so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?” Psalm 42:1-3
There are a lot of "Where is God?" type questions floating around today in the aftermath of the tornado in Moore, OK. And as troubling as it is to admit, there are times when the best answers we have are not very satisfying. Quite often, the cheap platitudes offered by some people of faith are as unhelpful as the absurd comments of those who blame such events on toleration of gays or some other presumed sin.
Some church folk are terrified at the prospect of questioning God's role in yesterday's events. They view questioning God as a lapse in faith, as evidence of doubt that they will not admit to. But the psalmists have no such qualms. That's true of today's psalm and of many other psalms of lament. Jesus borrowed one while on the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
I've always thought that a fist shaken at God is more an act of faith than is found in any act of stoic resignation. Certainly the psalmists are acting on faith when they question God, even demand of God. And they most often proclaim hope in the midst of their upset. Today's psalm ends with the psalmist counseling himself.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Sometimes the best thing we can do in moments of hurt and pain that cannot be explained is to cry out, yet somehow still hope. This moment is not one for complex theologies. It is a time to weep, to pray, even to shake a fist. It is a time to remember that Jesus experienced this, too. He felt abandoned and wondered where God was. And it is a time to recall the promise that God brings life out of death, that even in the face of death, we can still hope.
Click to learn more about the lectionary.
No comments:
Post a Comment