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Morning Meditation for the Season after Pentecost
Friday, August 6th
Reading: Psalm 31:1-9 In te, Domine, speravi
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
Incline your ear to me;
make haste to deliver me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for you are my crag and my stronghold;
for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.
Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me,
for you are my tower of strength.
Into your hands I commend my spirit,
for you have redeemed me,
O Lord, O God of truth.
I hate those who cling to worthless idols,
and I put my trust in the Lord.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy;
for you have seen my affliction;
you know my distress.
You have not shut me up in the power of the enemy;
you have set my feet in an open place.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
my eye is consumed with sorrow,
and also my throat and my belly.
Meditation by Jeremy O’Neill
The words of the Psalms are often so emotional that is almost embarrassing to read, as if we are peaking into someone else’s very intimate and personal writings. This Psalm in particular is a vulnerable one, challenging us to think about that what makes us safe.
There are so many ways we think about safety and security: financial security, emotional security, physical safety, etc. This week there was another school shooting, this time in Georgia, which makes me think of the safety of those in schools, something we can’t seem to figure out.
The Psalmist also engages the question of idolatry. False idols can make us feel safe and distract us from our trust in God, our strong rock and castle to keep us safe. I would argue that one of the things our society idolizes the most is weapons. This idolatry is manifested in the weapons we pay for (both with our personal finances and with our taxes) the way references to weapons are found our daily language and idioms, and in how we associate weapons with safety. “Jesus and John Wayne” is the title of an old hymn and recent bestselling book, showcasing how American Christianity has made this attachment to a violently protective masculinity a part of our collective theology.
The Psalmist, however, offers us a different path to protection. The path of peace implores us to trust in God, even in our distress. We can take refuge in the One whose property is always to have mercy. Jesus calms the waters of our lives by allowing us to trust in God’s grace. Even in the violence of the crucifixion, there is peace in the end.
It is a tradition at many schools that the senior class organize some sort of gift to the school. Inspired by Bishops United Against Gun Violence and the Biblical imagery of turning swords to ploughshares (Isaiah 2:3-4), the class ahead of me in Seminary donated a processional cross to the school that was fashioned out of weapons. This liturgical object, created for our worship, was adorned with the barrels of rifles split to form Easter Lilies and contains metal from various firearms.
Following that cross into worship, I often thought about this Psalm’s consistent reminder of our safety coming from God, not from any of the other mechanisms that might make us feel safe. It also gave me hope that the Church might be able to do some work of peace in the world. In the crucifixion narrative, God has turned violence into beauty, and I pray that the Church might be a witness to how God continues that restorative practice always.
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