Dashed dreams – April 13

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 55; PM Psalm 74, Lam. 2:1-9; 2 Cor. 1:23-2:11; Mark 12:1-11

Sitting with the scriptures appointed for today, I am struck by the emotional timbre in these verses – a tone of pleading, a tone of intensity, a tone of pain, a tone of disappointment. After all, we are in Holy Week, walking along the road into Jerusalem, remembering the last steps and days of Jesus’ living among us – so it makes sense that the Bible readings ring of fallen hopes and shattered dreams.

Psalm 74 is an appeal to God, asking why the Lord has “utterly cast us off?” The psalmist calls upon God to recall earlier times, the time when the Israelites became God’s own beloved people. But hardship came upon the land and enemies laid waste to the holy spaces. The psalmist inquires, “How long, O God, will the adversary scoff?...Why do you draw back your hand?” The good times long past are remembered and named – the powers of God to create, command, and correct. The psalmist aims to stir God to action, so that God’s people will see that the covenant made between Yahweh and Abraham is still holding strong. Inferring that God has shifted to a posture of recline and deep slumber, the prayer ends with these words, “Arise, O God, maintain your cause; remember how fools revile you all day long. Forget not the clamor of your adversaries, the unending tumult of those who rise up against you.”

While in Psalm 74, the people are disappointed by God, Jesus tells a story (perhaps to the scribes and Pharisees) about God being let down by people. The parable in Mark 12 speaks of the man who built a vineyard and leased it to his tenants. He sends servants to gather the portion of harvest due to him. They beat some servants, sending them away shamed. They killed others. Then, the landowner sends his son, for surely they will respect him. Verse 8 tells us differently: they seized the man’s son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. Jesus asks rhetorically, “What will happen next?” He answers the question for his listeners, saying “He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.” Haunting words, right? It is a reminder of the wrath of God.

What do we do when our dreams are dashed, when we are tired and discouraged? The apostle Paul writes of a conflict in 2 Corinthians. He urges the people of Corinth to forgive one another and reaffirm their love for one another. In those spaces of tension and ugliness, there is also a call to slow down. Rest. Reflect. Then, respond in love, because we are loved deeply by God. Whether the days of this poignant week feel holy to you, or more like H-E-Double Hockey Sticks, know that Jesus is with us in the pain and discomfort, the disappointment and fear. May the Holy Spirit embolden and strengthen you to take one step at a time, knowing that you do not walk this path alone.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

When have you felt disappointed by God? What did you do? Say? Feel?

What are your actions and reactions when you are disappointed by people in your life?

Daily Challenge

Take time today to journal about what Holy Week means for you. What are you looking forward to, and what are you dragging your feet about? Know that regardless of where you are emotionally and spiritually, God welcomes you into this space. Come join us for some of Holy Week at Saint Stephen's.