the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
[Psalm 24 NRSV]
Who are the ones that have "clean hands and pure hearts"? We have been told that they are the ones who "do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully". I do believe this to be true, and yet there is also a caution to be observed here; for I also believe that we are being called to do more than just a living a life of "not doing wrong." I believe that we have been called by our Creator to also live a life of positive actions.
Among the commandments that we have received, we find the basic admonitions that we should do no harm. Some might tell us that since we are not the individuals who have beaten an another individual and left them beside the path, that we are not the ones who have done the harm. However, Jesus would remind us that we are also called upon by the Creator to do as much good as possible.
There would seem to be a common theme coming to us from many sources - the Hebrew Text, the teachings of Jesus, the sermons of John Wesley, and Bishop Rueben Job’s book "Three Simple Rules":
1) Do not harm2) Do good
3) Stay in love with God
Dad,
ReplyDeleteIt can be hard for some people to "get" rule #1 down - I have a great poster in my office of the Global View of the Golden Rule (everything from Aristotle, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Judaism) - Do not harm is so important. But I agree: in addition to following the first, it's important to always keep working to "do good!"