Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Lectionary 21 A - Psalm 138

Psalm 138
The martyrdom of James Foley would make it appear as if the haughty have a free hand to do whatever they like and that God’s ears are deaf to the cries of the lowly. But then the wicked have always had their way in the days of trouble even as the souls of the lowly are strengthened in those days to endure the onslaught of evil. It is because our God revealed in suffering and grief (Isaiah 53:3) overcame death itself that we deny the ways of death the last word. Even though we would wish for a long life free from trouble we are not ultimately overcome by adversity for the God who lived our life and died our death is more than able to deliver us with steadfast love. In the end I believe the wicked will be confronted by their disregard for the sanctity of life in a way that will be as much a hell for them as the one they perpetrated for others on earth. Even so I want to believe that “mercy tempers justice” (The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare) and that God will put the haughty in the same room as the lowly and for God’s sake the two will become the children of God they were always meant to be.

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