Posts

Most days when we wake up in the morning, even those of us who need a cup of coffee before we can open our eyes, we want to feel positive about what’s ahead. A new day. A new beginning. A new adventure. A new challenge. A new opportunity. We have no idea what awaits us. What surprises will we encounter? What delights will there be? What odd coincidences will happen? Who knows? A day should begin with a sense of hopeful expectation. Even in the midst of “the blues,” waking up in the morning still pretty much beats the alternative!

If your devotions include reading a psalm each morning, what happens when you come to Psalm 51? You start your day with, “Have mercy on me. . .” When you just get up, you haven’t even had a chance to do something wrong! It’s not exactly starting your day on the sunny side!

One commentary suggests that instead of, “Have mercy on me, O God,” a more accurate translation would be, “Grace me, O God.” I like that much better. In fact, I could see starting every day with “Grace me!” Grace me with the beauty of nature, an encounter with a friend, a delicious meal, a chance to do a good turn for someone, a great run, a good day at work. Grace me! Bring it on! It has a sense of positive expectation as well as adventure and mystery. Grace me!

Then, think about ending the day reflecting on how you have been graced that day. Where was the grace? Was there a lot or a little? Were you left stunned by grace? Did you miss the grace that day? What was that about? How are we graced each and every day? What a beautiful way to end a day. Perhaps this is something you might try as part of your daily spiritual discipline. Start the day with the affirmation, “Grace me!” and then end the day looking for the fulfillment.

Prayer
We live each and every day by grace. But often it’s easier to grouse than to look for grace. May we seek grace, expect grace, and trust grace to shape our days. And may we abound with gratitude for the presence of grace in our lives and in the world. Amen.

After seducing (or raping) Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a solider in his army, King David discovers that he has fathered a child. He decides to try to make Uriah look like the father. When that doesn’t work, he arranges for Uriah to be killed in battle so that he can have Bathsheba. This was a low point in the moral demeanor of King David, who could be called the “comeback” king because he is remembered as the greatest king of Israel. Guilty of taking another man’s wife, who really cannot refuse the king, while her husband is off fighting in the king’s army, that was really bad. But then to arrange for the husband to be killed in battle to get rid of him so that he can have the wife, that is heinous. [See 2 Samuel 11-12]

We are told that King David is confronted with his moral turpitude by the prophet Nathan. I can’t imagine what a dreaded task that was for Nathan. But David admits his wrong doing and repents.

Tradition links David and his sins over Bathsheba with Psalm 51. The intense pleading for forgiveness and mercy in the wake of severe iniquity fits with the story of David and Bathsheba.

For most of us, the sins that we commit and for which we repent are not of the magnitude portrayed in the story of David. While we may be part of systems responsible for the life and death of others, not many of us are ever directly responsible for taking a life. While we may “lust in our hearts” like Jimmy Carter, only something like half of us will actually have extra marital affairs. [The statistics are vague and inconclusive. . .] But there is more to sin than murder and adultery and complicity in systems and institutions that perpetuate injustice and violence. There is more to sin than robbery and rape. There are the day to day betrayals of what is good and right and true, the hurtful, angry outbursts, the self centered choices, the apathy.

Maybe our worst sins are not so much the ones that we commit as the ones we don’t commit. Perhaps what is most offending to Divine Love is the good that we don’t do. Our lack of generosity. Our lack of compassion. Our lack of attention. Our lack of investment in working for justice and reconciliation. Our lack of commitment to peace-making. Our lack of service to others. In our reflection this Lenten season, maybe we should give some thought not to the bad things we have done but to the good things we have not done.

One thing is for sure. Our tradition tells us that God forgave David. He was freed of his iniquity. The presumption of Psalm 51 is that God forgives. So whatever we have or have not done, grace embraces us and there are new beginnings ahead.

Prayer
We go through life with all of its challenges and complexities seeking to do what is right and pleasing to God. Sometimes we hit the mark. Sometimes we do not. Our shortcomings can never exceed the scope of divine grace. May we accept the grace that is offered to us when we seek reconciliation and may we extend that same grace to others who have also missed the mark. Amen.

Images of physical suffering and affliction are found throughout the psalms. In Psalm 22, which we reflected on several weeks ago, there are graphic images of physical danger and threat:

Many bulls encircle me . . .
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion. . .

