Roger Lynn
January 24, 2021
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I believe that God is always present and active in our lives in profoundly powerful and intimate ways. There is nothing we can do which can change this reality. I also believe that there are times when it doesn’t feel like that at all. There are occasions in each of our lives when it feels as if God is a million miles away and has no interest in us whatsoever. Sometimes it can even feels as if God is actively working against us. One of the great gifts which the Psalms offer us is a powerful expression of this experience. “For God’s anger is but for a moment – God’s favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night – but joy comes with the morning. . .You hid your face – I was dismayed.” (Psalms 30:5&6) Ultimately, in the bright light of our better moments, we can know that God and God’s relationship with us are not defined by anger, judgment, and punishment, but at the very least the Psalms provide us with insight into how it feels sometimes when we find ourselves in those “dark nights of the soul.” In Psalm 30 we find a marvelous contrast between the highs and the lows which life brings. The challenge of faith is not found so much in the good times, when we are inspired to offer praise, but rather in how we handle the struggles which come in the hard times. One of the things which I appreciate about the Psalms is their tenacity. Nothing is out of bounds. If the psalmist is angry with God, they say so. If they feel abandoned by God, they say so. And they keep coming at it until they find some resolution. In Psalm 30, we find emotions ranging from elation to dismay, but finally we find a willingness to hang in there with the struggle long enough to discover the joy which God has to offer. “You have turned my mourning into dancing. You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.” (Psalm 30:11-12) Such a conclusion was not reached quickly or easily. It came at the end of a long and difficult journey.
The man with leprosy in the story from Mark’s Gospel exhibits that same kind of tenacity. It is likely that he grew up being heavily exposed to the Psalms because some of their approach to life and faith seems to have rubbed off. But whatever the reason, he sees in Jesus an opportunity for change and he grabs it with both hands. “A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40) As with the Psalms, this says more about the leper’s experience than it does about the nature and character of Jesus or God. It is not that God requires us to beg and grovel. When faced with this encounter, Jesus immediately responds, “I do choose. Be made clean!” (Mark 1:41) But from the leper’s perspective, the situation was desperate. He had spent his life being shut out, cut off, and isolated. God may have been fully present in his life, but it was a presence the man was unable to experience or appreciate. And so it was that he found himself drawing upon the approach which is modeled and encouraged in the Psalms. He chooses to confront Jesus with his desperation. And in so doing, his life is forever transformed.
What, then, does all of this have to do with our lives? What are the ways in which we feel cut-off and isolated from God? How can we respond to such experiences in positive and life-enhancing ways? We might begin by simply acknowledging that there are, indeed, times in our lives when God does seem far off and removed. Such experiences may be common for you or they may be very rare. They may be short-lived or they may last for long periods of time. They may be profoundly disturbing or quietly unsettling. But regardless of the specifics, I suspect that most people experience such isolation from God at least once in a while during their lives. The causes can vary from the dramatic to the mundane – a tragic and devastating loss or the boredom which gradually creeps into our routines, the overwhelming barrage of the horrific news which comes to us every day in the media or the slowly numbing stress of a pandemic that’s been building for months. But however such experiences happen and whatever particular form they take, it is important to acknowledge such experiences when they find their way into our lives, rather than simply ignore them and hope they will go away. And for that, we can draw on the example of both the psalmist and the man who confronts Jesus. The way out is through.
When we feel like God is a million miles away, a helpful course of action is to begin beating a path to God’s door. In his book “Wishful Thinking” Frederick Buechner offers some thoughts about prayer, which, however we understand it, can be an important way of establishing, restoring, and maintaining a connection with God. He writes, “According to Jesus, by far the most important thing about praying is to keep at it. . .Be importunate, Jesus says – not, one assumes, because you have to beat a path to God’s door before God will open it, but because until you beat the path maybe there’s no way of getting to your door. . .(What about) when, listened to or not listened to, the prayer goes unanswered? Who knows? Just keep praying, Jesus says. . .Keep on beating the path to God’s door, because the one thing you can be sure of is that down the path you beat with even your most half-cocked and halting prayer the God you call upon will finally come, and even if God does not bring you the answer you want, God will bring you God’s self.” (Frederick Buechner, “Wishful Thinking,” page 71)
So what do we do when we feel like God has abandoned us or has turned against us. We wait. But we need not wait passively or meekly. Take a cue from the Psalms and practice persistence. Don’t be afraid to tell God how you feel, in no uncertain terms. Yell and scream and kick if you have to. Beat a path to God’s door, because maybe that is the only way to clear the path to your own door. May we remember that God is always present in our lives and in our world – even when it doesn’t feel that way at all. God will come, because God is already here, and in the words of Frederick Buechner, “Maybe at the secret heart of all our prayers that is what we are really praying for.” (Frederick Buechner, “Wishful Thinking,” page 71)
