Psalm 18 reprises David’s speech from 2 Samuel 22, which celebrates his deliverance from the hand of Saul and his enemies. In both versions, the Psalm and David’s speech, I was struck that David hands perilously over the waters of the deep after God’s intervention. David later comes to take on God’s action in the world, seemingly meting out vengeance on every last living child of his enemies. So I returned back to God’s dramatic and physical arrival on scene and asked what happened.
Read MoreOn and off through the pandemic, I’ve turned to the Psalms either individually, or as part of the Morning Prayer. In December, I decided to join CBST Synagogue’s daily Psalm Text Study. For each Psalm we create our own offering, if we want, in reaction to what we felt, learned, or even hated in the Psalm. After sitting out two Psalms offerings, I delved into Psalm 16. I envied the Psalmist’s trust in redemption, in forgiveness, in a path. I wished I could hear the Psalmist’s invocation of God as a model. Instead, I only heard the funny ways those close to us use our goodness to harm us, how we harm in return, and these cycles of past harms try to dictate who we can be. Yet, trusting, as this Psalmist did, in Divine grace, I choose new life.
Read MoreThis semester I’ve grappled with W.E.B. Du Bois’ harrowing works, and a wealth of Black Radical scholarship that has followed in his footsteps. I have also spent time getting more in touch with my Puerto Rican roots, discovering my mother’s story, her mother’s story, and her mother’s mothers. This piece is a part of a creative exercise to grapple with that knowledge and truly encounter myself, and others.
Read MoreThroughout the book of psalms, and really the whole Bible, we find oracles of lament, or hope, or woe. While the formats vary, generally, these include a invocation, a reckoning, and an acknowledgement of the ultimate goodness of God. In this oracle, I kept to the overall structure, while challenging our expectation of the format and tone.
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