EASTER V
May 2, 2021
Oh, for the Love of God!
I admit that these times can make the love of God difficult for me to grasp. It is so easy to focus on the bad and evil in the world – dwelling on that instead of the good news that we know of in the love of God. Monday morning I went to check out the condition that Team Rubicon (TR) was leaving the church building in. I’ve done this before – I know they will move whatever needs to be moved, clean whatever might need a bit more cleaning without any hesitation. That’s the easy part. I also realize that this group of volunteers, though secular, shows the love of God everywhere they go. It’s difficult for me to say goodbye to these people who give so freely of themselves. So much recovery work still remains.
Shortly after watching the TR truck and trailer leave the lot, my friend Brian from Eight Days of Hope (EDOH) arrives to de-commission and pull away the shower trailer that EDOH provided for TR’s use while they were here with us. Eight Days of Hope also performs disaster relief and, as of two months ago, has taken up permanent residence here in Cedar Rapids. EDOH does much more than shower trailers and disaster relief – like warehousing and dock facilities for truck loads of food, rebuilding homes, and providing safe spaces for victims of human trafficking. During the time Brian and I are readying the trailer for transport, we talk about the food distribution plans for the future. At this point it seems that May will be the last month of the distribution activities in the form that we know them. The food distribution events that we have become good at, that have strengthened our ties to the community, and that have strengthened our ties to each other — will only last a short while longer. Monday became a difficult day.
I remember how on Sunday I told others that in my world the face of God is comfort in times of change — times when I plunge into the unknown. I remember that I want to look up the readings for this coming Sunday so I can join my son’s text study on Wednesday. I find that next week’s texts include a segment of Psalm 22 – also known as the Psalm of David. The verses are 25-31, and they raise a question in my mind. I’m very familiar with the opening of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — yet the excerpt for this week begins “From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!”
I read all of Psalm 22. I see that while it does begin with a sense of being forsaken by God, it ends with words of praise for God. In the interpretations, I find comfort in the statement “It is true that sometimes affliction may come as punishment or as discipline. Yet sometimes affliction is something God does not despise, and uses to good effect in the lives of His people.” Psalm 22:24 states “For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.” The Spirit guided me to this portion of the Bible today. The very part that speaks of going through human frustration with the state of one’s world into the realization that affliction can create never before seen opportunity. While we don’t know what’s to come next, I am renewed in faith that God is still up to good things in my/our world. Take time to contemplate that opportunity that God provides through the death upon a cross of his own son — the conquering of sin and death forever for those who believe. Take time to think about the good things in your world.
Peace,
Craig Nilsen