How very Good and Pleasant it Is…

Psalm 133 reads: How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 

Anyone living with multiple teenagers in their house can attest to just how true that is! And many times over the years when my girls have started to pick at one another or fight between themselves, I’ve quoted the first part of this Psalm – changed just slightly: How very good and pleasant it is when sisters live together in unity! (They love it when I do that, by the way!)

But this Psalm is getting at something larger than just the immediate family. In fact, it is part of a collection called the Psalms of Accent, which were chanted or sung by groups of people while making an annual pilgrimage up to the temple in Jerusalem. These psalms make use of family imagery to speak about the larger community of faith.

It is a short Psalm, and if you read it in its entirety, it is beautiful. This theme of unity is tied together with two similes.

First, the Psalmist says, this unity is like precious oil. In biblical days, olive oil was a sign of hospitality and joy. You would anoint a guest with oil when they came to visit. And think about Psalm 23 – Lord, You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows… This same oil was also used to consecrate kings and priests. 

Second, the Psalmist says, that this unity is like the dew descending on the mountains of Zion. In a very dry, dusty Middle Eastern culture, dew was life-giving and life-sustaining.

The message is clear: when God’s people live together in unity, it is a precious, joyful, even sacred – holy thing. It is like oil that consecrates. It is life-sustaining like dew. And it is there – in that unity – that the Lord has promised blessing. 

As I think about this Psalm today, I can’t imagine a more needed time than now to hear its message. As a nation, we are more divided, and more polarized than ever. And these divides even cut across our churches. In response to God’s desire for us, I wonder what you and I might do to help foster unity, and in doing so, experience God’s blessing more fully.

Let us pray:  We remember, O God, your desire for us to love our neighbor and to live as one. Grant us your grace that we might listen deeply to those who see the world differently. Even as we seek to express our views, help us to show humility, build trust, and thereby witness to your love and grace. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.