It is literally the last weekend of summer, the autumnal equinox not occurring until Monday. And weather throughout the Northeast promises to be really nice for the weekend – almost nice enough to make us think more about our individual lives rather than the mess we sometimes feel we’re in.
Between starvation and Israeli bombings in Gaza and Putin’s new “provocations” by invading Polish and Estonian air space, not to mention our fears autocratic actions here at home, we’re really overwhelmed. It seems we can never catch our breath and just worry about little things like cleaning up for the coming fall.
Our sense of community, which was important in holding us together in the past, seems fractured. We find ourselves in many small communities; sometimes they overlap, other times not so. Sometimes God seems far away. This is why the Psalms speak to us. Alternating between despair and hope, they reflect our experience, reminding us that the time we live in is not so different, that we can not only survive but not lose heart.
Prayer for the Day
Like the Psalmist, we search for your Presence,
Not wanting to feel disconsolate and abandoned;
Crying out to you, O God, we look to the heavens,
As if you will come down and cure the ills of the world.
But we know, O Lord, that you have given us strength,
Enabling us to transform our world.
In the name of the One who transforms despair to hope,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We can’t absorb it all. We know too much, too quickly, and one of the worst effects of this avalanche of technology is the loss of compassion.
Madeleine L'Engle, American novelist, poet from A Circle of Quiet (1918-2007)
People die from lack of shared empathy and affinity. By establishing social connectedness, we give hope a chance and the other can become heaven.
Erik Pevernagie, Belgian painter and essayist
How long, O Lord, will you forget me always?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I cast about for counsel, sorrow in my heart all day?
But I in your kindness do trust, my heart sings in your rescue,
Let me sing to the Lord for God has requited me.
Psalm 13: 1-3, 6 (Tr. Robert Alter)