Cracked

Today's readings: Psalms 116, 147:12-20; Isaiah 54:1-17; Galatians 5:1-15; Mark 8:27-9:1

It's always darkest before the dawn. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. No pain, no gain. These and other cliches remind us most successes are preceded by a period of hard work and struggle. Usually when we hear these phrases, we are not directing them at ourselves. More likely someone is saying them to us in a misguided attempt to offer comfort, or we are doing the same for someone else. In either case, they aren't especially helpful when we are in the the thick of the darkness, the brokenness, or the pain.

As Jesus neared the end of his ministry, he began to speak more bluntly with his disciples. He knew hard times were coming and he wanted them to be prepared. They had not been especially insightful when he taught through parables, so he told them in no uncertain terms he was going to suffer, be killed and rise again. The disciples didn't welcome this news. Peter went so far as to pull him aside and rebuke him, prompting Jesus to utter his famous reply: "Get behind me, Satan!" (Mark 8:31-33) Jesus knew fulfillment of his mission would require great sacrifice, and Peter's attempt at redirection embodied all the temptation he had resisted from the beginning of his ministry (Mark 1:12).

Are we willing to face the work and struggle it takes to follow Jesus (or any worthwhile goal), or are we listening to the Peters in our lives who may mean well but misdirect us to an easier but ineffectual path? Maybe our own inner voice is our Peter, the Satan loudly rebuking us in one ear while our more angelic conscience whispers urgently in the other. It's always easier not to voice the unpopular opinion, not to deny ourselves something we desire, not to risk losing what we've worked so hard for. The easy way is indeed tempting, and on extremely lucky days it may be the right way, but those cliches are common because they are true: success - especially spiritual success - requires sacrifice. Sacrifice of ego, comfort, money, time ... whatever it is that stands between us and God. We have to crack that shell before we can get to the gold.

Evening readings: Psalms 26, 130

No Rest For The Wicked (Or Anyone Else)

Today's readings: Psalms 12; 146; Isaiah 52:1-12; Galatians 4:12-20; Mark 8:1-10

Like it or not, the wicked exist. No matter how much our Savior calls us to love our enemies, no matter how hard we try to see Christ in everyone we meet, no matter how desperately we cling to the belief that people are basically decent, the wicked remain among us. From mass murderers to character assassins, from people who steal life savings of the elderly to those who steal innocence from children, our headlines, our communities and even our families suffer from their presence. As the faithful we glorify God for the beauty and love woven through creation, yet only willful blindness or ignorance could keep us from seeing the wickedness that exists alongside it.

The authors of the Psalms wrestle honestly with this wickedness. The author of Psalm 12 wails that there are no godly people left (v 1), and begs God to cut off flattering lips and lying tongues (v 3). He asks for protection against the wicked who prowl on every side and stand exalted in the world (v 8). He feels as we sometimes feel: attacked and overwhelmed by the evil in the world. He also clings to God's pure promises (vv 5-7).

As we struggle with the presence of evil in God's creation, let's remember the psalmists, the prophets, the evangelists and Jesus himself faced the same struggles. In the midst of their despair, even while they asked how God could abandon them, to the point of death itself, they kept insisting on the promises God had made. Those who dismiss the possibility of a loving God because of the presence of evil, or those who dismiss evil by saying everything is God's will, miss the message of scripture from today's psalm through the crucifixion: the world can be a terrible place, and God is our refuge in that terror.

When we need to, we should wail along with the psalmists. And like the psalmists, let's praise the glory, beauty and love that exist simultaneously. One of the mysteries of faith is that as we let go of our need to define and explain, the more we know and understand. Wickedness threatens from without. God strengthens from within. And our lives are the miracles crafted in that tension.

Evening readings: Psalms 36; 7