Proper 6/Pentecost 4/Ordinary Time 11
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
Object:
There are several things in the course of a lifetime that have the power to cause us to question our faith. The first is personal suffering and loss. As we experience pain that there does not seem to be a reason for -- no obvious connection between our behavior and our suffering -- it is hard not to ask, "God, why are you doing this? Where is your protecting hand?"
Next to our personal suffering, perhaps the next greatest challenge to faith is innocent suffering of others. After a massive earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 left thousands of people dead and many more suffering, the French philosopher Voltaire began to seriously reconsider the meaning of God. As we watch the worldwide AIDS epidemic, or as we observe drought and famine in Africa or the poverty and disease of India, it is tempting to ask the classic question of evil: "If there is a God, and that God is good and all powerful, how can God let these things exist? God is either not good, not powerful, or does not exist at all."
In fact, evil itself can pose a serious challenge to our faith. Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous beg for bread? Why does God allow powerful people, acting out of self-interest and greed, to prosper over the weak? Why doesn't God come to our rescue and save us from these evil people?
The author of Psalm 5 is aware of these challenges to faith, in himself and in the lives of other worshipers. But instead of giving in to these challenges, the psalmist decides to push past them and embrace a stance of faith in spite of the challenges to it.
The psalmist portrays God as a careful and caring judge who is always fair and just. God as judge is ready and willing to hear the complaints of the faithful. The psalmist approaches and begins with his own pain: "Give ear to my words, O Lord, give heed to my sighing" (v. 1). The psalmist assumes that God is listening and God cares: "I plead my case to you, and you watch" (v. 3). The psalmist shapes his prayer around this assumption and offers his plea without hesitation.
Because the psalmist believes God is fair, he chooses to remain patient in the face of the evil in the world. He believes that God "does not delight in wickedness" (v. 4) and that God "hates evildoers" (v. 5). While they may prosper for a moment, the justice and judgment of God will eventually right the scales, and those who have worked against righteousness will perish.
For the psalmist's part, he chooses integrity. Even though he suffers, even though there is evil in the world that seems to go unpunished, the psalmist will not be distracted from the right path. Trusting that God will do what is right, and that God really does care, the psalmist believes that until matters are set right, the best place to be is on the side of right.
In this the psalmist does not ignore the problems of evil, nor does he try to explain them. He simply chooses to believe that whatever injustice and unfairness may exist in the world at the moment will not be the final state of things, when God the righteous judge sets things right. His is a path of courageous faith. It is the path we are all called to travel.
-- J. E.
Next to our personal suffering, perhaps the next greatest challenge to faith is innocent suffering of others. After a massive earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 left thousands of people dead and many more suffering, the French philosopher Voltaire began to seriously reconsider the meaning of God. As we watch the worldwide AIDS epidemic, or as we observe drought and famine in Africa or the poverty and disease of India, it is tempting to ask the classic question of evil: "If there is a God, and that God is good and all powerful, how can God let these things exist? God is either not good, not powerful, or does not exist at all."
In fact, evil itself can pose a serious challenge to our faith. Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous beg for bread? Why does God allow powerful people, acting out of self-interest and greed, to prosper over the weak? Why doesn't God come to our rescue and save us from these evil people?
The author of Psalm 5 is aware of these challenges to faith, in himself and in the lives of other worshipers. But instead of giving in to these challenges, the psalmist decides to push past them and embrace a stance of faith in spite of the challenges to it.
The psalmist portrays God as a careful and caring judge who is always fair and just. God as judge is ready and willing to hear the complaints of the faithful. The psalmist approaches and begins with his own pain: "Give ear to my words, O Lord, give heed to my sighing" (v. 1). The psalmist assumes that God is listening and God cares: "I plead my case to you, and you watch" (v. 3). The psalmist shapes his prayer around this assumption and offers his plea without hesitation.
Because the psalmist believes God is fair, he chooses to remain patient in the face of the evil in the world. He believes that God "does not delight in wickedness" (v. 4) and that God "hates evildoers" (v. 5). While they may prosper for a moment, the justice and judgment of God will eventually right the scales, and those who have worked against righteousness will perish.
For the psalmist's part, he chooses integrity. Even though he suffers, even though there is evil in the world that seems to go unpunished, the psalmist will not be distracted from the right path. Trusting that God will do what is right, and that God really does care, the psalmist believes that until matters are set right, the best place to be is on the side of right.
In this the psalmist does not ignore the problems of evil, nor does he try to explain them. He simply chooses to believe that whatever injustice and unfairness may exist in the world at the moment will not be the final state of things, when God the righteous judge sets things right. His is a path of courageous faith. It is the path we are all called to travel.
-- J. E.
