May 24thThey're trying to wash us away
Psalm 31
One can imagine this psalm on the lips of people who have suffered a great loss, as well as on the lips of those who are going through a personal crisis. There’s a great song by Randy Newman called ‘Louisiana’ which describes a Mississippi river flood in 1927 which left 700,000 people homeless (https://youtu.be/MGs2iLoDUYE)
The song laments the inaction of the federal government to assist ‘the poor crackers.’ It brings to mind the tragedy of hurricane Katrina and the inadequate response of this more recent event. [story by John Goldingay]
One can imagine this psalm on the lips of Ukranians in Mariupol as their city has been relentlessly shelled for nearly a month by Russian forces.
One can imagine this psalm on the lips of persecuted Christians in parts of Indonesia, and elsewhere.
There is little alternative but to say to God, ‘Into your hand I commit my spirit.’ (v.5). Jesus quoted these very words on the cross as he hung, dying. But these words are not words of resignation. The final act of his earthly life is an affirmation of trust in God that anticipates resurrection. God’s power to redeem will not be thwarted even by death.
Following the example of Jesus, some great saints – Stephen (Acts 7.59), Polycarp, Bernard, Martin Luther, – died with the words of Ps. 31.5 on their lips.
The psalm is a powerful lament but it is also a powerful word of trust in in God. To entrust our lives and futures to God means a surrender to the God whose faithfulness (v.5) and steadfast love (v.7,16,21) enable us to live with patient joy even when it feels like ‘we may be washed away.’
When Pope John Paul ll spoke at Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, began and ended by quoting from this psalm. ‘We are not overwhelmed,’ he said, ‘because we know that evil will not have the last word. Out of the depths of pain and sorrow the believer’s heart cries out: ‘I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’
https://youtu.be/qXA5BztXaA8 - Pope’s message