Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-202 Sunday 13 Oct 2002

Reading: Psalm 129 – BATTLE SCARS

‘God is encountered in the nakedness of pure trust’ (Thomas Merton, 1915-68).

We are ‘hard pressed on every side, but not crushed,’ writes Paul (2 Cor 4:8). Seasons of pressure may be real enough for many of us: the modern blight of overwork, even in the face of sophisticated, cosseting, time-saving technologies; complex tangles of broken relationships, blighting family and church life alike. A myriad other irritants may sow ‘dis-ease’ into the crevasses of our beings. Yet, in our relative comfort, can we honestly say that we know what real oppression is about?

Many nations and communities in our world face relentless, historically-rooted pressures which have left marks of bitter hatred, restricted basic freedoms, destroyed human dignity and accelerated the hopeless cycles of grinding poverty. In Prague, a display of drawings by Jewish children imprisoned in Terezin concentration camp during the Second World War is a poignant reminder of the oppression experienced there. Alongside the drawings are listed their dates of birth, one of which coincided exactly with that of my wife. But we were safe!

In this short psalm, the author recognises too well the story of his persecuted nation (vs 1,2). There is a fine line between experiencing what it means to be helpless victims and living in sinful rebellion, and both featured in Israel’s chequered history. Amazingly, the author of this psalm does not allow himself or his fellow worshippers to fall into hopeless despair. He is ‘lifted’ by two great truths: the enemy has not been ultimately victorious (v 2b), and God has time and again liberated them from bondage (v 4). Hosea reminds us (Hos ll:l) that Israel was reared in suffering. Yet it was at that very point that the deep experience of God’s love and gracious invitation fell on them.

Remember today all victims of injustice, and all who face persecution for their sustained faith in Christ.

– David Blair

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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