The gospel of the Sistine Chapel
Commentary
I cannot read these texts without finding myself pondering the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel as it portrays the last judgment. The realization of the damned that they are not
going to be in line for what they thought was to be their reward is chilling. What is
terrifying is that we have all had those moments in our lives when it suddenly hits us that
despite our best intentions we are wide of the mark. It is galling and damning to discover
that you have not only failed to do no harm but have inflicted hurt and pain often in the
name of what you believe is the best way to go in life. It is one thing to have your
religious commitment fail in being the source of good deeds. It is quite another to find
that your religious practice is to be a cover for bad deeds. It is one thing to shoot wide of
the mark, quite another to shoot yourself in the foot.
The Sistine Chapel puts a face to the feelings of experiencing the last judgment. More than any hellish torture, it is fearful to be alone with the feelings of foolishness and despair; incompetence, shame, and overwhelming grief. There seems to be no recourse to correct matters and make up for what has been lost. "To whom shall we go?" ask the disciples in John's gospel.
The passage from Amos portrays a God with a long memory of the misdeeds of Israel. The result is the day when, "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it." Paul writes to the Colossians about, "the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints." However up to now they "were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds." Things are becoming clear now through the pain that often comes with self-discovery that, despite all the claims to the contrary, the world has been wide of the mark. But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things." We count on the Marthas of the world to be distracted by many things. Often we take pride in being helpful yet we can miss the mark of what Jesus is aiming at. For all the effort, we can find ourselves off track.
These lectionary texts are assigned to the lazy days of summer for our consideration. Thoughts of the last judgment are usually not among the top ten topics that many are looking for help in any season of the year let alone during vacation time. In many quadrants, the idea of any judgment, let alone a final or last judgment, is deemed to be pastorally out of line. Having dealt with folks who are living out the consequences of unresolved guilt in their lives, I am not unsympathetic with this line of thought. Yet, I recognize the face that I see on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I have seen that look on the face of those of faith and those who would claim that they have no faith. I have seen well-intentioned parents and families who have discovered that despite their best intentions they have done serious harm to each other. I have seen it on the face of those who have discovered that their life plan in pursuit of what they thought they should be doing has left them wide of the mark. I have seen that look on the face of churches that have discovered that their life together has not been as welcoming as they thought it was. Perhaps the most pastoral thing to do is to offer evidence that the face we see on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel does not go on unnoticed when it makes its appearance among us.
Amos 8:1-12
Sitting next to an African-American friend I slowly became aware of what was going on as together we listened to the speaker at the church conference. Though the content of the words of the speaker was basically sound, it was clear that my friend was having some serious trouble with what was being said. As the speech went along it suddenly became clear what was going on. Every negative reference was couched as something black and dark, with a toss in of sexist references. The multi-generational family heads off to the ballpark to enjoy the first major league game that they have seen in years, only to find themselves in the middle of a protest demonstration. It seems that the team logo and name is something less than flattering to Native Americans. My friend taught church school for twenty years and now, as a superintendent, does not like hearing from the consultant that her church is maintaining something less than "Safe Spaces" for their children. I see the face from the Sistine Chapel overcoming the conference speaker, the family, and the church school superintendent.
The letter to the Hebrews describes sin, in various translations, as something that clings to us, besets us, entangles us, and holds on to us. Sin is not something that we will to happen, but seems to have a life of its own that can get in us. I have little doubt that the conference speaker did not hold racist views but racism had hold of him. I have no doubt that the family out for a nice afternoon was not entangled in an intentional conspiracy against Native Americans. However, they were part of a legacy of insensitivity that still besets us. Of course the church school superintendent wanted the best for her children but was held back by not being current in her understanding of the dangers that face children.
In my experience, Amos is absolutely right; that day will come when, "I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day." On that day we will all look like the face on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
"Since all have come short of the glory of God" as Paul puts it, surely the day will come when we must face the reality that we have come up short. Reinhold Niehbur had a clear sense of this when he wrote, "Humankind's capacity for justice makes democracy possible and humankind's capacity for injustice makes it necessary." In this life we will face the day when the final judgment that will overtake us. Whatever system we develop, we will find ourselves making "the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." Utopias have a way of winding up in that place. Communism did not prove anymore successful in escaping this judgment as it granted special privileges to those at the top of party ranks.
