Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. – Psalm 143:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 28, 2022): Psalm 143

A friend tells the story about one of his winter tasks. In the area where he lives, snow is a common occurrence during the long winter months. And if there is snow, there is snow that needs to be cleared. Sidewalks have to be cleaned for the pedestrians who need them, and that task is often a tiring one. I have read about the nuisance of leaf blowers in the southern United States. The noise they make seems too loud for some residents to handle, and they actively petition for them to be removed and made illegal in a residential community. But for those of us who live in the north where the snow flies, those same leaf blowers, maybe a little more powerful and noisier than the ones used by our southern neighbors, are often a requirement of life as we bundle up to take care of the accumulated snow that gathers on our properties.

My friend has one of those leaf blowers that he uses to remove the snow at his home. After he finishes blowing away the snow at his home, he continues with those who live in the houses next to him. At one time, two houses down from his home, an LGBTQ couple had taken up residence. And my friend also used his mega leaf blower to remove the snow at their house. One day, another of his neighbors asked a question that they apparently thought was quite appropriate. Why did he remove the snow from that house? Didn't my friend know who was living there?

Homophobia runs deep in our culture, not just in the Christian Church. I have a suspicion that the homophobia in our culture has had a major influence on the Church. But on this day, I was proud of my friend. He simply ignored the intended insult and commented that the occupants of the indicated house were people who could use a little help, and he was quite willing to help them by taking ten minutes to remove the snow from their sidewalks.

My friend recently told the story at a men's breakfast. And one of the gathered commented that none of us are without sin. And he was right. It was also something that David understood. No one living on the earth can stand against the judgment of God because, as David stresses, "no one living is righteous before you." All of us are sinners; we are all imperfect. If God were to test us, we would fail. Our only hope is to skip the judgment, which is precisely the outcome that Jesus offers to us, a way to not stand before God. His sacrifice makes up for our lack. His blood shed for us means we don't have to stand before God's judgment. Jesus's sacrifice answers David's prayer that God would not bring his servant into a place of judgment because if he did, none of us would be able to pass. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 144