Chris McDonnell, UK
chris@mcdonnell83.freeserve.co.uk

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June 28, 2017  

What are we waiting for?

 There are many images offered to us in the Psalms, images of hope and loss, suffering and pain, joy and expectation, life and death.  

Much has been written in recent weeks reflecting on times that have been so difficult, when we have been overtaken by events that have tested us to the limit, and beyond.  

I would like to attempt to reflect on these days through the words of Psalm 42 whose opening lines express a longing for God through the imagery of a thirsting deer.  

‘Like the deer that yearns for running streams so my soul is yearning for you, my God’.  

For all life on earth, water is a constant need and we struggle to ensure an adequate supply of good clean water to meet our needs. We need it to drink, we use it for washing, we bathe the wounds of those who are injured with its cleansing coolness. Our longing for water is compared by the Psalmist to our thirsting for God.  

‘My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and see the face of God?’                                                                         

There is a deep and heartfelt longing expressed in those words, the longing of someone pleading for help. How many times have we heard through our media the pain-filled voices of those who suffered both in Manchester and London and yet felt the numbness of our own helplessness in meeting their need?

‘My tears have become my bread, by night, by day as I hear it said all the day long: "Where is your God?"’

 It has led many to cry out in anger and disbelief, ‘where is our God?’ Faced with such fear and danger their challenge is not surprising. The desperate weeks of this summer are in stark contrast with our accepted day to day living, going to work, shopping, enjoying the company of family and friends, nights out at the pub or restaurant, theatre or cinema, the very normalities of living. So the Psalmist continues his lament when he writes

‘These things will I remember as I pour out my soul: how I would lead the rejoicing crowd into the house of God, amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving, the throng wild with joy.’

 For so many people the pain has been deep and personal, life-changing in every sense, confirming memories that will not be erased, that will be at the root of deep-seated anguish and anxiety in the coming months and years

‘Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me?’

 And yet, the Psalmist returns to trust, saying,

‘Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.’

The acknowledgement of our distress is not hedged, the Psalmist is not frightened to cry out in his loneliness, nor should he be, for his silence in the face of adversity would be a challenge to his very humanity. His apparent loss of God, the challenge to his faith is clear, his tears are unavoidable. 

‘My soul is cast down within me as I think of you, from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon , from the Hill of Mizar. Deep is calling on deep, in the roar of waters;
your torrents and all your waves swept over me’.

Yet still there is a fragmentary trust, a willingness to continue the journey of hope, the exchange of friendship.

‘By day the Lord will send his loving kindness; by night I will sing to him, praise the God of my life.’

The questioning continues, the anguish of loss is not forgotten, and so yet again he looks at the state he is in and wonders why.

 ‘I will say to God, my rock: "Why have your forgotten me? Why do I go mourning oppressed by the foe?" With cries that pierce me to the heart, my enemies revile me,
saying to me all day long: "Where is your God?"’                                                              

In spite of the arduous journey, the misfortunes and pain he is able to conclude in confidence.

‘Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me? Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.’

 There have been countless expressions of love on our city streets, of help given without question to the stranger, of shared tears and the close clasp of open arms. No hesitation whether one was black or white, Muslim or Christian, man or woman. It was enough that others needed help for a generous response to be made.

 We will be faced with further heavy detail in the coming weeks and months as we seek to come to terms with the consequences of events that have shaken our nation.

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