"The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." The time is coming when we must face such a moment. We will come up short. It will feel like a near death experience. While the reality is that we cannot be rescued from such moments, we can be resurrected from them. That is the heart of our faith.
Colossians 1:15-28
"For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him." Life is a mystery filled with thrones, dominions, rulers, and powers. The journey through the day will find us all struggling with these at the checkout counter, in the doctor's office, sitting in a classroom, teaching in a classroom, watching television, or running the computer. Each of these have a way of making their claim on us supreme. Television and computers rearrange our lives in dramatic ways. Email rearranges our thought processes into smaller lines of thought. We communicate more quickly and less deeply. The television claims to connect us with the world, yet being fed a steady diet of sound bytes leaves me hungering for more genuine conversation and reflection. I watch politicians and athletes who have gone to the same school of television etiquette master the art of seeming to say something while actually saying nothing meaningful. My cell phone is supposed to facilitate communication but it disorients me when my caller does not understand where they have reached me when the phone rings in the bathroom. I write a letter to the editor of the newspaper but I am responding electronically to an article that I have read online. There is less news and sometimes no paper in the newspaper anymore. I call for tech support and I am connected to India, speaking with a gentleman who gets to spend little time with his family because of the time difference in supporting westerners on their computers. He has even become adept at faking English and American accents for his prospective clients. I run in athletic shoes made in China. Last year 40% of the world's economic growth was in China. Much of it occurred in conditions that we would not accept in our own country. It begins to feel like the thrones, dominions, rulers, and powers are taking me to places that I do not want to go.
There is for me, the sudden recognition that I am a Colossian who is finding himself at the mercy of all this. I begin to see in the mirror the face of the damned from the Sistine Chapel. This is not what is advertised as the promise of our technologically advanced age. What has gone wrong when millions go hungry despite the green revolution? Surely this is what it means, in the words of the letter to the Colossians, "And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds."
This is what happens when we do not believe that "all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible or invisible ... for him." This is what happens when I believe that the computer was created for my convenience rather than for the advancement of the kingdom of God. If I believe the former, then I will not inquire just who is on the other end of the support line or what their life is like. If I believe that all the wonderful synthetics that make running easier were meant just for me to advance my running career, then I am not much interested under what conditions those shoes are made. If I believe that the miracle of satellite communication was created just for my entertainment rather than the advancement of the kingdom of God, then I am not much concerned as to how television may be warping and impoverishing my understanding of the world.
I often wonder why it is that I do not consider these things. Again the terrible flash comes across my face that I have not acted out of the center of my being. I believe in my head that Christ is the center of all things. However, the letter makes clear that this is our hope of glory if we center on the one who is the center of all things. "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Luke 10:38-42
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Many of us are so familiar with this passage from scripture that we are more than ready to either pounce on Martha for her foolishness or extend our sympathy for what has made her so compulsive. Yet, we too find it hard to choose the better part. Certainly, Jesus does not denigrate the tasks that do need to get done and that are very much a part of life. Yet how often have we chosen to be wrapped up in those tasks as a way of avoiding more onerous tasks that once undertaken might lead to fuller life?
It is amazing how busy society can get when a teenager hungers for some straight talk about human sexuality. Certainly, in our day we have gotten very busy about great ideological battles that often cripple the effort to educate about human sexuality in a public school context. We are worried and distracted by many things that make it difficult for teenagers to come to terms with the reality that they are often in hormonal overdrive. Many of our children will face the decision of whether they will choose a military career. How many confirmation programs include a unit on taking a faith stance in relationship to the taking up of arms? Are we worried and distracted by the spirit of the age that we do not meet the needs of young people that may be facing such choices in their lives?
