 55:10 and Hosea 10:12. The value of their gift increases. If we look at the scripture to which Paul alludes, I think it clear that the enrichment they can expect focuses upon the spiritual blessing they will receive. Generous giving links to righteousness rather than material blessing. ¹³ Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession (ὁμολογίας) of the gospel of Christ (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ) identifying the apostolic ministry as consisting in the proclamation of the gospel,[2] and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, The confession of is a response to the action of God and is a witness by the community to the public.[3] He concludes with the exclamation ¹⁵Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift! Although I admit some ambiguity here, the gift to which he refers is the bond that he hopes this offering will bring between Gentile and Jewish portions of the church. However, in general, the bond that offering can bring between people separated in geography would utterly amaze and witness to the way God works in the lives of people.

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[1] Hauck, TDNT VI, 40.

[2] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991) Volume 1, 455.

[3] Michel, TDNT V, 215.

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills,  ⁸ a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,  ⁹ a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper.  ¹⁰ You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.  ¹¹ Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today.  ¹² When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them,  ¹³ and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied,  ¹⁴ then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,  ¹⁵ who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous  snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, ¹⁶ and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good.  ¹⁷ Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth."  ¹⁸But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.

Deuteronomy 8:7-18 is part of a larger chapter that has the theme of encouraging people not to forget the Lord during the prosperity the Lord will bring. Success can lead to complacency. We can think we are self-sufficient. Such attitudes will land us in trouble at some point.

The central theme is the spiritual danger of prosperity. The passage emphasizes that material blessing, security, and abundance can lead people to forget the Lord, become complacent, and assume that their success comes from their own strength. Deuteronomy 8:7–18 presents prosperity as a gift from God, but also as a test: abundance should lead to gratitude and covenant faithfulness, not pride or self-sufficiency.

A secondary theme is memory. The people are repeatedly urged to remember the Lord’s past acts—especially the exodus, wilderness provision, water from the rock, and manna. Remembering becomes a spiritual discipline that protects the community from arrogance.

Another important theme is land as divine gift. The land is described richly and abundantly, but its goodness is meant to direct Israel back to the Lord rather than toward possession, entitlement, or independence.

Verse-by-verse study

⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, referring to the primordial ocean forming the foundation of the world that causes the springs to rise forth. It will be ⁸ a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,  ⁹ a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, as Deuteronomy never tires of saying, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. It then promises ¹⁰You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you. Here is the rabbinic justification for reciting grace after meals. We see again that Deuteronomy loves to talk about the land. Verses 11-18 address the peril of prosperity in the land. In verses 11-15, Deuteronomy also loves to offer a pastoral exhortation focused on turning the heart to the Lord. Thus, it urges ¹¹ Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. Here is a bold equation between the Lord and the legal corpus, for disobedience to the law becomes tantamount to forgetting the Lord and transgressing the first commandment. The concern is simple. ¹² When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them,  ¹³ and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied,  ¹⁴ then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. At this point, in verses 15-18, we see that the wilderness became an increasingly incomprehensible experience. We read of the Lord ¹⁵ who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. As recorded in Exodus 17:1-7, Numbers 20:2-13, and Psalm 114:8, He made water flow for you from flint rock, ¹⁶ and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, we can see here a spiritualized view of manna, as if it were spiritual food. The Lord did this to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Here is the purpose of the wilderness story. As we find in the telling of the story of Israel in the Old Testament, the point is not objective history, but the history as it teaches the generation reading the history. We again read a pastoral exhortation that focuses on turning the heart to the Lord. They are not to have a self-destructive internal conversation. ¹⁷ Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." Such an attitude is one of doomed arrogance. While self-reliance is a virtue in its proper context, it occurs always in the context of community and in the power of the Lord. ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that, meaning the blessing of financial security is so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.

Psalm 65

Psalm 65

To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.

¹ Praise is due to you,

O God, in Zion;

and to you shall vows be performed,

²      O you who answer prayer!

To you all flesh shall come.

³ When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,

you forgive our transgressions.

⁴ Happy are those whom you choose and bring near

to live in your courts.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

your holy temple. 

⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,

O God of our salvation;

you are the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas.

⁶ By your strength you established the mountains;

you are girded with might.

⁷ You silence the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

the tumult of the peoples.

⁸ Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;

you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 

⁹ You visit the earth and water it,

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide the people with grain,

for so you have prepared it.

¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth.

¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with richness.

¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills gird themselves with joy,

¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalm 65 is a community thanksgiving. 

Introduction

I present Psalm 65 as a community thanksgiving centered on God’s abundant grace, forgiveness, providential care, and creation’s joyful response. The strongest interpretive theme is the contrast between scarcity and abundance: the psalm’s imagery of rain, harvest, overflowing pastures, and divine provision becomes the basis for a theological reflection on trust, stewardship, generosity, and resistance to fear-driven scarcity thinking.

The occasion of the psalm may have been a drought or famine, with God answering the prayers of the country. Delight in the blessings of earthly life leads to a focus upon God. The psalm may have been sung during Sukkot the Feast of Tabernacles, which marks the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the rainy season. Some scholars will say that the psalm is a composite of two originally independent hymns with possible interwoven glosses.[1] Yet, the canonical version succeeds on literary as well as theological grounds. The Psalm is part of what scholars call the Elohistic psalter, which extends from psalms 42—83. The psalm leads me to reflect upon the danger of believing in scarcity and the trust involved in believing in abundance.

Verse-by-verse study

The superscription is To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Psalm 65: 1-4 focus our attention on the gifts of grace centered in the house of God. The faith expressed here in both natural and revealed religion has its epicenter in Jerusalem. It celebrates God and the Temple, the place where one pays one’s vows. The psalmist introduces the theme of the Psalm immediately: ¹ Praise is due to you, O God (elohim), for answering prayer, for forgiveness, and for deliverance, in Zion. We might think of Zion as the Vatican of Israelite religion. Zion receives mention in II Samuel 5:6-10=I Chronicles 11:4-9. It refers to the fortified crest of the hill between Tyropoeon and Kidron valleys. The Old Testament also referred to it as “the City of David.” Thus, I Kings 8:1 refers to the City of David, and then explains, “which is Zion.” The ark of the covenant, Israel's most sacred object, was brought up by David to the city of Zion and was later transferred to the temple built by David's son, Solomon, a relocation that accounts for the name Zion being extended to the entire temple precinct, which lay outside the original Zion. We find this usage of the term Zion especially in the psalms (e.g., 2:6; 48:2; 74:2; 84:7; 132:13, etc.). In time and in some writings, the name Zion referred to Jerusalem itself. And to you shall vows be performed.[2] The phrase is unique in the Old Testament. He is thankful he can pay his vow made possible by the bounteous harvest God has provided. The vow may have been to bring a special offering for a good harvest. We can see the strong theocentric focus. The use of this name for God tends to broaden the theological outlook beyond Israel. Some scholars think such an influence arises from the wisdom tradition.[3]What the people of God owe to God is praise. The psalmist addresses God: ² O you who answer prayer! Here is the first reason we owe praise to God. To you all flesh shall come. The notion that all flesh shall come to Zion to worship reflects the universal outlook of wisdom circles, who saw in Israel's God attributes that applied not only to the covenant people but to all people (e.g., God's providential care). We find this idea elsewhere in the psalms. Even Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia know the Lord (87:4). Further, “all flesh” is an important reference within the psalter. The Lord gives food to all flesh because the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever (136:25). All flesh will bless the holy name of the Lord forever (145:21). We also find references to “all flesh” outside the psalter. All flesh is like the temporary quality of grass and flowers (Isaiah 40:6). All flesh will know the Lord, who is the Savior and Redeemer of Israel, when the Lord judges their oppressors (Isaiah 49:26). All flesh shall come to worship the Lord (Isaiah 66:23). The Lord is the God of all flesh (Jeremiah 32:27). All flesh shall see the judgment upon the Negeb by fire (Ezekiel 20:48). All flesh shall see the judgment of the Lord by sword (Ezekiel 21:5)  the survivors of all nations will make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on sukkot (Zechariah 14:17). ³ When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions. Here is the second reason we owe praise to God. Thought of God’s goodness leads to the recognition of the sinfulness of humanity. Divine forgiveness of sin is the precondition for winter rains and an abundant harvest. Thus, if they obey the commands and serve the Lord with all their heart, they will receive rain at the proper time and abundant harvest, but if they do not, then the Lord will shut up the heavens (Deuteronomy 11:13-17). People are incapable of getting rid of their sin through their own effort.  The point here is that our past does not determine the choices we make today. Our past does not determine our destiny. Forgiveness of sin is prerequisite for a relationship with God. Even in our personal lives, a relationship cannot move toward something good if the aggrieved party does not extend forgiveness. Further, if the one asking for forgiveness has no intention of repentance, has the person even asked for forgiveness? If the person has no intention of change, asking for forgiveness becomes a cover for living life with no consequences or worse to have an abusive relationship. It takes faith, hope, and love to extend forgiveness. Suppose a nation has at its founding a birth defect. Let us call it slavery and racism. The aggrieved party, in this case, those of African descent, cannot have a rewarding and fulfilling experience of the nation without extending forgiveness. In the same way, of course, the nation needs to repent of its sin and correct the birth defect. One cannot truly repent without faith, hope, and love. As America keeps mending its flaws in this regard, it can become a Promised Land, a bright and shining city on a hill, for all people. The combination of repentance by the wrongdoer and forgiveness from the aggrieved party is essential for the relationship to move forward. The Psalm then pronounces beatitude. ⁴ Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. Time spent in the temple has created inward awareness of the communion with God and the assurance of forgiveness. Such blessings may refer to general prosperity or the rain God will send. It may also refer to the sacrificial meal at the Temple. 