. . . all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs are all around me,
a company of evil doers encircles me,
My hands and feet have shriveled;
I can count all my bones. . .
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!

These are graphic images of physical suffering and threat. Such references are not uncommon in the psalms. There is often a sense of imminent danger.

In Psalm 51, the psalm assigned for this week, we hear some of the most intensive pleading for deliverance and mercy represented in the entire book of Psalms:

Have mercy on me. . .
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. . .
. . . you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
. . . teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. . .
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart. . .
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

The pleading is intense. The writer is clearly desperate and suffering. Yet there is no mention of physical suffering or physical affliction. Therefore, we can assume that the pain of the writer/pray-er is not physical, but spiritual. The one writing this psalm is referring to acute spiritual affliction. And sometimes the worst pain we experience in life may be spiritual, emotional suffering, rather than physical suffering.

Suffering of the body can generally be diagnosed and treated. We go to the doctor. We take the pills. We follow the prescribed therapeutic plan given to us by the medical profession.

Spiritual pain can be more complex. It can be harder to identify and sort out. It may involve other people which adds complications that we may have no control or influence over. Spiritual pain may affect every area of our lives. And it can be harder to address.

Being aware of the distress caused by spiritual pain can make us more compassionate toward ourselves when we are suffering in spirit. And it can help us to be more understanding and supportive of others who are in the midst of spiritual distress. It may be a time to turn to a pastor, a therapist, a chaplain, or a counselor for needed support.

Lent is a time for reflection and healing. The mercy and love of God can heal our spiritual suffering and free us from bondage to that pain. There can be fullness of joy for us thanks to the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.

Prayer
We offer our prayers for all those who are suffering in spirit. We pray for those whose lives are wracked by spiritual pain and affliction. We know that God intends peace for all people. May we seek the healing that we need to that we can know the freedom of peace and joy. Amen.

We have met the enemy and he is us.” This phrase was used by Walt Kelly, the creator of the Pogo comic, on a poster for Earth Day in 1970. Kelly strikes a chord with that insight. I think the writer of Psalm 51, our psalm for this week, would also resonate with the Pogo cartoon. Although the psalm does not deal directly with environmental issues, it does deal with our behavior. The psalm is an intense poem of repentance and remorse. It is a desperate plea for forgiveness. And the source of the drastic, shaming, disorienting sin to be forgiven is the writer/prayer of the psalm. It boils down to, “I have no one to blame but myself.”

The sentiments in this psalm are intense. Clearly the writer is extremely heavily burdened. And the writer takes full responsibility for the iniquity. The guilt is deep and broad and ingrained. The writer is really almost self-flagellating over the extremity of the sin committed. The enormity of the sin involved is captured in phrases like:

my sin is ever before me
I have done what is evil in God’s sight
I was born guilty
purge me with hyssop

The prayer is steeped in sin and remorse. There is no self-justification as we sometimes see in the psalms. There is no self-defense. There is no blaming of others. There is no blaming of God. The writer takes full responsibility. “I have met the enemy and he is us.” The writer is his (her) own worst enemy.

This is something important for us to remember. It can be convenient to blame circumstances for the ways we stray from God’s way. We can blame our cultural environment. We can blame our upbringing. We can blame someone else. With all the suing going on in our country, it is clear that we have become masters at blaming, making others pay, and expecting others to be accountable. But this psalm brings us back to ourselves. Which is where we should be in this season of Lent. We should be examining ourselves and taking full responsibility for our behavior, our shortcomings, our neglect of God’s will, our ignoring of God’s dreams. We can’t fix everything in the world. We can’t fix all of our relationships. But we can come a far piece in fixing ourselves by being honest and seeking to be transformed. We may be constantly expecting others around us to change. Psalm 51 and Lent remind us to “be the change you wish to see” as Gandhi said it.

Prayer
It is not easy to be honest. It is not easy to admit guilt, or wrong-doing, or neglect of goodness. Yet until we do so, our sins weigh us down like a sack of rocks. Our faith invites us to take responsibility for the burden and lay it down. May we be honest with ourselves, with God, and with others, and seek freedom from our shame, guilt, and sin. Amen.