Help Us: Lent Daybook 23

Look: Dodges Ridge, 1947, Andrew Wyeth - Source

Listen: For Now I Am Winter, Ólafur Arnalds, VOCES8 - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube

Read: Psalm 83; Psalm 85-86; Jeremiah 10:11-24; Romans 5:12-21; John 8:21-32

Excerpts:

“God, don’t shut me out; don’t give me the silent treatment, O God. Your enemies are out there whooping it up, the God-haters are living it up; They’re plotting to do your people in, conspiring to rob you of your precious ones. ‘Let’s wipe this nation from the face of the earth,’ they say; ‘scratch Israel’s name off the books.’ And now they’re putting their heads together, making plans to get rid of you.

… My God! I’ve had it with them! Blow them away! Tumbleweeds in the desert waste, charred sticks in the burned-over ground. Knock the breath right out of them, so they’re gasping for breath, gasping, “God.” Bring them to the end of their rope, and leave them there dangling, helpless. Then they’ll learn your name: “God,” the one and only High God on earth.”

*
”But it’s a black day for me! Hopelessly wounded, I said, ‘Why, oh why did I think I could bear it?’ My house is ruined— the roof caved in. Our children are gone— we’ll never see them again. No one left to help in rebuilding, no one to make a new start!

It’s because our leaders are stupid. They never asked God for counsel, And so nothing worked right. The people are scattered all over.

But listen! Something’s coming! A big commotion from the northern borders! Judah’s towns about to be smashed, left to all the stray dogs and cats!

I know, God, that mere mortals can’t run their own lives, That men and women don’t have what it takes to take charge of life. So correct us, God, as you see best. Don’t lose your temper. That would be the end of us. Vent your anger on the godless nations, who refuse to acknowledge you, And on the people who won’t pray to you— The very ones who’ve made a meal out of Jacob, yes, made a meal and devoured him whole, people and pastures alike.”

*

“You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.

… Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.”

*

“Help us again, God of our help; don’t hold a grudge against us forever. You aren’t going to keep this up, are you? scowling and angry, year after year? Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life? Then your people will laugh and sing! Show us how much you love us, God! Give us the salvation we need!

I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say. God’s about to pronounce his people well, The holy people he loves so much, so they’ll never again live like fools. See how close his salvation is to those who fear him? Our country is home base for Glory!

Love and Truth meet in the street, Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss! Truth sprouts green from the ground, Right Living pours down from the skies! Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty; our land responds with Bounty and Blessing. Right Living strides out before him, and clears a path for his passage.”

*

“They said to him, ‘Just who are you anyway?’

Jesus said, ‘What I’ve said from the start. I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don’t accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning—not me but the One who sent me.’

They still didn’t get it, didn’t realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. ‘When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am—that I’m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn’t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.’

When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe.

Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. ‘If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.’

*

“There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord, and nothing to compare with your works. All the nations you made are on their way, ready to give honor to you, O Lord, Ready to put your beauty on display, parading your greatness, And the great things you do— God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!

Train me, God, to walk straight; then I’ll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear. From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord; I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to. You’ve always been great toward me—what love!”

-Psalm 83:1-5, 13-18 * Jeremiah 10:19-25 * Romans 5:14-14, 18-19 * Psalm 85:4-13 * John 8:25-32 * Psalm 86:8-13 (MSG)

Pray: Read Psalm 86:1 out loud as your prayer today:

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy. Amen.

Do: Read Luci Shaw’s poem out loud. What do you feel when you read it?

What We Say We Want by Luci Shaw

What do we say when

that hunger harrows our bodies?

I desire you. But it's not

that, or not only that.

Desire is the word we use as an excuse

for all the pain, a white flag

dropped into the battle that rages

between urgency and fulfillment.

A time of exhaustion comes

when nothing is left to want;

or when what we still want

is too large to name.

How do you feel about the idea of desire? Does it evoke positive or negative associations? 

Consider the following words that describe the anguish of pain and want: hunger, thirst, craving, anxious or wistful longing, yearning, restlessness, and disturbance. What other words would you add?

Write a prayer in the form of a letter to God. Make simple requests of God from what you desire for yourself and others. What other descriptive words or metaphors feel fitting for your circumstances? The psalmist describes himself as “poor and needy”. How would you describe yourself? 

If you’re able, share this letter with your trusted friends or a spiritual director.