Lent

March 29, 2023

Scripture Reading: Psalm 31:9-16
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
   my eye wastes away from grief,
   my soul and body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
   and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,
   and my bones waste away.

I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
   a horror to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
   those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
   I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many—
   terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
   as they plot to take my life.

But I trust in you, O Lord;
   I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
  deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
   save me in your steadfast love.

I read the first segment of the Psalm and identified with it somewhat. I must use pliers to open tight lids, and both my knees have wasted away to the extent that they have been replaced. In general, those realities have made me appreciate that someone invented pliers and titanium knees. I have learned in public to pass bottled water containers to ask even strangers sitting near me to remove too-tight lids. I generally ask only people whom I observed could open their own lids. Doing that has provided opportunities for pleasant conversation.

The second segment made me sad. I thought of the people who are homeless and often in need of physical or mental health care. I just heard, once more, the reports of another school shooting where a now adult former student had returned to the school they attended to carry out some vendetta. I also grow weary of the public officials and others who foster such reactions by castigating people for being different.

The third segment is a beautiful and appropriate prayer for all people who feel the sting of societal exclusion and a call to all people to love their neighbors as they would like to be loved given the same circumstances.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the helpers who open lids for and their hearts to others. Help us all fill that void whenever it is in our capacity.  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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.