It will not come near you? Really?
Prayer Journal for March 8, 2019
Throughout my life, one of the men that I most admired was my Grandpa Williams. He was one of the wisest and most compassionate individuals I have had the honor of knowing. His marriage to my grandma was the kind of loving relationship that I wish everyone should get to have. Additionally, he was an ordained Presbyterian pastor, a World War II veteran, and former POW. His take on the world has always meant a lot to me and helped shaped who I am to this day.
Whenever I read this text, I cannot help but think about my grandpa. Specifically, how much he despised Psalm 91. Even though it had been commended to him by his World War I-veteran father, as a result of everything he had been through he thought it was hubris to believe that his faith would somehow exempt him from the evils of the world. He had no time for an understanding of a God who would decide to protect some while causing others pain. Such a neat and tidy theodicy was repugnant to him. He had seen too much violence and suffering in war. He watched too many good people die and wretched individuals survive.
Even those of us who nave not seen combat know that evil is real. We see violence and injustice in the world each and every day. The reality of a loving God is hard to accept in the face of all the suffering we witness each and every day. The idea of God meting out earthly rewards and punishments on an unsuspecting human race was simply impossible for my grandpa to accept. Even if that God existed, such a capricious divinity would be utterly unworthy of worship.
Yet, for my grandpa, this seems to be exactly what the psalmist proclaims in this text. He struggled his entire life with Psalm 91. Eventually, he simply chose to see it as one writer’s proclamation of the fact that God is with us, even in the most difficult stages of life. He understood the calls for revenge present in this prayer as a natural human response to violence and injustice. The imprecatory Psalms are a reminder that we can take even our basest of human emotions to God and know that we will be heard.
Fortunately for us and our world, other passages in the book of Psalms and the message of Jesus himself, tell us that our human bent to violence is not the end of the story. God’s grace is real, even in the face of suffering. God listens when we wish death on the Samaritans and prodigals of our world dead, overrules us, and then reminds us that the very people we despise and want dispatched are also children of God. What Christ did for us, we are called to do for others.
This is where our solidarity with other people needs to begin. We are all made in the image of God. We are all connected, whether we are at the top of the wealth and power pyramid, or at the bottom. In the same way that God desires to be our refuge, as the body of Christ, God desires us to be the refuge for others.
Lord, help me to be brave enough to reach out to those who are hurting. Help me to be willing to offer your love and grace to others each and every day. Amen.
Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional
For several years the Disciples of First Christian Church (DOC) in Dexter, Missouri have used Advent and Lenten devotionals from Chalice Press to guide our personal prayer in preparation for the Christmas and Easter holidays. This year’s Lenten devotional, Leaning In, Letting Go, was written by Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin, the founder of Soulfire Ministries and professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. My personal discipline during this season will be to daily respond to her questions in my prayer journal. From time to time during the season I will sharing some of my reflections here on this page.