I believe that God is always present and active in our lives in profoundly powerful and intimate ways. There is nothing we can do which can change this reality. I also believe that there are times when it doesn’t feel like that at all. There are occasions in each of our lives when it feels as if God is a million miles away and has no interest in us whatsoever. Sometimes it can even feels as if God is actively working against us. One of the great gifts which the Psalms offer us is a powerful expression of this experience. “For God’s anger is but for a moment – God’s favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night – but joy comes with the morning. . .You hid your face – I was dismayed.” (Psalms 30:5&6) Ultimately, in the bright light of our better moments, we can know that God and God’s relationship with us are not defined by anger, judgment, and punishment, but at the very least the Psalms provide us with insight into how it feels sometimes when we find ourselves in those “dark nights of the soul.” In Psalm 30 we find a marvelous contrast between the highs and the lows which life brings. The challenge of faith is not found so much in the good times, when we are inspired to offer praise, but rather in how we handle the struggles which come in the hard times. One of the things which I appreciate about the Psalms is their tenacity. Nothing is out of bounds. If the psalmist is angry with God, they say so. If they feel abandoned by God, they say so. And they keep coming at it until they find some resolution. In Psalm 30, we find emotions ranging from elation to dismay, but finally we find a willingness to hang in there with the struggle long enough to discover the joy which God has to offer. “You have turned my mourning into dancing. You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.” (Psalm 30:11-12) Such a conclusion was not reached quickly or easily. It came at the end of a long and difficult journey.
The man with leprosy in the story from Mark’s Gospel exhibits that same kind of tenacity. It is likely that he grew up being heavily exposed to the Psalms because some of their approach to life and faith seems to have rubbed off. But whatever the reason, he sees in Jesus an opportunity for change and he grabs it with both hands. “A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40) As with the Psalms, this says more about the leper’s experience than it does about the nature and character of Jesus or God. It is not that God requires us to beg and grovel. When faced with this encounter, Jesus immediately responds, “I do choose. Be made clean!” (Mark 1:41) But from the leper’s perspective, the situation was desperate. He had spent his life being shut out, cut off, and isolated. God may have been fully present in his life, but it was a presence the man was unable to experience or appreciate. And so it was that he found himself drawing upon the approach which is modeled and encouraged in the Psalms. He chooses to confront Jesus with his desperation. And in so doing, his life is forever transformed.
What, then, does all of this have to do with our lives? What are the ways in which we feel cut-off and isolated from God? How can we respond to such experiences in positive and life-enhancing ways? We might begin by simply acknowledging that there are, indeed, times in our lives when God does seem far off and removed. Such experiences may be common for you or they may be very rare. They may be short-lived or they may last for long periods of time. They may be profoundly disturbing or quietly unsettling. But regardless of the specifics, I suspect that most people experience such isolation from God at least once in a while during their lives. The causes can vary from the dramatic to the mundane – a tragic and devastating loss or the boredom which gradually creeps into our routines, the overwhelming barrage of the horrific news which comes to us every day in the media or the slowly numbing stress of a pandemic that’s been building for months. But however such experiences happen and whatever particular form they take, it is important to acknowledge such experiences when they find their way into our lives, rather than simply ignore them and hope they will go away. And for that, we can draw on the example of both the psalmist and the man who confronts Jesus. The way out is through.
When we feel like God is a million miles away, a helpful course of action is to begin beating a path to God’s door. In his book “Wishful Thinking” Frederick Buechner offers some thoughts about prayer, which, however we understand it, can be an important way of establishing, restoring, and maintaining a connection with God. He writes, “According to Jesus, by far the most important thing about praying is to keep at it. . .Be importunate, Jesus says – not, one assumes, because you have to beat a path to God’s door before God will open it, but because until you beat the path maybe there’s no way of getting to your door. . .(What about) when, listened to or not listened to, the prayer goes unanswered? Who knows? Just keep praying, Jesus says. . .Keep on beating the path to God’s door, because the one thing you can be sure of is that down the path you beat with even your most half-cocked and halting prayer the God you call upon will finally come, and even if God does not bring you the answer you want, God will bring you God’s self.” (Frederick Buechner, “Wishful Thinking,” page 71)
So what do we do when we feel like God has abandoned us or has turned against us. We wait. But we need not wait passively or meekly. Take a cue from the Psalms and practice persistence. Don’t be afraid to tell God how you feel, in no uncertain terms. Yell and scream and kick if you have to. Beat a path to God’s door, because maybe that is the only way to clear the path to your own door. May we remember that God is always present in our lives and in our world – even when it doesn’t feel that way at all. God will come, because God is already here, and in the words of Frederick Buechner, “Maybe at the secret heart of all our prayers that is what we are really praying for.” (Frederick Buechner, “Wishful Thinking,” page 71)
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