Daily Devotion for December 8, 2005

Depressed

 

Today’s Readings
Psalm 22, Amos 5:1-17, Jude 1-16, Matthew 22:1-14

 

If I want to be depressed, I can read the newspaper. I usually feel uplifted when I read the Bible. But today’s readings are bleak, to say the least. It’s hard to find a glimmer of light. Psalm 22 is the psalm appointed for Good Friday, and it reflects the darkness of that day. The gospel reading from Matthew ends with the ominous words: “Many are called but few are chosen.” Amos laments the fall of Israel, and the faithlessness of God in failing to provide for Israel’s continued cohesion as a nation. In the New Testament reading, Jude warns of evil ones in the midst of believers. What are we to make of the almost unrelieved darkness of these passages?

 

As I read these readings, I found myself thinking that I must be missing something. Those who have constructed the lectionary to guide us in our readings (where I got the verses for today) have placed these four readings, two from the Old Testament and two from the New, together for this day intentionally. What had I missed?

Yet you are he that took me out of the womb,
And kept me safe upon my mother’s breast.

 

I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;
You were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb.

 

Psalm 22 tells me that I have been entrusted to God; there is no safety other than in God. I know this and must admit I have to learn it over and over. Life can be a very disappointing business, and things do not always turn out the way I think they should. When the gospel suggests “many are called but few are chosen,” it would be easy to pull the covers over my head and give up. But on most days I try to put my trust in God, the only safety that I know.

 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, in darkness, in depression, there is always a light and a hope in you.  As I prepare for your coming, help me focus on that which can help me through.  Amen

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