Easter 7 C - Psalm 97

 Psalm 97

The Lord is King! Let the earth rejoice, unless lit up by the Lord's lightning the earth trembles. Let the coastlands be glad, unless occupied by adversaries the coastlands are consumed. Psalm 97 imagines the mountains melting like wax and the Lord surrounded by clouds and thick darkness bringing it on like Iron Man 3. But for those rescued from the hand of the wicked and loved for hating evil the Lord is like the gentle light of dawn bringing joy to the upright who have survived the night. Here in lies the rub between judgment and justice, penalty and pity, the ones forgiven for eternity and those for whom eternal punishment seems to outweigh the crime. How do we bow down before the throne of the Lord as King Iron Man and at the same time proclaim the servant God of grace? It may be that the Lord as King brings a world of hurt to whoever boasts in worthless idols - but the gospel proclaims a God whose heart melted like wax within him when, with his hands nailed to wood by the wicked, he forgave those who knew full well what they were doing even though they didn't have a clue why he allowed it to be done to him. So rejoice in the Lord then, you who have been made righteous by the Lord as King, who forgave the wicked as if they were you.