Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
November 5, 2021
The Invitatory
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Psalm 69:1-4;14-18;34-36
1 Save me, O God, *
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
2 I am sinking in deep mire, *
and there is no firm ground for my feet.
3 I have come into deep waters, *
and the torrent washes over me.
4 I have grown weary with my crying;
my throat is inflamed; *
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
14 But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *
at the time you have set, O Lord:
15 "In your great mercy, O God, *
answer me with your unfailing help.
16 Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.
17 Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up; *
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
18 Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; *
in your great compassion, turn to me."
34 The afflicted shall see and be glad; *
you who seek God, your heart shall live.
35 For the Lord listens to the needy, *
and his prisoners he does not despise.
36 Let the heavens and the earth praise him, *
the seas and all that moves in them;
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
These opening lines of Psalm 69 conjure up a compelling image of the flooding waters representing the bottom falling out for the ancient Israelites. These are prayers of disorientation and lament. This image has lost none of its surprising force for anyone who has felt caught up to one’s neck, unable to take anymore. This psalm is not just directed to the Israelites who have suffered successive attacks and conquests by the Assyrians, Babylonians and the Persians.
At the reading of this psalm this week, my thoughts turned immediately to Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere by many measures. Eighty percent of its population lives in absolute poverty, and as much as sixty percent of Haitians is unemployed or underemployed. The country’s limited resource has been depleted, first through Intensive colonial exploitation and later through haphazard development and corruption.Given Haiti’s topography it is subject to periodic seismic activity. Its southern peninsula is more vulnerable to hurricanes. During August and September 2008 a series of severe storms, including Hurricanes Hanna and Ike caused widespread damage and the loss of 800 lives. In August of 2020 Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 hurricane struck Haiti and just this past August, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwestern Haiti leaving significant damage. This was the strongest earthquake since 1842. Haiti just cannot catch a break.
And yet, even in the midst of so much disruption and chaos, we still have a God who listens to us in even the most challenging and stressful, bordering on hopeless times. God hears us when we pray. And these prayers assist in giving voice to the deepest expressions of human pain, crisis and doubt; moreover, they do so in a manner that claims the promise of God’s faithful presence in the midst of suffering and, equally importantly, the promise that God who is with us, will preserve us.
The psalm confirms that life does not always proceed in a straightforward and orderly fashion. Being upset to the point of disorientation is part of life. And we are left to find that life can be unaccountably messy. It is no wonder that human beings make their protests known to heaven. Lifting these painful utterances triggers and inspires God’s action.
The cries and prayers of deepest distress also benefit the sufferer by moving him/her to a new place. They give us the words for the deepest, darkest night of our lives and our souls - when the bottom drops out and the pain seems unbearable, without relief in sight. Most importantly, they reassure us that God is big enough for everything. Full stop. They even suggest that faith allows for a level of comfort to challenge God - who is present with us precisely when it feels as though God is not there.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
