Scripture reading: Psalm 110
1 The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, ♦
until I make your enemies your footstool.’
2 May the Lord stretch forth the sceptre of your power; ♦
rule from Zion in the midst of your enemies.
3 ‘Noble are you on this day of your birth; ♦
on the holy mountain, from the womb of the dawn the dew of your new birth is upon you.’
4 The Lord has sworn and will not retract: ♦
‘You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’
5 The king at your right hand, O Lord, ♦
shall smite down kings in the day of his wrath.
6 In all his majesty, he shall judge among the nations, ♦
smiting heads over all the wide earth.
7 He shall drink from the brook beside the way; ♦
therefore shall he lift high his head.
Reflections
It’s very easy to take a Christian reading of this Psalm, and see Christ as the figure of the lord being born and given the sceptre. In the midst of all the enemies and smiting I was drawn to the natural imagery: mountain, dawn, dew, brook beside the way, and Emmanuel God With Us as one with Creation at his birth and throughout his life.
Taking the connection between the images of water: dew is formed from tiny droplets, which may evaporate in situ, or may soak into the ground and join together to form rivulets and eventually a brook. Something tiny has the potential to grow and develop and bring refreshment along the way. And further downstream, to become the river of life (Revelation 22), with the tree of life on either side bearing leaves for the healing of the nations.
And so we turn full circle back to the enemies and smiting, but now with prayer and hope for peace.
-oOo-
Since April 2020, I have been jointly hosting a shared Lectio Divina group on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. These are my reflections only, during the prayer session and as I wrote them up. Please see my separate commentary and leaflet for more information about shared Lectio.
