Psalm 7: Judgment or Consequences?

 

Observation: One thing I notice about Psalm 7 is that David asks God to save him from pursuers, but also to judge him fairly and without partiality. "If I have plundered my foe without cause, let the enemy pursue and overtake me."

Another thing I notice is that David announces God's judgment, but the judgment he warns of sounds like the natural consequences of his enemies' actions. They fall into the hole they dug for him. Their violence falls on their own heads. 

Application: An expression I keep coming back to is "Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is you made dumb choices." 

We often attribute bad things that happen to others as God's judgment, but when bad things happen to us it seems totally random and inexplicable. I'm not someone who believes that God directly intervenes in our daily lives to make crappy things happen. I really don't believe that's how God works. We live in a world where sin and rebellion have run amok. This is not the world God dreamed for us in the beginning, nor is it the world toward which God is pulling us in the end. Right now, random bad things happen, and it's not our fault. 

That said, we also live in a world of cause and effect. Consequences are a real thing. I've seen plenty of people fall into the pit they dug for someone else, and from time to time, it's been me. When Jesus tells Peter "anyone who lives by the sword dies by the sword," he doesn't mean God will come down and smite a violent person. He's speaking a truth we all know: that violence begets more violence, begets more violence.   

But I also believe that God can take the bad things that happen and bring healing and hope from them. The theology of the cross is that there is no situation, no matter how awful, that God cannot enter into, for the sake of new life. 

Prayer: God, save me from my enemies, most of whom are me. Help me learn from my mistakes. Amen. 

 

Observation: The prophet Joel describes a terrible locust plague, that has ravaged both the crops of farmers in Judah, and the natural landscape. Everything is destroyed. Joel sees this infestation as a sign of God's judgment on the people. They are called to repent: but first, to lament. 

Application: Lament is not the first language of American Christians. We tend to be "positive thinkers." We are incurably optimistic, and that has both positives and negatives. On the positive side, it can give us energy and enthusiasm, truly believing that we can achieve our goals if we work hard enough. On the negative side, it can sometimes give us a tenuous relationship with reality, when that reality is tragic, or simply doesn't fit our narrative. It can create situations where we don't talk about sad things, and sometimes even pressure others not to. This is where we can learn a lot from the Hebrew Bible. The words of the prophets and psalmists are sometimes words of pure lament. No silver linings, no positive spin-doctoring, just the ragged cry of the soul, acknowledging a terrible loss. Maybe in our optimism we feel the temptation to skate over these texts; maybe we were taught that being a Christian means being joyful and happy, and if we're not there's something wrong with us. But there was nothing wrong with the prophet Joel, when he prescribed sackcloth and ashes, wailing and solemn assemblies. When we are feeling despair, we aren't alone. We have conversation partners with the Biblical writers, who don't pressure us to "look on the bright side." There is a time for lament. To observe that season, when it comes, is not a sign of unfaith, but rather deep faith, because you go into that space expecting that God will sit with you there. 

Prayer: God, give us true seasons of lament in our lives, and the ability to accept them and invite you into our midst when they come. Amen.   

1 John 3:1-3 We Don't Want to Be Like Him

 

Observation: I hear a double meaning in this reading from 1 John (both this letter and the Gospel of John are full of double entendre). The literal meaning is that when Jesus is visibly revealed, at the end of time, we will be "like him," meaning we will share in his resurrection life. The figurative meaning, I think, is that anytime Jesus' character is revealed, meaning any time we share stories about him or his teachings, those who really believe in him will be "like him" in terms of personality traits, goals, and self identity as children of God first and foremost. 

Application: There are so many reasons Christians either delay or deny the need to 'be like Jesus.' 

He's sinless; we're not. Why try?

He died for my sins; I can't do that. Why try? 

But then we move from the theological to the practical. 

It doesn't 'work'. 

Meaning, of course, that we have concrete goals that require behavior that is very different from Jesus' behavior.

We have aspirations to a different kind of power than what Jesus had. 

We believe in our hearts that we can be temporarily unlike Jesus, in service to a greater good. 

We believe once that good is accomplished, a goal which is always right around the corner, then we can go back to being like him.

That doesn't work. It never has. 

If we are pursuing goals unlike those of Jesus, then we need to reexamine our goals. If our goals require us to stop trying to imitate his way of being in the world, then they aren't worth having.

You see, to 'believe' in Jesus doesn't just mean believing a story about what he did with regard to our sins. To 'believe' in him means believing that just being like him is a worthy goal that will make the world better. And, granted. That's sometimes just as hard to believe as the empty tomb. But it's part of who we are. We are sinners, no way around it. We will fail miserably every time we try to be like him. But the believing is in the trying. And that trying can seed belief in others. Maybe if there really are people out there like him, he will be revealed to those who couldn't see him before. Best to start now. Not tomorrow, not Wednesday. Right now. 

Prayer: Jesus, help me believe. Help me be like you. Reveal yourself. To me, through others, and to others through me. Amen.