Living in the Spirit
October 7, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 22:1-15

 On you I was cast from my birth,
   and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
   for trouble is near
   and there is no one to help.  

Many bulls encircle me,
   strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
   like a ravening and roaring lion.  

I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast;
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death. –Psalm 22:10-15

Our scriptures this week continue the theme of feeling deserted by God. We are all probably acquainted with the first sentence of this scripture: My God, My God why have you forsaken me. Each time I read the whole text I am struck by how closely it describes the end of Jesus’ life. No wonder he quoted it from the cross.

We call it cruel and unusual punishment and the eight amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits it, but even now it is hard to define particularly when we think hurting, even killing someone else will actually ease the pain from loss caused by another or fulfill our sense of revenge when we fill we have been harmed in some way. It never works. Vengeance begets more vengeance and the spiral of evil continues.

We are called to be the ones to help when trouble is near. In the case of crime that help is best defined as preventive or restorative justice. It applies not only to violence but also to white collar crimes. Helping those to be made whole who use others to their own gain, whether they are drug dealers in back alleys or traders on Wall Street, child molesters or murders, will allow them to contribute the good that God instilled at their creation back to their families and communities.

Prayer: God of Justice and of Mercy, give us the tools to restore your children caught up in crime to wholeness. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.