As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy. – Psalm 123:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 2, 2013): Psalm 122 & 123

I recently watched the mockumentary “Confederate States of America.” The movie is an examination of the history of the United States with one important adjustment. According to the history of the movie, it was the Confederate South that won the American Civil War and slavery continues to be a force in the the development of the United States. In the movie it is Canada and Britain that stand as the harbingers of freedom – but the Black people of the United States, even in the 21^st century, were still slaves. Included along with the mock historical review were the commercials of the slave nation. Insurance companies pushed the insuring of personal property with the smiling image of a black man in the advertisement. Sicknesses of slaves were referred to veterinarians for healing. Even the persistent wish to be free was seen as an illness that could be cured with the appropriate medication. 

But as I watched the movie, what hit me was how absurd these commercials were. To a modern mind, the idea of people as property makes no sense. And then at the end of the movie the reality of the commercials was asserted. Some of the advertisements were for real products that had been used in the past – and some more recently then we might have thought in an enlightened culture. But the final surprise was revealed in the final frame – the images of two slaves that we still use to sell our products – the images of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.

This psalm has been criticized for its out dated imagery of the ancient slave and master relationship. Some critics have found it bland without a complaint or need being voiced. There might be a problem hovering in the background, because it is mercy that the Psalmist waits for, but there is no loud cry that has been given a voice. The Psalm is subdued, but that is also part of its beauty. It is the description of an ancient normal relationship.

Maybe the hardest teaching of the Psalm is that the Psalmist recognizes that when it is our relationship with God that we are describing, we take the role of the slave. To our modern minds the thought is disturbing and hard to get our minds around – just like we miss the slave image of both Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. And I am not sure that it would have been any less disturbing for the early readers of the Psalm. No one, even in the ancient world, aspired to be a slave. But the description is also accurate, after all, God by definition is the one who is Master and in control. What is beautiful about this Psalm is that the Master does not react to us in anger – but with mercy. He is still the one that we wait on because he is concerned about us. The Psalm would seem to underscore God’s loving nature as we look up to him.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 124 & 125