On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
(Psalm 90:1-2)
Psalm 90 on the other hand warns of parochialism, tribalism, and ethnocentrism into which patriotism and city loyalty can easily devolve. Ultimately, YHWH himself is our dwelling place, not the city where we live. This fact was driven home to Judah when she found herself exiled in Babylon, displaced from the land she loved and the city she called home. Loyalty to our hometown must never exceed our even greater loyalty to God and to his ever-expanding kingdom. The admonition “Pray for the welfare of Jerusalem” found in Psalm 122:6 was ironically and drastically modified to “Pray for the welfare of Babylon” (Jer. 29:7). When YHWH relocates us, then our local loyalties must shift despite our personal preferences. I suppose that this a biblical version of the proverb “Bloom where you are planted.” This is possible, however, only because YHWH is in fact omnipresent and therefore able to be our dwelling place where ever we may wind up. Eden is more person than place, but it is in fact also a place. I confess that I struggle with this balance. My tendency is to withhold loyalty and love from the place I live for fear of succumbing to parochialism. By doing this, however, I inevitably lapse into failing to keep the second greatest commandment – “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Father,
I confess that I struggle to have an appropriate love for my hometown, not because I do not appreciate its charms, but because in, my vanity, I want to be perceived as more cosmopolitan, more refined, more “world-wise” than my neighbors. Forgive me for this. Lord Jesus, your ministry never took you beyond an 80 mile radius of the place where you were born. You prioritized Israel during your earthly ministry but without losing sight of or diminishing your love for the rest of the world. I am in awe of your ability to do this and want so much to imitate you in this balance. Thank you for your inspiring example. Holy Spirit, you are everywhere and yet you reside especially within me and within all those who commit to following Christ. Please help me to love my neighbor as myself beginning with my literal neighbors. Help me to perceive the needs at my own doorstep and to give them priority in my service.
AMEN