Lament, longing, hope, and
praise find voice together in Psalm 85. We all know these deep questions of the
soul: Why is the world against us? How much longer must we suffer? Does everybody,
even God hate me? In times of trouble, we cry out to God: Restore us, and make
us whole again! Give us new life and new hope! Show us your love! But the
psalmist reminds us to take a pause in our lament and longing to listen for
God. In the pause, we listen and hear the words of hope we most need: Peace be
with you. Salvation is yours.
As we hear this new word of
hope, a dance begins. Love and faithfulness meet. Peace and righteousness
embrace with a kiss. Truth springs forth and begins to dance upon the earth,
seeding our world with a new creation of hope. Many of you will now that I like
the idea of dance to describe how things work in the Trinity and how we are
part of that.
So we can say, righteousness
gazes down from the sky, fertilizing creation with new possibilities for
justice and mercy. Into this dance, we enter when we turn from our longing and
listen for God’s call. Into this dance, we enter when we embrace peace and
love. Into this dance, we enter when we live faithfulness and righteousness.
Into this dance, we enter when we claim our call and live as disciples of Jesus
Christ, the Prince of Peace, the Lover of our Souls.
Also, take verses about
prayer out of context, and God starts to look like a treasure chest filled with
health and wealth for our enjoyment, if only we can determine the padlock’s
combination. Or God becomes a lavish parent who will never deny our requests,
assuming we can produce enough faith or the proper kind of faith. These miss
the point. Jesus encourages people to pray with an attitude of persistence and
with an eye on God’s commitment to human flourishing.
Jesus does not consider
prayer a formula that depends on our getting the words exactly right; nor is
prayer, no matter how relentless, meant to prove our faith’s genuineness. In Luke
11, Jesus highlights God’s character and God’s concern for those who pray. A
friend might be cajoled to respond to an urgent but inconvenient request at
midnight. But what if God is eager to help at any time? A parent doesn’t put
children in danger when they ask for support. What if God is even more
determined to foster our well-being?
In the tradition of scripture,
prayer is as much about contending with God as it is about bringing requests
humbly before God. In prayer, we ask God to keep promises— promises God has
already made to accomplish mercy, restoration, and justice. Jesus doesn’t claim
that God will grant us everything we demand; his teachings flow from what is
found in the scripture we call the Lord’s prayer.
We pray that the world will
hallow or honour God’s name, and we pray to express our yearning for the full
blossoming of God’s “kingdom.” Prayer implores God to bring God’s wishes and
intentions to completion and to have the whole world recognise God’s majesty
and goodness. God’s demonstrated willingness to “give the Holy Spirit” to us
offers additional evidence of God’s commitment to bring those things to pass.
Trinity as a dance - Richard Rohr uses this metaphor too.
ReplyDeleteGood read. I am procrastinating about getting out of bed. Intended to get up at 9. Woke at 8. Woke again at 12. Oil Changers closed at 1. Have till 4 to get to VTNZ.