Today’s Advent Reflection is from Janet Ketteringham
A Humble Heart Trusting in The Lord.
Psalm 27
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold[a] of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4 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 to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8 ‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10 If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Reflection
This psalm of David starts off with a statement of bravado to the world – with the Lord I am invincible, I have no fear, I am never afraid. Defiant – I will not be afraid.
Well, sometimes we do find ourselves in situations where bravado and defiance are our weapons, our mainstays, even when our knees are jelly and our instincts say run away and hide; or we may even stand and lash out and fight. So, there’s David, hands on hips, swaggering about, throwing out words which say I can defeat anyone ‘cos the Lord is with me, so there!
Then David asks the Lord for peace, quiet, shelter, safety, security – and we nod and agree they’re good things, needful things. Surprisingly, however, he asks them not for himself as a petitioner i.e I want to stop fighting and slaying and instead I’d like to be a prayerful man, looking only to God. No, none of that, David is still in full puffed-up chest mode asking these things as king, so he can be safe, and he can triumph over his enemies and then he’ll shout and sing to you Lord, with joy!
Now the psalm changes; David has an abrupt reality check – oh, Lord, be merciful to me and don’t be angry with me, don’t abandon me – it’s almost as though he’s just read what he’s written , and realised he’s an idiot, a proud vengeful king, a posturing nitwit saying Yah boo, I’m not afraid, God will keep me safe and you lot, watch out! He’s re-heard his words and you can feel his collapse in the next verse, his moment of clarity at what he’s been asking for, as though it’s just there for the taking like a spoilt, demanding child.
So, he says, he begs the Lord, please don’t turn away from me, but humbly and quietly asks - teach me Lord what you want me to do. Lead me. Show me the way. And he finishes the psalm, exhausted with emotion – looking out at us – Trust in the Lord, Have faith, Do not Despair, Trust in the Lord.
And here we are, part-way along our Advent journey and we have just met David, boy and king. Confident, brave boy defying Goliath who represented a terrible enemy threatening the existence of the Israelite people. A people who needed an innovative, dynamic leader. But he’s a king now, still with real enemies - but within his court as well as outside the walls. He feels he needs a great smiting, a great solution once and for all and you can picture him almost tearing out his hair he shouts his prideful words of fearlessness and wants the Lord to just show him how to succeed.
But the thinking David, the realist David, the prayerful David prevails; you can see him kneeling and asking, teach me Lord, keep me safe from harm – words we can use as we pray.
And it’s both a comfort and a joy for us to know the heart of this important man; that despite his might and power, he has realised that only with a humble heart and true intention to listen will he get through the next crisis at court, the next battle, the next flood, the next famine, the next pandemic.
And we can truly take comfort from his final words in this psalm – Trust in the Lord, Have Faith, Do not Despair. And we will find Joy for as David writes at the start of the psalm The Lord is my Light and my Salvation. And He is Coming!