Recently, I attended a committee meeting where I was assigned the task in our state conference to pass on the resolutions that will come before our conference. One of the resolutions that we were asked to consider called on our conference and local churches to study their budgets as moral documents. One committee member objected that churches were barely able to make ends meet as it is, let alone start to consider their budgets as moral documents. This left many in the room sympathetic or ready to pounce. As a pastor, I found myself in both groups. There is evidence in the literature that those congregations that focus on the needs of those beyond their walls have a way of growing and answering their financial issues in surprising ways. I wonder if it is our worries that cause us to be distracted or if it is our distractions that cause us to be worried. I suspect the answer is "yes" to both.
"Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home." What was her welcome like if her hospitality was so quickly outrun by the things that worried and distracted her? Was it that she measured herself more by what she could do for Jesus than the time she could spend with Jesus? Was it that she wanted to be with Jesus but wanted to avoid a sensitive matter that he might get around to in the conversation? Had she a sisterly rivalry that she was hoping one word from Jesus could settle at long last? Was there a birth order issue here that was somehow in Martha's mind and heart being violated? When she began to welcome Jesus did she have any idea that some feelings would overcome her so that she would blurt out accusing words against her own sister?
We don't know the answer to these questions but I see a flash of recognition crawling across my face. These are the things that often worry us to distraction or so distract us that we find ourselves consumed by worry. When one's face reflects the look of knowing that these judgments apply, it is time to consider how we can help each other choose the better part.
Application
Confronted by these texts we are given an opportunity to consider life in our own congregations. I do not know of a pastor that has not often felt that their congregation has a hard time choosing the "the better part." Many of us find ourselves so dominated by the thrones and the dominions that we have a hard time centering. All of us have wondered when the day of recognition will come when we will discover that we have fallen short.
The agony of the damned as portrayed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel arises in no small measure from the fact that they had no clue such a verdict could be rendered over their lives. The texts seem to be very pessimistic about the human condition. However, they offer hope in their own way. The opening of Amos puts the judgment in the context of the season of new fruit, implying that there will be other seasons to come. Colossians reminds us that even for an off-centered people God has centered his love and attention on them in order to reveal "the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages." Jesus did not cast out Martha but bids her to choose the better part that is still within her grasp. In their own way these texts direct us forward.
Alternative Application
Amos 8:1-2. Of these three texts, I find the lection from Amos the most troubling and challenging. The idea that our feasts will be turned into mourning and our songs into lamentations puts me off and brings me down. As I first read these texts, I find myself running from an angry God who seems bent on sucking the life out of what little joy we may find. I find myself muttering about an Old Testament God who seems bent on revenge more than redemption. But then, I consider perhaps my attitude may push people off center and away from the better part. I think of the unresolved and unexpressed and unexamined grief that prevents people from moving on. Lamentation and mourning may not be on our "to do list." Jesus said there was blessing to be found in mourning.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 52
Schoolyard bullies populate the memory of a lot of people. Even if the blows and the taunting did not come specifically in a given direction, memories remain. Pushing, shoving, horrible taunts, and even violence were hurled at hapless youngsters whose only crime was to walk meekly down the hallway past a bully who sensed an opportunity.
Unfortunately, bullies never seem to go out of vogue. Each generation of schoolchildren must endure the loud-mouthed vituperative antics of those who "boast of mischief done against the godly." The problem, though, rarely stops at the school playground. Young bullies grow into adult bullies unless someone stands and puts a stop to the abuse. The voice of this psalm is the voice of just such a one.
This voice fires a salvo back at the "evil-doer," which in schoolyard lingo might be heard as, "Oh, yeah? You just wait! God's gonna get you!" Though this tone resonates through the psalm, there is a deeper truth running like a vein of silver through this text. And that is that "God is not mocked. You will reap what you have sown" (Galatians 6:7). In the hot, flushed moments of seeming victory when abusive power asserts itself with violence, the temptation to gloat and crow is overwhelming. But as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The arc of the universe is long, and it bends toward justice."
Whether it is a schoolyard bully, or a war-making nation, God is not mocked. What is sown will indeed be reaped. From the corridors of power to rural backwaters and dark urban alleys, the seeds that have been sown will sprout.
