Strength for Our Turbulent Lives

After our evening game and pre-bedtime chores, Candy reads some daily devotionals aloud (I read the associated Scripture texts). The prayer at the end of last night's reading from "Moravian Daily Texts" seemed to be just what I needed, so I am sharing it here.

God, our refuge, you are the anchor that holds firm . When troubles of this world disturb our calm, remind us of your abiding strength in our turbulent lives. Amen.

Struggling Not to Fear as the World Changes

The passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg dramatically amplifies the intensity of the months just ahead of us. The incentive to vote has magnified exponentially regardless of political or theological perspectives on the events and issues of 2020. When I saw this news last evening I was immediately immersed in the imagery of Psalm 46. However, still this morning I confess I am struggling to relinquish fear into the refuge of God’s strength and to be still enough to know and exalt in the Lord of hosts who is with us.

 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

 

Contemplative Reflections on September 11, 2020

Sien with Child on Her Lap

Vincent VanGogh

I sang "For All the Saints" as my lauds hymn this morning. It just came up in my usual rotation but seemed poignantly appropriate on this September 11. If you are not familiar with it, I suggest looking it up on line or even in a hymnal.

Judging from my Facebook and today's news feeds, people are well remembering the horror of 9-11-01. Those who think it may be fading need not fear. Of course, the fresh, raw emotions of 19 years ago have taken melancholy root in our hearts and minds. And for today's college students who were preschoolers at the time and for today's high school students and younger who were not even born yet, this is a significant landmark in history but not a personal experience.

As we who aspire to follow Jesus remember, I trust we will do so in keeping with his clear teaching to love not just our neighbors (yes, our Muslim neighbors) but even our enemies. Matthew 5:43-48 In this way, we reflect the light of Jesus into our world in this time of considerable darkness.

This morning I began my Psalm prayers with Psalm 11. Though I don't recall seeing it recently, for years I have seen and heard people rip verse 3 out of context to bemoan their feeling of helpless desperation at social, cultural, and political changes they find threatening. "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

Nevertheless, I see and hear plenty of that in the emotional reactions in our current contentious environment. It is increasingly invoked in the political noise warning that if the side I disagree with wins, it will be the demise of democracy in the US. I do believe this is a critically important election and that the outcome will make a significant difference in the trajectory for the country (and even the world). I do have my own convictions of which many of you are probably aware, but I am not including them here in hopes of prompting thoughtful, hopeful prayer rather than distracting arguing.

The entirety of the Psalm is not a woeful lament about the irreparable loss of foundations which even the righteous cannot rescue. Rather, it is a resounding affirmation of trusting that God is alive and at work from God's holy temple. It calls out the faithlessness of those who are mired in verses 1-3. It is both an appeal to trust God when our limited perspectives leave us feeling hopeless and it invokes God's justice and the promise of seeing God's face.

My Psalm prayers ended with Psalm 131 with an assurance I definitely needed today. When events and the fear-filled clamber draw my heart into trembling, I can. as it were, climb up on God's lap and quiet my soul like a young child with its mother.

Love 'Em All

 

Just how radical were Moses, Jesus, Paul, and James? Summary: love God, love neighbors, love enemies. I guess that means that regardless of my present political preferences, if I am faithful I am to love my MAGA neighbors and love my BLM neighbors. I must confess I am still figuring out how to do this beyond being polite and respectful, especially for those who seem so angry from a distance. If loving someone you view as an enemy, or who you think views you as an enemy, bothers you, check out this inventory from Hebrew Scripture, Epistles, and especially Gospels.

Leviticus 19:18

Matthew 5:43-44; 19:19; 22:37-39

Mark 12:31

Romans 12:14,20

Galatians 5:14

James 2:8