Psalm 65: 5-8 are a hymn to the God of the world and divine salvation in creation and history. It expresses gratitude for the providential care of God for Israel and for all creation. The hymn of the congregation praises God for the saving history reflected in the history of Israel. The hope for adequate rainfall is couched in descriptions of God as the supreme power of the world, especially over the cosmic water. ⁵ By awesome deeds at creation and achieving victory over the forces of primeval chaos, you answer us (Israel) with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope (mivtach, a word that occurs in exilic and post-exilic writings) of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. Here is the third reason to offer praise to God. Here is another unique phrase in the Old Testament. It reflects the cosmopolitan religious outlook of the wisdom tradition. Immediately after expressing the chosen quality of Israel in verse 4, the psalm extends the mercy of God to all the earth. The basis for such trust is both the fear and the love of God. In verses 6-7, this focus helps the poet see that creation is a work of God. ⁶ By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. Here is the fourth reason to offer God praise. God receives praise for the power shown over the sources of water and benevolence in providing water for irrigation. ⁷ You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. ⁸ Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning, the conduit that brings rain to the earth, as in Job 38:25, and associated with the Temple with its food and drink from the refreshing stream (Psalm 36:8), and the evening shout for joy, because of the appearance of God. Everywhere the author turns he sees signs of the work of God. The point here is the joyful response of nonhuman creation to the appearing of God. We find the idea elsewhere. The floods clap their hands, and the hills sing for joy (Psalm 98:8). Wilderness and dry land shall be glad, desert shall rejoice upon seeing the glory and majesty of the Lord our God (Isaiah 35:1-2, 6). The mountains and hills shall sing, and trees shall clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).

Psalm 65: 9-13 concern the blessing of fertility with which God crowns the year. The potentially destructive cosmic water forces are tamed by God and become the gentle rain and run-off that irrigates the earth, providing vegetation and flocks with their nourishment. All creatures who receive this nourishment join humanity in the praise of the benevolent God. Heaven and earth, as well as the seas all that is in them will offer praise to the Lord (Psalm 69:34), let heaven and earth, seas, fields, and forest, and all that is in them offer praise (Psalm 96:11-12), and let the sea, world, floods, and hills express joy (Psalm 98:7-8). In verses 9-11, we now see the reason for the congregational gathering for thanksgiving. The parched land has now become rich in fruit because the rain has come. Images of rain-fed agriculture close the psalm. It closes with some unique rural images that carry with them a certain charm. We might think of a harvest festival. The psalm closes with joyful gratitude for such rich abundance. It closes with the fifth reason to offer God praise, that of the providential care of God. Some scholars think this shift suggests that this section was originally a separate psalm. In its present context, it suggests thanksgiving for answered prayer.  ⁹ You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water. Part of the Ugaritic Baal epic (1300s BC) says that abode of El is at the source of the two rivers, amid the fountains of the deep. The mountain of El was the source of this essential water source.[4]Psalm 46:4 refers to the streams that make glad the city of God. It may refer to a mythological source of blessing inspired by the existence of the Gihon spring, the principal source of water for Jerusalem. It refers to one of the four branches of the primordial river in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:13). Revelation 22:1 refers to the river of the water of life that flows from the abode of God. We can see a shared constellation of images about a divinely appointed, life-giving water source upon which the earth and its inhabitants depend. Israelite farmers relied upon seasonal rains and violent storms that came from the Mediterranean Sea. You provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. ¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. ¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty;your wagon tracks overflow with richness. In verses 12-13, the poet sees the tracks of God in nature, as all around comes to life. We need to spend more time meditating upon the fashion show God presents. ¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, ¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, and as in verse 8, they shout and sing together for joy. Such a picture of the harvest becomes eschatological. Thus, the time is surely coming when the one who plows will overtake the one who reaps, the treader of grapes will overtake the one who sows, mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills will be full of it (Amos 9:13). Further, in that day, mountains shall drip sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk and the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord (Joel 3:18). 