And the harvest of this crop will be great. God's wondrous and powerful hand will reach through the vista of our own story and establish justice. The trust placed in God, even in the face of such evil, is not misplaced. It is a source of power and strength, a well whose waters never run dry. This is why such a one can laugh in the face of the "evil-doer." This is why the weakest ones will ultimately triumph. And it is why good, decent, righteous people must never remain silent in the face of a schoolyard bully, regardless of where the schoolyard is located or what the bully looks like.
The Sistine Chapel puts a face to the feelings of experiencing the last judgment. More than any hellish torture, it is fearful to be alone with the feelings of foolishness and despair; incompetence, shame, and overwhelming grief. There seems to be no recourse to correct matters and make up for what has been lost. "To whom shall we go?" ask the disciples in John's gospel.
The passage from Amos portrays a God with a long memory of the misdeeds of Israel. The result is the day when, "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it." Paul writes to the Colossians about, "the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints." However up to now they "were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds." Things are becoming clear now through the pain that often comes with self-discovery that, despite all the claims to the contrary, the world has been wide of the mark. But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things." We count on the Marthas of the world to be distracted by many things. Often we take pride in being helpful yet we can miss the mark of what Jesus is aiming at. For all the effort, we can find ourselves off track.
These lectionary texts are assigned to the lazy days of summer for our consideration. Thoughts of the last judgment are usually not among the top ten topics that many are looking for help in any season of the year let alone during vacation time. In many quadrants, the idea of any judgment, let alone a final or last judgment, is deemed to be pastorally out of line. Having dealt with folks who are living out the consequences of unresolved guilt in their lives, I am not unsympathetic with this line of thought. Yet, I recognize the face that I see on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I have seen that look on the face of those of faith and those who would claim that they have no faith. I have seen well-intentioned parents and families who have discovered that despite their best intentions they have done serious harm to each other. I have seen it on the face of those who have discovered that their life plan in pursuit of what they thought they should be doing has left them wide of the mark. I have seen that look on the face of churches that have discovered that their life together has not been as welcoming as they thought it was. Perhaps the most pastoral thing to do is to offer evidence that the face we see on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel does not go on unnoticed when it makes its appearance among us.
Amos 8:1-12
Sitting next to an African-American friend I slowly became aware of what was going on as together we listened to the speaker at the church conference. Though the content of the words of the speaker was basically sound, it was clear that my friend was having some serious trouble with what was being said. As the speech went along it suddenly became clear what was going on. Every negative reference was couched as something black and dark, with a toss in of sexist references. The multi-generational family heads off to the ballpark to enjoy the first major league game that they have seen in years, only to find themselves in the middle of a protest demonstration. It seems that the team logo and name is something less than flattering to Native Americans. My friend taught church school for twenty years and now, as a superintendent, does not like hearing from the consultant that her church is maintaining something less than "Safe Spaces" for their children. I see the face from the Sistine Chapel overcoming the conference speaker, the family, and the church school superintendent.
The letter to the Hebrews describes sin, in various translations, as something that clings to us, besets us, entangles us, and holds on to us. Sin is not something that we will to happen, but seems to have a life of its own that can get in us. I have little doubt that the conference speaker did not hold racist views but racism had hold of him. I have no doubt that the family out for a nice afternoon was not entangled in an intentional conspiracy against Native Americans. However, they were part of a legacy of insensitivity that still besets us. Of course the church school superintendent wanted the best for her children but was held back by not being current in her understanding of the dangers that face children.
In my experience, Amos is absolutely right; that day will come when, "I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day." On that day we will all look like the face on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
"Since all have come short of the glory of God" as Paul puts it, surely the day will come when we must face the reality that we have come up short. Reinhold Niehbur had a clear sense of this when he wrote, "Humankind's capacity for justice makes democracy possible and humankind's capacity for injustice makes it necessary." In this life we will face the day when the final judgment that will overtake us. Whatever system we develop, we will find ourselves making "the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." Utopias have a way of winding up in that place. Communism did not prove anymore successful in escaping this judgment as it granted special privileges to those at the top of party ranks.
"The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." The time is coming when we must face such a moment. We will come up short. It will feel like a near death experience. While the reality is that we cannot be rescued from such moments, we can be resurrected from them. That is the heart of our faith.
