Psalms give us permission and a model to engage directly and personally with God in all matters of our lives.
Today, we hear the direct and blunt demand of longing for God to hurry up and notice that people are suffering and persecuted. And the psalmist wants God to do something about it and do it now! We, too, want God to act in our lives and in our world as we experience challenges of all kinds. We may wonder where God is when we and others suffer. Our world is in crisis of many kinds-environmental, political and societal. Personal challenges face us all.
We are invited to lament and to pray individually and as a community. In naming the pain we encounter, we begin to do something about it. Calling upon God’s name is an act of faith and an act of hope, the beginning of a collaboration of doing good between God and us.
This day, we pray as psalmists:
Give ear, O God of creation You have formed us in your image. Fill our hearts with your love That we may love as Jesus taught: selflessly and unceasingly. When we fall short, spare us our shame and wash our conscience with your grace that we may try again. May you guide us in all things As we call upon you And we strive for all that is possible in faith. Amen. — SP