The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever. – Psalm 28:8-9
The 28th psalm is a plea for help in a time of trouble. The psalm starts as a call for help for the individual, in fact all of this psalm is in the first person, asking for specific help. The individual is attributed as David, but here in the last couple of verse, there is a shift from the need of personal help to the help of the community.
I think there is something to be said about how God helps us as individuals and how that relates to the community in which we are a part. Especially when we are talking about being a part of a faith community. We all have our individual prayers that we perhaps pray each day. We converse with God, asking God to offer us whatever it is we need in that day or moment, but when we receive that blessing, it is a blessing for us, that we share in the community. If we are made well from an illness, we rejoice with those whom we love. If we receive a monetary blessing, we rejoice with those whom we love. Just like we bring our great needs with the congregation or community, we should also do so with our blessings.
The plea of help that moves from the individual to the community, helps us to realize that the strength of the Lord, and the saving grace of the Lord is for the community, it is for the Lord’s people, and the great heritage of our faith. The psalmist is teaching us that God’s blessings, saving, shepherding has never been for the individual, but for the individual as they are a part of the community. It is the community of faith that God saves, and the great cloud of witnesses in which we join as saints of God.
Today, our community struggles, as many of us have yet to feel comfortable joining together. We miss the social aspect of being a part of the church, but for precautionary reasons, some of us remain at home. My hope is that today, we may realize that even as you are at home, you are part of our community, you are in our prayers, in our hearts, as I hope we are in yours. We are still the people of the great shepherd, and I know and believe with great hope we will be saved from our current situation, and the great heritage of God’s people will once again know God’s blessings. Until then, stay safe, and be held where you are by the Father’s love.
Grace & Peace,
Sam