Colossians 1:15-28
"For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him." Life is a mystery filled with thrones, dominions, rulers, and powers. The journey through the day will find us all struggling with these at the checkout counter, in the doctor's office, sitting in a classroom, teaching in a classroom, watching television, or running the computer. Each of these have a way of making their claim on us supreme. Television and computers rearrange our lives in dramatic ways. Email rearranges our thought processes into smaller lines of thought. We communicate more quickly and less deeply. The television claims to connect us with the world, yet being fed a steady diet of sound bytes leaves me hungering for more genuine conversation and reflection. I watch politicians and athletes who have gone to the same school of television etiquette master the art of seeming to say something while actually saying nothing meaningful. My cell phone is supposed to facilitate communication but it disorients me when my caller does not understand where they have reached me when the phone rings in the bathroom. I write a letter to the editor of the newspaper but I am responding electronically to an article that I have read online. There is less news and sometimes no paper in the newspaper anymore. I call for tech support and I am connected to India, speaking with a gentleman who gets to spend little time with his family because of the time difference in supporting westerners on their computers. He has even become adept at faking English and American accents for his prospective clients. I run in athletic shoes made in China. Last year 40% of the world's economic growth was in China. Much of it occurred in conditions that we would not accept in our own country. It begins to feel like the thrones, dominions, rulers, and powers are taking me to places that I do not want to go.
There is for me, the sudden recognition that I am a Colossian who is finding himself at the mercy of all this. I begin to see in the mirror the face of the damned from the Sistine Chapel. This is not what is advertised as the promise of our technologically advanced age. What has gone wrong when millions go hungry despite the green revolution? Surely this is what it means, in the words of the letter to the Colossians, "And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds."
This is what happens when we do not believe that "all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible or invisible ... for him." This is what happens when I believe that the computer was created for my convenience rather than for the advancement of the kingdom of God. If I believe the former, then I will not inquire just who is on the other end of the support line or what their life is like. If I believe that all the wonderful synthetics that make running easier were meant just for me to advance my running career, then I am not much interested under what conditions those shoes are made. If I believe that the miracle of satellite communication was created just for my entertainment rather than the advancement of the kingdom of God, then I am not much concerned as to how television may be warping and impoverishing my understanding of the world.
I often wonder why it is that I do not consider these things. Again the terrible flash comes across my face that I have not acted out of the center of my being. I believe in my head that Christ is the center of all things. However, the letter makes clear that this is our hope of glory if we center on the one who is the center of all things. "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Luke 10:38-42
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Many of us are so familiar with this passage from scripture that we are more than ready to either pounce on Martha for her foolishness or extend our sympathy for what has made her so compulsive. Yet, we too find it hard to choose the better part. Certainly, Jesus does not denigrate the tasks that do need to get done and that are very much a part of life. Yet how often have we chosen to be wrapped up in those tasks as a way of avoiding more onerous tasks that once undertaken might lead to fuller life?
It is amazing how busy society can get when a teenager hungers for some straight talk about human sexuality. Certainly, in our day we have gotten very busy about great ideological battles that often cripple the effort to educate about human sexuality in a public school context. We are worried and distracted by many things that make it difficult for teenagers to come to terms with the reality that they are often in hormonal overdrive. Many of our children will face the decision of whether they will choose a military career. How many confirmation programs include a unit on taking a faith stance in relationship to the taking up of arms? Are we worried and distracted by the spirit of the age that we do not meet the needs of young people that may be facing such choices in their lives?
Recently, I attended a committee meeting where I was assigned the task in our state conference to pass on the resolutions that will come before our conference. One of the resolutions that we were asked to consider called on our conference and local churches to study their budgets as moral documents. One committee member objected that churches were barely able to make ends meet as it is, let alone start to consider their budgets as moral documents. This left many in the room sympathetic or ready to pounce. As a pastor, I found myself in both groups. There is evidence in the literature that those congregations that focus on the needs of those beyond their walls have a way of growing and answering their financial issues in surprising ways. I wonder if it is our worries that cause us to be distracted or if it is our distractions that cause us to be worried. I suspect the answer is "yes" to both.
"Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home." What was her welcome like if her hospitality was so quickly outrun by the things that worried and distracted her? Was it that she measured herself more by what she could do for Jesus than the time she could spend with Jesus? Was it that she wanted to be with Jesus but wanted to avoid a sensitive matter that he might get around to in the conversation? Had she a sisterly rivalry that she was hoping one word from Jesus could settle at long last? Was there a birth order issue here that was somehow in Martha's mind and heart being violated? When she began to welcome Jesus did she have any idea that some feelings would overcome her so that she would blurt out accusing words against her own sister?
We don't know the answer to these questions but I see a flash of recognition crawling across my face. These are the things that often worry us to distraction or so distract us that we find ourselves consumed by worry. When one's face reflects the look of knowing that these judgments apply, it is time to consider how we can help each other choose the better part.
Application
Confronted by these texts we are given an opportunity to consider life in our own congregations. I do not know of a pastor that has not often felt that their congregation has a hard time choosing the "the better part." Many of us find ourselves so dominated by the thrones and the dominions that we have a hard time centering. All of us have wondered when the day of recognition will come when we will discover that we have fallen short.
The agony of the damned as portrayed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel arises in no small measure from the fact that they had no clue such a verdict could be rendered over their lives. The texts seem to be very pessimistic about the human condition. However, they offer hope in their own way. The opening of Amos puts the judgment in the context of the season of new fruit, implying that there will be other seasons to come. Colossians reminds us that even for an off-centered people God has centered his love and attention on them in order to reveal "the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages." Jesus did not cast out Martha but bids her to choose the better part that is still within her grasp. In their own way these texts direct us forward.
Alternative Application
Amos 8:1-2. Of these three texts, I find the lection from Amos the most troubling and challenging. The idea that our feasts will be turned into mourning and our songs into lamentations puts me off and brings me down. As I first read these texts, I find myself running from an angry God who seems bent on sucking the life out of what little joy we may find. I find myself muttering about an Old Testament God who seems bent on revenge more than redemption. But then, I consider perhaps my attitude may push people off center and away from the better part. I think of the unresolved and unexpressed and unexamined grief that prevents people from moving on. Lamentation and mourning may not be on our "to do list." Jesus said there was blessing to be found in mourning.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 52
Schoolyard bullies populate the memory of a lot of people. Even if the blows and the taunting did not come specifically in a given direction, memories remain. Pushing, shoving, horrible taunts, and even violence were hurled at hapless youngsters whose only crime was to walk meekly down the hallway past a bully who sensed an opportunity.
Unfortunately, bullies never seem to go out of vogue. Each generation of schoolchildren must endure the loud-mouthed vituperative antics of those who "boast of mischief done against the godly." The problem, though, rarely stops at the school playground. Young bullies grow into adult bullies unless someone stands and puts a stop to the abuse. The voice of this psalm is the voice of just such a one.
This voice fires a salvo back at the "evil-doer," which in schoolyard lingo might be heard as, "Oh, yeah? You just wait! God's gonna get you!" Though this tone resonates through the psalm, there is a deeper truth running like a vein of silver through this text. And that is that "God is not mocked. You will reap what you have sown" (Galatians 6:7). In the hot, flushed moments of seeming victory when abusive power asserts itself with violence, the temptation to gloat and crow is overwhelming. But as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The arc of the universe is long, and it bends toward justice."
Whether it is a schoolyard bully, or a war-making nation, God is not mocked. What is sown will indeed be reaped. From the corridors of power to rural backwaters and dark urban alleys, the seeds that have been sown will sprout.
And the harvest of this crop will be great. God's wondrous and powerful hand will reach through the vista of our own story and establish justice. The trust placed in God, even in the face of such evil, is not misplaced. It is a source of power and strength, a well whose waters never run dry. This is why such a one can laugh in the face of the "evil-doer." This is why the weakest ones will ultimately triumph. And it is why good, decent, righteous people must never remain silent in the face of a schoolyard bully, regardless of where the schoolyard is located or what the bully looks like.
