Read: Psalm 31:9-16

For my life is wasted with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones are consumed. … I am as useless as a broken pot.
-Psalm 31:10, 12b

Palm Sunday is a cacophony of extremes, starting with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before adoring crowds; descending all too quickly into the horrors of arrest, trial, bloodthirsty mobs, and agonizing crucifixion in a full public display; and from this pit of despair emerging triumphant over the final enemy, death. And the world is changed forever.

But that pendulum swing from one state to another is our experience, too. Life, no matter how well lived, does not promise anyone an easy time of it. Many of us do our best to put the down times out of our minds, and many of us will not advertise our failures, pains, and losses. We often deal with our griefs primarily in our own minds and hearts. Sometimes we have no choice. Jesus was deserted by his best-loved friends and suffered alone. Alone.

So, what is it with this psalmist, who goes public with his fraught life and fears of his enemies? He energetically lays out samples of what stinks (“they plot to take my life”) and takes a good long time to get around to seeking God’s help. But he does, at last, get there.

If we have similar low times, perhaps it’s good to remember that we can turn to God. We don’t have to be alone.

O LORD, my times are in your hand… make your face to shine upon your servant, and your loving-kindness to save me. Amen.
-Tom Worrell

Read: Psalm 57

For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds.
-Psalm 57:10

This psalm is believed to have been written by David during one of the two times when he was hiding from King Saul in a cave. David was a servant of King Saul and his job was to make music when Saul was sad. Saul was jealous of David’s popularity with the people and sought to destroy him. So “Bible students think that David also wrote this psalm so that the people could sing it to music that they called “Do not destroy”. Psalm 57 is called a miktam. This means it had a hidden meaning or had special teaching in it.” (Free Bible Commentary) Think of David hiding in a cave singing and praising God for his steadfast love and faithfulness!

God counts on us, His people, to reach out to those around us who are suffering or in need so that they experience God’s faithfulness in their hour of need. I am thinking of a friend of mine who was suffering from COVID-19 and who was in desperate straits, trying to survive the virus all alone in her apartment. I reached out to the prayer chain in our church and to different members of our congregation asking them to hold Sue in their prayers. A month later, Sue is doing so much better and is so grateful for the prayers and good thoughts sent her way. God is faithful!!!!

Our Soroptimist club in La Conner has budgeted money for a Christmas Program which gives out gift cards and checks to the families of children in our local schools who are facing financial difficulties. The number of children who experience food insecurity and/or homeless has almost doubled from last year. Our club felt privileged to also deliver the gifts for these families that were purchased by different members of the community through the Washington Federal Christmas Tree family adoption program. Due to COVID-19, we were not able to give and receive the hugs we normally do but we did see the joy and anticipation on the children’s faces and the gratitude and relief on the parents’ faces that there would be gifts under the tree this year.

Lord, help us to be sensitive to your prompting to show Your faithfulness and love by reaching out to those in need. Amen.
-Marilyn Allen

Read: Psalm 70

Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me!
-Psalm 70:1

Author Anne Lamott wrote a book eight years ago entitled Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, and I think this psalm would definitely be included in the “Help” section. Pleas for haste and deliverance appear twice in this psalm, which is a big theme when the psalm is only 5 verses.

Why is it important that pleas for help appear consistently in this psalm? Why is it important that we ask God for help when we are in trouble? Does prayer make a difference?

My answer to the last question is “YES!” Prayer does make a difference when we unite our will to that of God. God wants to help us and deliver us and seems to want us to ask. Does this mean that we will always be delivered from trouble? The answer to that question is “not exactly.” When our trouble is caused by our own bad decisions, we do have to face the consequences. God is present with us, however, as we face them.

In everything we face, be present with us, Lord. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: Psalm 139

Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
-Psalm 139:7

Full disclosure: This is my favorite psalm. I was really surprised to find this on a list of psalms of lament because most of it seems like a psalm in which the psalmist is in awe of the presence of God. They are pondering how they could go to the ends of the earth, and yet God is there. They are marveling at how they were put together in their mother’s womb, which I find incredibly profound. I mean, this is the psalm I go to when I need to be reminded of God’s presence with me.

