Faith In Real Life Blog: “Discover What Matters”
Rev. Vernon Gramling
Decatur Presbyterian Church
January 18, 2024
Psalm 62
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 3 How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my deliverance and my honour; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. 10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.11Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, 12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
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The writer of this Psalm has had a very hard time of it. We don’t know what injury or betrayal he experienced but he has been caught off guard. “How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.” Whatever sense of security he had as a ‘person of prominence’ has not protected him. Lies are told about him and he feels battered. Very few of us have escaped something similar. It happens when ‘mean girls’ strike and when bullies attack. It happens when we try our best and dark motives are attributed to us. It happens when we are stereotyped and dismissed. Sometimes it simply does not matter if we are honorable; we can be attacked. Read the comments on a news story. Try to present a reasoned thoughtful disagreement. Attacks, insults and ad hominem arguments are more often the response. Being ‘right’ is measured by agreement rather than respect. Turning the other cheek in such situations will often invite a verbal beating. Even conscious disengaging is likely to bring taunts.
I once worked with a couple who were being sued for the custody of the husband’s daughter. The biological mother had disappeared when the daughter was an infant. Now, 16 years later, she reappeared, wanted custody and child support. The stepmother was livid. She loved this girl and had worked very hard to mother and support her. She felt betrayed, dismissed and unappreciated. Worse, the biological mother sought to have child support based upon their joint income. The stepmother risked losing the daughter she had raised and was being expected to pay for it. Surely, she could cry out: “How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?”
Fortunately, this woman was a practicing Christian, so I had extra tools at my disposal. I asked her if she thought Jesus was a good man? Caught off guard, she hesitated and said “yes, of course.” I simply responded: “It didn’t stop him from being crucified.” The discovery that even his status as the Son of God did not protect Jesus, is a painful reminder that neither our obedience, goodness, fidelity nor our faith can protect us from the injustice and hardship of this world. It is one of the harder lessons of faith.
Yet as this Psalmist suggests, these experiences can actually lead to a deeper faith. The Hebrew words for ‘God alone’ are repeated six times. Of all the human endeavors that seem to matter, everything can and will be lost. Everything earthly is transient. If we had any doubt that we are vulnerable creatures that cannot ensure our own safety, aging and loss will teach the lesson. But, when we learn that lesson, we surrender to dependance upon God.
God alone “is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken” becomes our refrain, our foundation and our hope. Perhaps paradoxically, when we realize that the very nature of our being is vulnerable, we release our egocentric desires to protect ourselves with our savings, our exercise, our position in society or even our place in history. All of these things matter but they can never protect us from our ultimate vulnerability. In one, two or three generations, our names will be lost—except as entries in rarely visited archives. Usually, this lesson is learned through loss. When we discover we can actually survive such losses, the losses themselves can be transformative. We learn that we do not live to be remembered, we live to love.
My mother is almost 100 years old. She is thoroughly planted in another decade and no longer reliably remembers her family. I will visit her next month in the full knowledge that it is extremely unlikely that she will have any idea of who I am. She can fake recognition well—but at best, her memories are disconnected. When she lived with us three years ago, she had been in our home for about six weeks. On a phone call from my sister, she commented how much she appreciated ‘that nice man’ who took her to church. That man was me. I had no idea that she did not recognize me. Now, three years later, there are vacant stares and confusion if I tell her who I am. So why go? I go because love does not require recognition nor reciprocity. I will have neither. But she does enjoy being touched and hugged. My faith claim is that mindfulness and regard (no matter how poorly we are at such efforts) are the most important things we can do in life. That is what belief in God means for me.
It is demanding faith to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and strength—to make loving our highest priority. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Yet this is the foundation of our faith. It brings us closer to God, gives meaning to our lives and is the only thing that is eternal. We can be assured that we will often be misunderstood and unappreciated. But our resurrection faith is that love lives, love matters and love will prevail.
So, get on with loving as best you can. You are not being graded. Rather you are being invited to the way of life that gives life. Rely on the Psalmist faith: “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.” If we can remember this, the world’s travails will hurt us—and in Jesus’ case include pain and suffering—but we can stay focused upon living and loving no matter what happens to us.
Finally, though the last verse suggests a God who is keeping the books on our behaviors and misbehaviors (For you repay to all according to their work.), I prefer to understand this phrase as acknowledging that when we seek to make loving our highest priority, we move in the direction of God. And even if we are terrible at it, God is with us.
Love one another deeply—from the heart. Let it be so.
Vernon Gramling is a Parrish Associate at DPC. He has been providing pastoral care and counseling for over 45 years. You can find more about Vernon, the Faith in Real Life (FIRL) gatherings and Blog at our staff page or FIRL.
