The refrain of Psalm 72 is a far-reaching claim: “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.” We’re a long way from that becoming true in our lifetimes or those of our children. There are nations where to be a Christian is a crime, where to worship the God of Abraham and Isaac is a crime, where justice and peace are notable only by their absence.
How do we find the Lord in these circumstances? Are we like the shepherds, told by angels where to find the infant savior? Are we like the Magi, the wise men who followed the star to Bethlehem and recognized the newborn child as king (risking Herod’s wrath)? Do we, like Simeon and Anna, recognize the Lord the moment we see him?
We’re not very good at seeing that kind of divine potential in babies, in poor people, in people who don’t look like us, even though Scripture has example after example of choosing unlikely messengers of his truth—calling Amos, a dresser of sycamores, to be God’s prophet; calling David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, to be king of Israel; calling Peter, who kept getting things wrong, to be first among the apostles.
So choose a setting of Psalm 72 that’s not overly triumphant. Those who recognized Jesus had waited for a long time for that life-changing moment; for others, even the physical journey was long and dangerous. And remember that we, the People of God, are called to do justice, make peace, and rescue the poor and afflicted.