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Finding Home
O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right; who do not slander with their tongue, and stand by their oath. Those who do these things shall never be moved. – Psalm 15, excerpts (NRSV)
I made a mistake. A big one. A costly one. I knew it. Other people knew it, too.
To me, the error overshadowed, even negated, anything good and right I was doing. It undermined my confidence, and I was certain I had shown myself out the door of others’ confidence, too.
Those who are never to blame shall never be moved, the psalmist sings. But the rest of us shiver and shift when we err. The rest of us who are flaw-fully human feel the perilous tremble of relationships, of trustworthiness, of certainty when we sin. The rest of us notice – keenly – the vulnerability that accompanies our culpability.
Some of us react to our own errors and sins by clawing viciously at whatever thin shroud might protect us from judgment. Others of us cast ourselves out of community rather than risking blame—or worse, grace. Some build tents and towers of self-righteousness to reduce the quake of inadequacy.
Many of us do all of the above, at some point.
Given our propensity for being human, who can claim to dwell under the cover of blamelessness? Is there such a person, or are we all vagrants in this world?
Psalm 15 notwithstanding, Scripture testifies to a God whose wings invite all vagrants to take shelter. Still we go to war – within ourselves and between one another – over the right to dwell under a banner that says “Blameless,” to plant a flag of self-vindication, to shore up our place in the world’s good graces. Still we associate shelter with sufficiency. Dwelling with dignity. Home with merit.
And we neglect to remember that the tent is God’s.
Prayer: Cast me not away from your shelter, O God, and let me not believe I can cast out anyone else—myself included.
cross-posted with the UCC Daily Devotional
Naked Rocks and Other Good News
Look to the rock from which you were hewn. Look to Abraham, who was one but I made him many. Look to Sarah, who was thirsty but I made her an oasis. Before you cower in fear of others’ disappointment, before you hang your head in doubt, look to the moths that will devour pride like garments and the worms that will consume judgment like wool. (adapted from Isaiah 51:1b-3, 7-8)
Insecurity: thy name is Abraham, fretting over his legacy.
Cynicism: thy name is Sarah, doubting all hope and possibility.
Who would you prefer to be, Insecurity? A man basking in billions? A prince defending his throne? A god directing heaven’s chariots? What guarantee of tribute would be sufficient? What pedestal of acclaim would be enough? How thick a garment of pride must you wear to be warm?
And if you fall short of the highest glories, if your name does not echo forever among the mountains, how will you know it from your grave?
My dear Cynicism, what defeat are you imagining? The unchanged status quo? The demise of all things good? The triumph of self-interest? What proof of joy can relieve your fear? What evidence of renewal can bring you peace? Is the daily rising of the sun not enough? Is the wool over your eyes too tight for you to peek at grace?
And if tomorrow you are disappointed yet again by the wonders and miracles around you, if they do not pass your judgment, will you be any less alive?
Look to the rock from which life was hewn, O Insecurity. Look to the dirt into which love was breathed, O Cynicism. Are they clothed in pride or wrapped in doubt? And yet the bare rock became a foundation, and the musty earth bore new life.
Prayer: Forgive me, O God, for clinging so tightly to what does not matter and for giving up so quickly on what does.
cross-posted with the UCC Daily Devotional
Let There Be No Dew or Rain
David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan: “How the mighty have fallen! You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, anointed with oil no more.” - 2 Samuel...
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” - 1 Corinthians 12:21 (NRSV) Actually, the eye can say to the hand, “I have no need of you.” The eye can discern texture without the hand, after all, and...
Playing
O Wisdom, how diverse are your works! In the great sea alone, there are countless creeping critters and all sizes of living things! Humans build ships to cross it, but you form Leviathan to play in it. - Psalm 104:24-26 (adapted) I’m sitting at the end of a long...
Miracles
In every dawn veiled by silent fog, before the sun scatters its mystery; In every dark crevice of earth's womb, before the seed breaks open to root; In every gasp of the unknown, before certainty cements itself: a miracle of wild possibility.
How Shall I Receive You?
As an ass, playing the role of jester? As the outlandish actor in the scene, cast to make the comfortable laugh and the disenchanted daydream? As a stone, the unseen understudy? As the patient watcher in the wings, ready to leap up and shout one line if only the leads...
A Jar of Oil
The widow of one of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and now creditors come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Nothing except a jar of oil.” (2 Kings 4:1-2,...
The Measure of Humanity
“The question, ‘What is man*?’ is one of the most important questions confronting any generation,” began Martin Luther King, Jr. “The whole political, social, and economic structure of a society is largely determined by its answer to this pressing question.” King was...
Sensual
How beautiful you are, my love, how very beautiful! Your hair is like goats along the hills; your teeth are like shorn ewes that have been washed; your lips are like a crimson thread—so lovely; your cheeks are like pomegranate halves. (Song of Songs 4:1-3, abridged)...
Bootstraps
God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. God determines the number of the stars, and gives to all of them their names. The Holy One lifts up the downtrodden, and casts the wicked to the ground. God covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the...
