Great Plains Daily Devotional for 6/15/2020

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
    reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    carrying their sheaves.

Lord, change our circumstances for the better.
 
I just told my teen son about another string of violent injustices that have unfolded just in the last 24 hours. He and I sat silent and heartbroken together for a few minutes, sharing in the collective grief and frustration. A few moments passed before he started talking about positive changes that are already happening, movements and awakenings, collaborations between seemingly opposite folks to bring about good. He is a child of revolution, born into a world that has given visual 24- hour-a-day access to wars and rumors of wars his whole life. To him, the world can be changed and it will be done by the ones who courageously make their voices known and do the work.
 
It inspires me. I tend to think I’ve done a good job deconstructing some of the either/or ideas I had of God, some of the more convenient notions I held onto about what it means for God to be in control, thereby absolving me of any real responsibility in the work of justice, renewal, and beauty- harvesting. But then moments like these come along and I feel overwhelmed, helpless, and maybe a little despairing that any real change will come into the world. Into my world.
 
I love this psalm - a pilgrimage song. It’s a melody for the journey. It reminds me that maybe the right thing for today is just to stay on the road. We’re invited to keep planting truth, beauty, and goodness in the Fields of our own hearts and our communities…even if the seeds are watered by our tears and we bury some of our expectations - and for some, even their fathers, sisters, children - in the ground alongside.
 
God is on this journey with us, friends. Even when the laughter seems gone and the work seems too hard. So keep planting, keep tending to the work, keep showing up even if the cheeks are tear- streaked and the eyes are weary. We are the people of the impossible. We are farmers of hope.
 
 

 

Prayer for Reflection

Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm  86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39