Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.
As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.”
(Psalm 16:1-3)
Psalm 16 shows us David embracing the goodness of God. David’s life story shows him taking refuge in God again and again: God was his refuge from wild animals when David was a boy; his refuge from Goliath; his refuge from the demonically tormented King Saul; even from David’s own adult children, some of whom turned on him his old age. Time and again when people were the source of trouble and danger, David found in God a refuge.
But then, David says something that is enough to think about all week long:
As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
And this gives me whiplash. The people of Israel were frequently the source of David’s trouble. Apart from a couple of animals and a nine-foot Philistine freak, most of David’s difficulties came from his kinsmen. How could David include them in the blessing of God?
It would have been easy for David to sing, “God you’re awesome, but people are just no good.” Yet David finds delight in God’s people. David recognizes the presence of God in the community around him. That’s where I’m tempted to get off the train. Like blanket-toting Linus in the Peanuts cartoon, I’m inclined to say, “I love humanity--it’s people I can’t stand.” But David found delight in his own decidedly less-than-perfect community.
What did David see in this treacherous, turbulent people? The question deserves consideration for at least a week: can I encounter the goodness of God among the crazy group of people I call my family, my neighbors, or my town? Can I find my delight in the sea of humanity around me each day? Can I love my city?
To see God’s glory is one thing: can God give me the grace to see their glory?
Enjoyed this, Ray. We've got community on the brain, don't we? :)
ReplyDeleteI've been injured by people this last year. I've done my share of injuring, too. But one of the ways I have had to protect myself and my family is by "shrinking my circle," as my friend Wendy says.
That means my husband and I unplugged the home phone, got off facebook and the group of people who know what's "really going with us" shrunk dramatically. We are just minimizing the ways that people can intrude, give unsolicited opinions, judge, make comments, have attitude, etc. in ways that we have to deal with. We don't want to deal with other people dealing with our stuff; we just want to deal with our stuff.
But now I find myself at a funny juncture. I don't want to hear what anyone thinks about my choices, our choices, etc. and I want to protect myself, my husband and our family. At the same time, as you know from what I've been blogging about, I'm finding myself with a thirst for connection and community. But not the kind I've ever had before.
The tough part comes, as you've said so well, when it's PEOPLE we have to deal with. Ideas are easier. Concepts keep their mouths shut. Dreams don't hurt our feelings or reject us. Right now I'm just talking about community and I have comment moderation on my blog. I can delete/reject any comments from people who just want to tell me what to do, how to do it and how I've screwed up. But what happens when someone is sitting on my couch and I want to hit "reject this comment?" What then? What do I do when I am not O.k. and someone calls me and actually needs my help with something?
When community revolves around holding certain beliefs in common...about God...holy books...the afterlife...etc., we can stick people into "good" and "bad" categories. We can hold the standard/ideal up to them and guilt or pressure them into conforming. We can see their pain and (often...too often) chalk it up to the consequences of not following the rules and feel they "deserve" it. When God is the supposed "center" of the community, I can bump into someone bleeding emotionally and send them to God to get fixed up, going on my merry way without a second thought. I can keep my hands clean. I can keep my schedule as empty or full as I want to because it's events I'm attending or not attending.
But it is only in today's society, when you get to shop around for a community that makes you feel good, is closest to your beliefs, etc. and you can be as much a part of it as you want...or not. But when it's people that are actually depending on me for an actual personal response, actual personal connections, actual tangible help and support in their day-to-day life, it all becomes a little too real. There's no "event." It's just life and community becomes sharing that life with others. Their needs don't wait until Sunday morning.
Do I really want to be part of a community in which the focus is loving people, no matter who they are or what they believe? That's pretty messy. What if someone that's judged me, hurt me, rejected me in the past shows up and wants to be part of my community? What if everyone finds out how selfish I really am? What if I show myself for who I really am and people don't like that me? The community that simply loves and doesn't have any prerequisites or desired outcomes is not safe. It's not controlled. It scares me.
But I know instinctively it's what I want. I don't know if I'm ready for it. I don't know how to begin to become part of such a thing. But I know I want it. Just when I got my little circle tiny enough that I am insulated from judgment and nastiness, I find myself wanting to open back up, to risk getting hurt again. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment!
Thanks for the reminder of the grace we need to thrive in community and with others. It's in those details of everyday life when we actually run into losing our preferences and having to give up our way that we are challenged to embody the love of God. Thanks for sharing this. Hmph...
ReplyDeleteNice Ray. I don't get to visit here often enough. I intend to rectify that.
ReplyDeleteMy thanks to each of you: Cheryl, Ed, and Jason. It means so much to hear from all of you-wouldn't it be great to sit around a table together and listen to each other fully. I trust that day will come.
ReplyDeleteMy thanks to each of you: Cheryl, Ed, and Jason. It means so much to hear from all of you-wouldn't it be great to sit around a table together and listen to each other fully. I trust that day will come.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder of the grace we need to thrive in community and with others. It's in those details of everyday life when we actually run into losing our preferences and having to give up our way that we are challenged to embody the love of God. Thanks for sharing this. Hmph...
ReplyDelete