Reading: Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, with trembling
kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.

Reflection

In our scriptures this week, we hear God’s voice several times saying, “You are my Son.” On the mountain of Transfiguration, God adds, “In whom I am well pleased.” In this Psalm today, we are reminded that God had begotten him.

When I was growing up, my dad would sometimes refer to me as his “Number One Son.” I always liked hearing that, even knowing I was his only son. I call my son, “Buddy” quite a bit and one day when I called him by his given name, we remarked with a smile, “You called me Aaron, dad!” He enjoyed hearing his name.

Our names are important. We tell our summer staff all the time that they need to learn camper’s names quickly and call them by name often. We see this in our passages this week. God calls Jesus by name and tells him how he feels. We, too, need to listen for God’s voice, as God calls us by name to do God’s work.

–Chad Hershberger

Prayer

God, help us to hear you call our name and send us on your way. 

Amen.