“Peace Be With You,” Jesus

When I got to contemplatio in my lectio divina on John 20:19-31 today, I was able to listen to Jesus saying to me, “Peace be with you.” (vv. 19,26) I believe I was receiving Christ’s peace for how the transition Candy and I are making is changing our marriage and what our relationship will become when we get settled in the duplex, for patience with how long this transition is taking, for the joys and challenges of living in Christian community with Mandy and Matthew Bailey and Chris Gooding, for the support Milwaukee Mennonite Church has been to Rachel and David, Sam and Elizabeth and their welcoming us into their community. Listening to Jesus prepared me for a fresh encounter from God in my Psalm Prayers today.

Psalm 49 evoked an acute awareness of just how those who trust in their wealth, boast in the abundance of their riches, and name lands as their own (vv.6,11) have come to prominence and power in our society. My inclination to be angry and alarmed was tempered by Jesus’ assuring words, “peace be with you” echoed by the tone of the Psalm, which asserts that their graves are the homes of such people forever, even though they named lands and enterprises after themselves. (v. 11)

Ordinarily, on the 19^th of each month I skip quickly through Psalm 109 (the quintessential imprecatory – cursing Psalm) as I don’t have such bitter feelings toward anyone I know. However, today, having already been thinking of a number of powerful, prominent people who seem to trust in their wealth, boast in the abundance of their riches, and name lands their own, I resonated with much of Psalm 109.

The NRSV translation of verse 6 has long troubled me, as their own footnote indicates “They say” is not in the Hebrew text. I wonder if this was a scribal addition in antiquity or a translators’ effort to soften the uncomfortable severity of the Psalm. My instincts tell me that the original was indeed harsh, for sometimes we do feel these emotions. I did check a number of other popular translations, and none of them included “They say.”

As the Psalmist (ascribed to David, whether that ascription was original or not is questionable to me, but not because David was above such curses) vents his curses, the Psalm brings us to focus on God’s steadfast love (vv. 21, 26 hesed) and entrusting those we want to curse into God’s hands. Today I found a leisurely reading the entirety of Psalm 109 helped me receive the peace of Christ, not only for the transition Candy and I are now making, but also for the way our world seems out of control hurtling toward inevitable disaster at the hands of those who trust in their wealth, boast in the abundance of their riches, and names lands as their own.