When Kindred Live Together in Unity

Text: Psalm 133

Reflection and Question: I first learned this psalm in the King James Version: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Very shortly after, feminist awareness made us all sensitive to “brethren” and the 1952 Revised Standard Version became “brothers” while the New Revised Standard Version of 1973 uses “kindred.” And yet, the central image of the psalm is undeniably masculine: the relief of oil in a dry climate running over one’s head, down through the beard and over the collar. But women can catch how pleasant that would be, like the dew upon the mountains. How do you feel when you get along, dwelling in unity with others?

Prayer: Creator of the universe, from whom all things come, to whom all things return, give your people such unity of heart and mind, that all the world may grow in the life of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The Book of Common Worship, p. 764)

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).