Is there anything worth celebrating?
Have you ever found yourself asking that question? If you are a follower of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) and in particular the psalms for the 3rd-7th Sundays after Pentecost, Year C, you may be beginning to wonder. These past few weeks have featured a series of lament psalms (Psalms 30, 82, 52, and 85) that are full of enemies and betrayal, and we have read them in the context of a world that seems increasingly racked by natural disasters, wars, and growing injustice. So it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. However, it is imperative that we don’t forget the whole arc of salvation history—the fact that God is a God of redemption. One day the world will be put to right. We know that is possible because as Christians we have experienced God’s redemptive power in our own lives.
The book of Psalms is split into five sections, commonly called books. Psalm 107, the RCL psalm for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost, begins the fifth book which is focused on the praise and worship of God. In this psalm, the psalmist praises God for all the wonderful things God has done, chief among them God’s redemptive act of gathering folks from all over the world to form God’s chosen people. Verses 4–7 present a testimony of how God brings people out of the wilderness into a town where their thirst can be quenched. While those living in a desert climate can easily relate to that physical reality, all Christians can understand that the metaphor of wilderness and thirst point to both spiritual and physical needs that God meets by saving us and providing us with a community. Our specific testimonies may be different, but all Christians have experienced the power of God’s redemptive work. And so we can join in this psalm’s refrain, “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind” (Psalm 107: 8, 15, 21, 31 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)).
When the news cycle is increasingly horrific and our communities are being torn apart, the church needs to be a carillon ringing out the good news of salvation and hope. Use Psalm 107 as an opportunity to share the good news by giving opportunity for those gathered or for pre-selected folks to share their testimony of how they have experienced the redemptive power of God. And may all God’s people join together in praise, for God’s love is steadfast and endures forever.
A Litany on Psalm 107: 1–9, 43 with Testimonies
[The Psalm text is in the blue font. The same reader can read the leader portion of the spoken refrain found in the regular font, or you may choose to have a second reader. The congregation speaks the portion in regular bold font.]
Psalm 107:1
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Spoken Refrain
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
We praise you O God,
for your love endures forever.
Psalm 107:2–3
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Spoken Refrain
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
We praise you O God,
for your love endures forever.
Psalm 107:4-7
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Testimonies of God’s Redemptive Acts and Steadfast Love
[The leader should introduce this section and invite those gathered, or pre-selected individuals to share their own testimonies of God’s work in their lives. These acts can range from the small quiet ones known only to an individual to larger public ones—all equally miraculous. The spoken refrain can be used at the end of each testimony as a transition between speakers or at the conclusion of them all.]
Spoken Refrain
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
We praise you O God,
for your love endures forever.
Psalm 107:9, 43
[Following the last testimony and spoken refrain, the Psalm continues.]
For [God] satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Spoken Refrain
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
We praise you O God,
for your love endures forever.