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Psalm 15 1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? 2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, 3 There is no guile upon his tongue; 4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, 5 He has sworn to do no wrong 6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, 7 Whoever does these things shall never be overthrown. This year, Monday Matters will focus on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We’ll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen. |
Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
Excellent question.
The psalms are full of those kinds of questions, questions that reach across the centuries to challenge us on this Monday morning to think about our own spiritual journey. According to the psalm (printed above and included in the lectionary heard yesterday in church), it seems to be a pretty high bar for who may dwell in the Lord’s tabernacle.
Check out what it takes to obtain admission: Someone who leads a blameless life, does what is right (presumably all of the time), speaks truth with no guile, does no evil, bears no contempt, The list goes on, but I didn’t make it past the first hurdle.
In discussion with a friend who is a rabbi, he shared his understanding of sin. He cited archery as a metaphor, saying that sin is a matter of missing the mark. As St. Paul put it in his letter to the Roman church, sin is a matter of falling short of the glory of God. St. Paul also says that all have sinned. We echo that in the liturgy of our church when we include confession. So perhaps the answer to the psalmist’s good question is that none of us, left to our own devices, can come into that kind of close relationship with the Holy One. There’s just too much going on in our lives, too much going on in our hearts that draws us from the love of God.
So does this mean that the Lord is all alone in that tabernacle? Does anyone make the cut?
That’s where grace comes in. And I’m wondering where you have experienced grace. Maybe you’ve wronged someone and they’ve forgiven you. Maybe you’ve come to some sense that God extended forgiveness to you. Maybe you can hear Jesus’ words from the cross spoken directly to you: Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing. Maybe you see yourself in Jesus’ story about the prodigal son, a boy who got off track but was welcomed back by his father without condition.
So who can dwell in the holy tabernacle? On the one hand, the answer is no one. On the other hand, the answer is anyone. Taking a broad view of all of scripture, maybe it’s someone who has figured out how to embrace grace, someone who begins to build a life based on that good news, someone who trusts that such good news is true.
The good news of amazing grace doesn’t invalidate the challenge of this psalm. The psalm provides a road map for how we are called to live, taking steps each day to lead a more blameless life, working on increasing truthfulness in our speech, taking a look at where we participate in evil, or where we harbor contempt for others (maybe especially in an election season marked by division in our nation). And doing it all not to earn admission to the tabernacle, but simply as an expression of gratitude for grace that has been shown. A feature of this grace is that when the standard seems too high and our efforts fall short, we are reminded that we are not left alone in the process. We are blessed with a higher power.
This week, reflect on how grace has come into your life. What was that experience like? Maybe journal about it. Maybe tell someone else about (not a particularly Episcopal thing to do.) And then consider the ways in which your life can be a grateful reflection of the gifts that have come your way, showing grace because you have come to know grace.
–Jay Sidebotham
