This week, and in the past few weeks, we cry. It appears that the United States is back in the Wild, Wild West, where danger and the fear that accompanies it is the strongest force in the world. And so we look on in horror, and we cry.
We cry for Robert Dotson, age 52, who answered the door early this month, when police went to his house by mistake. They were shouting and banging, then realized it was the wrong house. Dotson answered the door with his gun in his hand. That was his fatal mistake. We cry for the officers who made a mistake, and will have to live with knowing they caused that innocent man’s death.
We cry for Ralph Yarl from St. Louis, the 16 year old boy who went to the wrong house to pick up his brothers, and survived two shots, one to the head and one in his leg. We cry for the 84 year old Andrew Lester, who lived alone and watched fear-inducing news all day, who now must face the consequences of reacting in fear.
We cry for the family and friends of Kaylin Gillis, who was shot by a homeowner in Hebron, not far from here, as her friends were turning around their cars after realizing they were at the wrong house. We cry for the homeowner, a 65 year old man who was shooting a few warning shots at cars who were trespassing. His fear has ruined his and many other lives.
We cry for Heather Roth and Payton Washington, two Texan cheerleaders who were shot because Heather got into the wrong car by mistake. We cry for Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, who pursued them and their friends, now who must pay for his anger and fear.
We cry for the 6 year old Kinsley White and her parents who were shot retrieving a basketball from a neighbor’s yard, in North Carolina. They will probably live in fear for the rest of their lives. We cry for the perpetrator, Robert Louis Singletary, 24, who was out on parole, but now will not be allowed that privilege again.
The nation is in shock. These all seem so senseless… Or do they? Shortly after the racially targeted shooting in Buffalo, my black neighbor bought a gun. I could see the fear in her eyes and hear the fear in her heart. She was afraid for her life, so she bought protection. And isn’t that what each of these shooters were doing? Protecting themselves from some potential danger? An intruder, a trespasser, a possible murderer?
It feels like the Wild, Wild West here now. We could go into who to blame, but that won’t help us, here in church, so let’s do what we are here to do and turn to God. We can ask for answers, and we can ask for understanding, but what we most want is peace.
So let’s now turn to the Psalm reading for today.
Before we go right into it, listen to the words about lament Psalms.
The following comes from Ugandan theologian Emmanuel Katongole and peacemaker Chris Rice. They say that lamentation is a profound cry to God that echoes through the Bible and generations of all who suffer and ask, “How long, O Lord?”:
“We are called to learn the anguished cry of lament.
“Lament is the cry of the psalmists of Israel in exile who, feeling abandoned by God, demanded, “Where are you, Lord?” Or the psalmists who were bothered by God’s remarkably bad sense of timing: “Why are you taking so long?” “The poor are being crushed. The wicked are winning. Don’t you see it?” The twin sisters of Psalms are prayers of praise and lament, and they are always walking hand in hand, sometimes singing, sometimes crying.
“Lament is not despair. It is not whining. It is not a cry into a void. Lament is a cry directed to God. It is the cry of those who see the truth of the world’s deep wounds and the cost of seeking peace. It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are. We are enjoined to learn to see and feel what the psalmists see and feel and to join our prayer with theirs. The journey of reconciliation is grounded in the practice of lament.”
With this as a background, we turn now to the Psalm. Do you believe that the devil exists? Let’s give that entity another name, fear. The devil, or fear, lives in opposition to love. The devil is alive and well in our ego – the part of us that is human and physical. It is never present in our eternal self, the soul. The soul has only 1 emotion, that of Love. And Love itself can bleed over into our ego, letting us become whole. We will now attempt to do just that, fill our bodies with Love until there is no room for the devil. We do this through Psalm 116.
116 1-6 I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him.
When we pray, or when we are in church, we are speaking to God. We ask for mercy, we lay out our lament, and our fears, and our tears.
Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels.
Hell is the devil; Hell is here on earth when we sit in fear, for our lives or for the lives of others.
Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn; then I called out to God for help: “Please, God!” I cried out. “Save my life!”
Can you hear the fear in this Psalm?
God is gracious—it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. God takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.
Here, we remember that God is here always. We remember that God is listening, and speaks back. We remember that God can bring peace and Love.
7-8 I said to myself, “Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings. Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”
This prayer can release us from fear. Let me repeat it again.
7-8 I said to myself, “Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings. Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”
After the prayer, we might notice a difference. If we are letting go of the fear, we change.
9-11 I’m striding in the presence of God, alive in the land of the living! I stayed faithful, though overwhelmed, despite a ton of bad luck, Despite giving up on the human race, saying, “They’re all liars and cheats.”
Please try not to get caught up in blaming other people. Remember, they are doing the best that they can. They are full of fear, they are believing what they are told, they are also just believing their truth, the same as you and me. If they are full of fear, they are the devil’s playground.
12-19 What can I give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me? I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God! I’ll pray in the name of God; I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it together with his people.
Once we relax, once we feel peace and love again, we give thanks. It is through remembering who we truly are, as children of God, that we are then grateful. We can then complete our promises to God – of living a life of service, as God’s hands and feet.
When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love him. Oh, God, here I am, your servant, your faithful servant: set me free for your service! I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice and pray in the name of God. I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it in company with his people, In the place of worship, in God’s house, in Jerusalem, God’s city.
Let us pray, a prayer from Marianne Williamson:
Dear God, Please work the impossible where a miracle is needed. Please bring forth love Where fear is rampant. Please pave a way beyond all darkness And show the light to me. Amen.
As grateful loving and peaceful people, we can finally say the last word of the Psalm, Hallelujah and let’s say it together:
Hallelujah!
Comments