Martin Foster wrote:A final question - which is slightly off on a tangent - how often is the text of the psalm referred to in the homily in people's experience? And presuming a low scoring answer why?
As a preacher (ordained deacon 2006, priest 2007) I usually look at the psalm along with the other texts as a possible inspiration; I very rarely (1 in 50? counting weekdays as well as Sundays) preach on the psalm alone but quite often (perhaps 1 in 4) allude to a message in the psalm in passing where it ties in with whichever message has emerged from my pondering of all the prescribed texts.
On the other hand, last autumn when the psalm was "sing a new song to the Lord" (29th Sun Yr A) I took this as my main homily theme (with a tie to "give to God what is God's from the Gospel) and preached on the importance of singing, culminating in teaching the congregation John Bell's "Take O Take me as I am" as the conclusion to the homily! The congregation picked up the chant quite quickly and now I can use it as one of the no-book-needed chants when a liturgical gap needs to be filled in a longer communion procession or before Benediction.
Fr Gareth