Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers;
protect me from those who are violent,
who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
They make their tongue sharp as a snake's,
and under their lips is the venom of vipers.
Psalm 140:1-3
Television has made us all witnesses to the horror of this "day of infamy." For most of us the bombing and collapse of the World Trade Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington seems like a scene from some blockbuster movie come horribly to life. How can this be? How could God allow something like this to happen?
There is no immediate answer of course to this last question. No amount of sifting through the wreckage or scanning the black boxes of the hi-jacked airliners can solve what, for those who believe that God is just and good, is a dilemma. And besides, at such times as this it is not the intellect but the heart and soul that require attention. As always, tragedy forces us to go back to God, and God's word. For most believers it is the Psalms where we find, if not answers, then solace, and maybe some measure of hope and strength.
The Psalmist knows what it is to be hated, to be the object of scorn and the target of attacks from violent haters. We do not know the details of the Psalmist's situation in Psalm 140. Nor do we know the outcome of the events that have driven him to his knees in such a desperate prayer. Maybe he, like all those innocent men and women on board the hi-jacked airplanes and in the destroyed buildings, met a tragic end. We do know, however, that the Psalmist concluded the prayer with an affirmation of the goodness of a caring God:
I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy,
and executes justice for the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.
Faith is all we have at this dark moment. Faith that in a world gone insane, God still is in control and will bring something good and meaningful out of this horror.
Now more than ever we need to claim our faith, and especially guard against the inevitable wave of hatred for Islam and Palestinians and the thirst for vengeance that threaten to sweep through our land in response to the terrorist attacks. Now especially we, as people of faith, need to reclaim our call to be peacemakers. Many years ago millions of us sang, "Where have all the flowers gone," which concluded with the still unanswered question, "When will they ever learn; when will they ever learn?"
When, indeed, will we ever learn?
A PRAYER:
O God, when will we ever learn your ways of justice and peace? We pray for the
victims of this terrible act, as well as for their loved ones who grieve for
them. We pray too for those who continue to hate because they believe that they
are victims of injustice. Open all of our eyes and help us to pray and work
for peace. We pray this in the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.