‘Desperate for God?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, July 22, 2022
Psalm 42:1-6a (Forward, p. 85) CEV p. 580
Numerous articles of late illustrate and catalogue some of the serious repercussions of global warming, such things as lowered lake, river and reservoir levels or a dropping water table. Such a phenomenon is drastic business for homes, industries and fields that depend on readily available water. But think of the animal world, especially those that live in desert or semi-arid conditions. The local watering hole or river might be their only means of survival, say for the migratory mammals of east Africa.
It is this image, one that would so readily resonate with the desert dwellers of Palestine, that our psalmist picks up on. The deer is thirsty, desperate for streams of water, and so too is the believer for the thirst-quenching presence of Almighty God. The psalmist now feels distant from God and yearns for those past times when he felt near to God. Indeed, he feels desperate and ill at ease. He is full of sorrow and feels restless and discouraged. He can find no rest, no peace. And, yet, he is confident that God will again be there for him. He trusts God and trusts that God will come and help him because of their past relationship. And so, in spite of everything, he does not give up, and specifically, does not give up on God.
This little scenario puts me in mind of many of the saints of old, many of whom suffered through ‘the dark nights of the soul’. Many of them experienced hours, days, months and sometimes years during which they did not feel the presence of God. And what made this all the more desperate, all the more excruciating, was that they had previously enjoyed a very close and intimate relationship with God. And yet they, like our psalmist, did not give up on God, and eventually, ‘rediscovered’ (or, where renewed in) God and His peace and light and presence. And so we, you and I, can be encouraged by their example and experience never to give up on God—because, after all, He never gives up on us. Amen.
Forward notes: “I pour out my soul when I think on these things: how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God’ (verse 4).
Commemoration: Saint Mary Magdalene
“Poor Mary of Magdala! I can’t think of a saint more well known for things they didn’t do. Like most saints, she has been surrounded by legends, but they don’t tend to be about miracles. Our Christian history and popular culture have remade her into a ‘wayward woman,’ using her as a cipher for our views on sexuality and womanhood.
“But when we seek to meet Mary Magdalene in the scriptures, whom do we encounter? A woman who traveled with Jesus in all four of the gospels, was healed by him, learned from him, and served him. And her companionship extended beyond Jesus’s life and into his death, as she stood by his cross and went to anoint his body at the tomb. Guided by her devotion, Mary is one of the first to meet our risen Lord and to spread the word of his resurrection. She is often called the ‘apostle to the apostles’—the messenger to the messengers.
“Mary’s love for Jesus shines through our scriptures, and as apostle to the apostles, she has truly led a multitude to the house of God.”
Moving Forward: “Research Mary Magdalene and her devotion to Jesus.”