Psalm 147:1-12, 21c (NRSV)
Devotion
I remember as a child hearing that a Christian Science adherent would hang wash on a clothesline (those were the good old days!) on a rainy day singing, “Oh, what a beautiful day!” I thought, “How foolish to pretend, to deny reality!” But now I wonder if it is any less foolish for prophets and other people of faith to sing songs of hope in dark, difficult times.
Jerusalem lay in ruins, and the rebuilding of the city and the Temple did not proceed as quickly or as easily as the newly-returned exiles had hoped. Discouragement followed discouragement. Yet these people of faith began to sing:
Praise the LORD!...
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
Have you noticed how difficult it is to distinguish hope from Pollyanna-esque dim vision, faith from foolishness?
Prayer
Great God, abundant in power, fill your people with power to see your presence in the darkness, your purposes being worked out in the pain, your promises being fulfilled in hopeless times. Give us faith that holds on to you in the storm; hold fast to us when our grip grows weak. Amen.