Application

While times of scarcity may come, this psalm affirms abundance. When we worry about the scarcity of the earth, we descend into the darkness of self-centered and fearful people. We become like the scientist in Inferno by Dan Brown, who plots to save humanity by killing off millions of people to reduce the population. Such an idea is dangerous, of course. Malthus predicted in 1798 that the world be out of food by 1890 due to population growth. He recommended killing off the have-nots in the world to ensure there was enough for the rich. His ideas underpinned the theories of eugenics in the early 1900s. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, still revered by many, accepted the theory. Of course, the Nazis infamously did so as well. Where such theory prevailed, marriage restriction, segregation, compulsory sterilization, forced abortion, and genocide tended to follow.[5] Belief in scarcity can lead fearful people to do horrendous things. As economist Thomas Sowell wisely advised, while the first lesson of economics is that there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it, the first lesson of politics is to disregard it. Our human nature regards scarcity as the law of life. We believe that something we need is in short supply. We hoard, we struggle for power, we become jealous, because we believe in scarcity and believe life will shortchange us of what we need. The tragic irony is that the assumption of scarcity will create the scarcity we have feared.[6] Trusting that the earth provides resources for life on this planet is basic to a life of faith, hope, and love. It opens us up to new possibilities of where we may discover such resources. It challenges us to be good stewards of the earth. Such trust is at least hint of our reliance upon God, who made us and made the world. Of course, we continue to protect the resources the earth provides and develop a spirit of generosity, confident the earth provides the resources we will all need. In fact, the Bible begins with a song of praise for God's generosity in the very first chapter of Genesis, which tells us of how well God has ordered the world, repeatedly declaring the goodness of what God has made. God blesses vegetation, animals, and humanity, meaning that God endows living things with vitality. Genesis offers us a beautiful vision of abundant life, but so often we miss it. Instead, we look around us and see scarcity. We become anxious. Out of our anxiety we become fearful people. We fail to see the overflowing goodness of the creator.[7] Psalm 65 does not lose sight of this, seeing the wagon tracks overflowing with richness and the pastures overflowing the wilderness (verses 11-12). The earth overflows with richness in a way that challenges us to protect and to share.

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[1] (see C. A. Briggs, The Book of Psalms [The International Critical Commentary; Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark, 1907], v. 2, p. 80)

[2] The Hebrew of the second word, as pointed, is nonsensical, saying, literally, "To you is silence," with the feminine singular noun dumiayyah meaning "silence" or "resignation." The Septuagint reads prepei, "befits," which requires reading the Hebrew as domeh, "resembling," as the editors of BHS suggest (and as JPS renders).

[3] While Israel and its Yahwistic religion remain central even in the Elohistic psalter, a slight shift in emphasis coaxes the hearer's attention toward seeing that faith in the broader context of the geopolitical and religious world of which Israel was a part. This shift in emphasis is usually attributed by scholars to the influence of the wisdom tradition in ancient Israel, which was more cosmopolitan in its religious outlook than classical Yahwism tended to be (as found, for example, in the book of Deuteronomy and in much prophetic literature). This wisdom tradition, while ancient in itself, appears to have left its deepest and most lasting impact on biblical literature toward the latter stages of the canonical process. Psalm 65, therefore, in its current form, is likely to have come from a later stage of the Psalter's development.

[4] (see Frank Moore Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973], 36-37).

[5] Laurence O'Bryan, "The dangerous lie in Dan Brown's Inferno," Laurence O'Bryan Website, February 21, 2014, lpobryan.com.

[6] Parker Palmer, "There Is a Season," in Paul Loeb, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: Perseverance and Hope in Troubled Times (Basic Books, 2014), 157.

[7] Brueggemann, Walter. "The liturgy of abundance, the myth of scarcity." Christian Century, March 24-31, l999, christiancentury.org.