Hear My Groans June 19

Prayer

Help me, Lord, to keep in my heart and mind the words of our Lady: “My soul magnifies the Lord and My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Because He has looked upon His servant in (my) lowliness.” May I look upon others with her joy and faith rather than suspicion and selfishness. May I act out of the abundance You give to me. May Your Word of Love be the source of my every word, every deed, every hope today.

http://www.usccb.org/nab/061906.shtml

Study

The evil and violence in the first reading from Kings almost takes my breath away. The anointed king of the 10 tribes and his wife murder a man and steal his “ancestral heritage”. Their greed and lust seem overwhelming as does the helplessness of the innocent man caught in their scheme.

Gratefully I read the words of the psalmist who captures my dismay most exactly: “Lord, listen to my groaning”. What else to do but groan in the face of evil perpetrated by the powerful on those less powerful? The author, perhaps David himself, 3,000 years before my time and hundreds of years removed from King Ahab, feels and describes my horror and distress. Yet he does not despair. He believes that “the bloodthirsty and the deceitful the Lord abhors”. Yes, I am called to remember that God is on the side of the good. Although daily I hear of systemic evil, of corrupt power doing violence to the vulnerable, I can, with the psalmist say with deep conviction: “At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you…”

But that isn’t enough. God does want our trust. Jesus teaches us to ask God “bring us not into temptation and deliver us from evil”. Jesus further tells us that God wants more. “I say to you offer no resistance to evil… give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Jesus turns on its head the messages that we receive every day from the media and from well-meaning friends who say “watch yourself, it’s dangerous out there”.

Of course it’s dangerous. But “deliver us from evil” includes the evil of suspicion that we harbor in our hearts for those different from us and even those who speak falsely against us and seek our downfall and our death. “Deliver us from evil” includes the evil of our complicity with immoral government leaders who trample those they should serve with the attitude that: those people deserve what they’ve gotten because of their sloth, their actions or that they threaten me. It is love we should harbor in our hearts. Love and respect. We should know, and act as if we know, that God is the God of all Created beings.

Jesus asks us to go beyond the 10 Commandments. We know we should not kill or covet others’ goods or spouse. Jesus asks us to love unequivocally. Tough to do. Remember with the psalmist: God will “destroy all who speak falsehood” or God will forgive. That is up to God, not up to me.

Action
Who is it that we fear? Distrust? Hate? Do I think that sharing what I have leaves less for me? Look at initiatives sponsored by your parish for the homeless, the unwed, the displaced, the mentally ill, the addicted, the refugee, the immigrant. Sign up to help. Or start an outreach rooted in “go with him for two miles."