The problematic part comes in verse 19 when the psalmist takes a violent turn and talks about wishing the Lord would kill the wicked. Umm… OK… They then talk about hating those who hate the Lord (v. 21), and I find myself wanting to back away slowly while looking for all the possible exits out of this psalm. The psalmist talks about hating them (the wicked and people who hate God) with a perfect hatred (v.22), and I find myself pondering how exactly we went from a psalm expressing wonder and awe to hating people. The psalmist then returns to wanting God to search them and know their thoughts (v.23), and I start wondering what just happened here.

The issue, I think, is that the psalmist’s zeal for the Lord gets a bit out of hand in those four verses from 19-22, and they want to be part of the judgment on the wicked because they have perhaps been persecuted. Zeal is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be tempered and focused in a specific way lest it get out of hand and bad things happen. Those four verses are problematic for me, but I can see (mostly) how they could fit into the psalm. I hold them in tension with the wonder and awe expressed in the majority of the psalm, and I return to feeling like the psalm encircles me like a mantle of strength.

Thank you, Lord, for your presence in the world and the ability to wonder and ponder things. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: Psalm 141

Give ear to my voice when I call to you. Let my prayer be counted as incense before you.
-Psalm 141:1b, 2a

By now familiar to us, the psalmist is once again praying to be preserved from wickedness. This hits close to home if I am honest; it pains me to admit that I relate to his plea that God place a guard over his mouth. “Keep watch over the door of my lips”, it reads. I am reminded that I can in this way save myself from wickedness. Words can be weapons if we so choose.

The writer implores God to hear his petition, asking that his prayer be “counted as incense”—ephemeral, floaty, sweet-smelling smoke. When I think of incense, I am reminded of the vague, faint aroma that lingers long after the oh-so-slow burning has finished. Is it too much to imagine that our prayers could likewise saturate the very space around God? Just think: our words continue to resonate long after the sound itself has evaporated into silence.

My dear friend Sharon Kohn, a Reformed Jewish temple cantor in the Kansas City area, inspired me to think of music similarly. She gave the children’s “sermon” once at a Presbyterian church in Houston where I served as pianist and music director. The subject was prayer, so she demonstrated by singing a brief Torah reading and prayer in her gentle, rich soprano voice for the kids. They were asked to imagine why the chanting tradition might be so important in her faith. After several long seconds, a boisterous little three year old girl exclaimed, “Because it’s prettier that way!” Well, yes! Sharon likened song to wrapping paper enclosing the prayers offered up like gifts. Indeed, isn’t the very best present even better when it’s in beautiful ribbons and bows? And how blessed we are that God hears our every prayer, sung or silent, wrapped or bare, in great exuberance or excruciating pain!

At the end, the psalmist expresses several hopeful thoughts: his eyes turn toward God, seeking refuge and defense. Evildoers become prey to their own traps, and he alone escapes. So may we, in keeping our eyes on God, thus be preserved.

Dear God, thank you for hearing our prayers and for your faithfulness as our refuge and defense. May we always strive to be the same for any of your creations in such need. Amen.
-David Sloat

Read: Psalm 27

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in his temple.
-Psalm 27:4

In this psalm, David is lamenting that he is not able to worship the Lord as is his custom while he is waging warfare. His adversaries are surrounding him, his enemies are plotting against him. But he knows that “the Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear? This Lord is the stronghold (refuge) of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” His wish at this exceedingly difficult time is to be able to have a room in the house of the Lord where he could worship every day.

I think of us in 2020 and 2021 waging warfare against the COVID-19 virus. We are hunkered down in our homes, isolated from our friends and family, taking all precautions necessary to not contract the virus. As humans, we are social beings who want to spend time with our friends whether it is a walk together, sharing a meal, or just sharing that hug.

But most of all, we are missing that chance to “live” in the house of the Lord as we are accustomed to. Instead of being able to go to church and sit in a pew with the rest of the congregation, we are at home on Zoom! I miss the awe of feeling God’s presence in the church, the singing of the hymns, and the choir anthems. I miss hearing your celebrations of life and being able to support you in your joys and sorrows. I miss being able to extend God’s peace to you with a handshake or a hug. But most of all, I miss sharing Holy Communion at the Lord’s Table with all of you – that special time to commune with God.

But, like David, we are here keeping the faith. We are fighting the virus knowing that this too shall pass, and the time will come when we can go back to some form of “normalcy”. Circumstances change but God is faithful and steadfast in His love toward us and He will give us the strength to persevere until we can worship together again.

Lord, thank you for your promise to be with us even during COVID-19. Help us to keep the faith!
-Marilyn Allen