“Even if”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, March 2, 2024 Psalm 27 (Forward, p. 33) CEV p. 570
We don’t know at what point in his long, storied and sometimes tremulous career David penned this psalm, but we certainly do know that he had his share of troubles. And yet, he never wavered in his faith and reliance upon God and never doubted that God ‘was there for him.’ And so the phrase ‘even if’ is most appropriate:
-even if brutal people attack and try to kill me…they will stumble -even if fierce enemies attack…they will fail -even if enemies surround me…I will not be afraid -even if war breaks out…I will trust you -even if times of trouble should arise…you will protect me, hide me in our tent and keep me safe on top of a mighty rock -even if people tell lies about me and make terrible threats…I know that I will live to see how kind you are -(and most astounded) even if my father and mother desert me…you will take care of me
David is fully convinced in the presence of God and the power of God to aid and abet him. In fact, this is well summed up on verse one:
“You, Lord, are the light that keeps me safe. I am not afraid of anyone. You protect me, and I have no fears.”
We in the modern Western world have absolutely no idea—except perhaps when a disaster strikes, and we are suddenly without—just what difference it makes to have a reliable light source come night. A Reader’s Digest article from a number of years ago talked about how nighttime was a frightful time before the advance of artificial light sources, a time of danger and crime, intrigue and debauchery. It was a time when all good people of any sense made sure they were safely at home or in a place of safety. And so, we can readily see how David could see God as the light that kept him safe and allowed him to live without fear. And so, too, can God be for each of us as well. Yes, even during our ‘even if’ times. Amen.
Forward notes: “What if I had not believed that I should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” (verse 13) (verse 17 in the BAS).
Commemoration: Chad of Lichfield
“The number of personal relationships Chad of Lichfield developed in his ministry probably surpasses any bishop nowadays. In the 600s, Chad traversed the North of England on foot for much of his episcopate. He modeled this ministry after the apostles, and history remembers his gentle leadership.
“Many of our lives changed dramatically during the early days of COVID-19 isolation. Unable to be in close proximity indoors, many people took to the streets. We became part of the day-to-day life of people around us, lives that we had never paid attention to previously. We were changed by the experience.
“The disciples were sent on foot to every town where Jesus intended to go to establish new relationships and connections with others. In the same way, our connections with others must leave open the possibility to see God’s goodness through encounters with people at the most unexpected times, in the most random of places.”
Moving Forward: “Make time to talk with a neighbour.’
A concluding note: the author of today’s meditation resides in the southern United States: I wonder whether his experience of becoming more connected to people during COVID is reflected elsewhere in North American, especially in colder climates. My experience here in Canada was of less connectedness, not more, and of ‘battering down the hatches’ and isolating in place. And to me, our loss of community, and our divisions and fracturedness, were a kind of by-product of this.