Stay Very Near

For some reason I had an responsibility to read Psalm 26. The first line goes "Give me justice, O Lord, for I have lived my life without reproach." And the rest of the Psalm continues pretty much in that same vain. "I live in truth. I have not sat with sinners...I wash my hands in innocence....I love the beauty of the temple.... so don't sweep me away with the sinners." Deep down in this prayer to God is the understanding that being good is supposed to be rewarded. Good is rewarded. Bad is punished.

Barbara Brown Taylor is always saying that the Bible is really a conversation about God by people who care about God. So it is interesting to remember when Job got all his troubles and his wife told him to curse God and die, Job says something to the effect, "Hey, Are we just to accept good from God and not take the bad from God as well." Job seems rooted in the sovereignty of God. God is the boss. There is only one God and God is Lord of all history, so whatever comes comes within the providence and framework of God's creation. If we are going to enjoy the good we have to be willing to take the bad. It is that kind of world in Job's mind. Our character and conduct do not directly affect what comes to us. All Job really wants to do is to fight for his reputation, and when God comes to visit God does say that Job was the one who spoke the truth.

One also remembers that Jesus told the story of a man who sounded very much like the speaker of Psalm 26. The Pharisee goes up to the Temple to pray and sees another man, called the Publican, and thanks God that he is not like that Publican. The Pharisee proceeds to tell God all of his virtues and how wonderful he is. The Publican is reported to have only begged for forgiveness, and Jesus says the Publican got his wish.

All this discussion in the Bible about conduct and blessings or lack of blessings came back to me as I listened to the letter to the Pope from Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy asks for the prayers of the Pope and proceeds to tell the Pope all of the reasons why the Pope would want to pray for him: "I have done my best to champion the causes of the poor... I have worked to welcome the immigrant...I have opposed the death penalty...I am still working, while sick, on a comprehensive health care package...I have always been a faithful Catholic..."

Senator Kennedy's letter sounds like the Psalm, The Pharisee, and my own prayers. Somehow we cannot get away from that notion that if we are good we will get blessings and that evil will be punished. We are constantly talking about the outrage of when bad things happen to good people. It just frustrates us no end.

The one thing that I think the conversation about God by people who care agree upon is that the promise of God is that God will not abandon us. Job does not get answers he gets a visit. Jesus' good conduct got him crucified. Jesus does not give us answers, Jesus promises "Lo, I am with you always even to the close of the age." Elijah in the cave heard the voice, Be still and know that I am God. As we live in this world full of sorrow and woe, the message is that there is one with us who care about us, who has suffered as we suffer, and who will not desert us nor forsake us. It is good to know we have a friend.