Comfort and Assurance

Our lectionary text Psalm 63 is a Psalm of David. We didn’t pick it, it was picked for us by whoever set up the lectionary and this is today’s reading. We’re going through the psalms for Lent and officially the lectionary stopped the psalm at verse 8. I thought, “Let’s do the whole thing and watch the spiritual whiplash.” It starts off so nice, so comforting, and it ends with, “But those who oppose me are going to fall under the sword and be prey for jackals.” Why is that there?

Author and theologian Rob Bell says that when you’re reading the bible, it’s best to start not with God, but with the people. Don’t start with the divinity of scripture, start with the humanity. If you start with the humanity, you’ll be surprised by the divinity.

It’s what we find here in Psalm 63. The lectionary has us read just to verse 8. It leaves us with a very nice, comforting psalm. Praising God, calling on God’s name, being satisfied and singing for joy. That’s so NICE! Then it ends with “But those who oppose me are gonna get it.”

Start with the humanity. This is a psalm attributed to David. David is in the wilderness of Judah writing about comfort and assurance. Scholars think that this Psalm was written during the events found in 1 Samuel 24 where Saul is hunting David. Saul is king but the Prophet Samuel has anointed David king now. God regrets ever making Saul king because he has gone mad with power, corrupt with authority, and jealous of others. The story in 1 Samuel is that David is being chased by Saul, and David sneaks up into the cave where Saul has camped out and is asleep. David cuts a corner of Saul’s cloak and when Saul wakes up and breaks camp, he sees David holding up a piece of his cloak. This says to Saul, “I could have killed you, but I didn’t. You are hunting me, but I wish you no harm.”[1]

This time had to be stressful for David. He is fleeing for his life from a mad king. This isn’t some distant king in some foreign city, this is his best friend Jonathan’s dad. This is his former mentor, King Saul. They used to be close. Saul used to call David his son and after David holds up the cloak, Saul says, “Is that my son David? You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.”

David writes today’s psalm at a time of great stress. He is seeking comfort and assurance that his faith is not in vain. That God will deliver him during this time where comfort is hard to find. He is sleeping outside. He is on the run. He is under great stress. He is pursued by his former mentor, his best friend’s dad who has gone crazy with jealousy and is spreading lies about David saying, “He just wants the power. He’d kill me. He never really loved me, it was all a ploy.”

Maybe you have had someone turn on you. Maybe it was a coworker or a boss. Maybe a cousin or uncle or even a grandparent or parent. Someone who once was close and who trusted you suddenly starts spreading lies and wanting to harm you emotionally or physically or in any way they possibly can.

In times like those, it is good to seek comfort. When you are stressed, when people are out to get you, when you are being slandered, it’s good to take a breath and go to God in prayer. To find comfort and assurance in God’s presence. To rest in the Lord. Sometimes life is so overwhelming to us and to those we share our story with that all we can say is “Hold me in prayer.” I used to find it comforting when someone would say, “I’ll pray for you.” Or “You’re in my thoughts and prayers.” It was even better when they’d pray with me right then. Whether we were talking on the phone or face-to-face, being prayed over was very comforting.

Yet the phrase, “Thoughts and Prayers” has become less comforting to me. What was once a comforting phrase has become a trigger phrase for many that is an example of the callous. Such as, after mass shootings. People with no intent to DO anything about the present situation and are comfortable with the status quo say this. It’s not a sign of action. It’s a phrase of cheap grace. It is not a phrase for those seeking comfort, it is a phrase from the comfortable. There’s a big difference.

Growin up, I was a house cat by nature. A homebody. I didn’t like things that disturbed my comfort. I wanted to be comfortable. I didn’t watch the news, it was disturbing. Humans are unpredictable, irrational, and dangerous. I liked being home. Home was comfortable and predictable. Everything else was suspect. So if I heard a story that was beyond what I knew, I dismissed it. Women talking about the glass ceiling? Nope. White privilege, supremacy, and racism? Not hearing it. Ethnic food like tacos… or heretical things like pineapple on pizza? Not eating it and will mock anyone who does. My world was contained and I hated change.

The difference between being comfortable and seeking comfort is a posture and a spirit. Being comfortable is a posture of an ostrich with its head in the sand. Being comfortable states, “I want it that way” and seeking comfort states, “It is what it is.” Seeking comfort is being in distress and trying to find a safe harbor; someone to listen. A place of rest. A time where the event is not weighing on us.

There is an implicit spiritual paradox here. In my mind, you know it’s from God if it’s a paradox. David is on the run, he is uncomfortable. He’s beyond ever returning home and just being a shepherd again. Yet he is comfortable in his discomfort. That’s the paradox. David is saying, “I am uncomfortable with the liars and those who wish me harm, but they ultimately don’t matter. I trust in God. I find my comfort there and not with them.” To be able to name that is no small thing. To be able to name your discomfort and be comfortable saying, “Yeah… I’m here… I’m anxious. I’m restless. I’m depressed. I’m in conflict with this person.” To name that is vital to our emotional and spiritual lives.

Not to name it is to be dishonest with oneself. Not to name it would just cause things to come out sideways. Not to name it would be trying to punch in a destination in your GPS, but the GPS doesn’t know where you’re starting from. How can you start, how can you know whether to go North or South or East or West if you don’t know where you’re starting from? To say, “I’m angry” is to name the starting place to get to a place of forgiveness and peace. To say, “I’m bitter at God” is not only biblical, but to name the starting place if you want to get to a place of spiritual peace and wholeness, resting in the grace of God.

I wanted to follow Jesus. I felt called to. I wanted world peace and safety for all people. To do that, I had to step out of my small comfort zone and resist being comfortable. Instead, I had to have faith in God and find comfort in my discomfort. I found what Cesar A. Cruz, the Mexican poet and human rights activist, once stated, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” That is also the purpose of a sermon. The purpose of a sermon for me is to “comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.” So those of you sleeping right now… I’m doing my job. Those of you disturbed right now, I’m doing my job. Those of you who are thinking, “MEH…” I am failing you.

Great art afflicts and disturbs me. Good documentaries that drive me batty about the state of things. Wonderful films like “Boy Erased” or “The Hate U Give” and others wake me up to stories of those not my own. Just as Jesus woke others up in his day by telling stories with the Samaritan as the good guy. Or a woman looking for a coin. Or a treasure buried in a field. They were weird stories. Parables are told to provoke a response in us to think, “Who is this God who loves everyone?” For us to think, “They too are my neighbor?”

I am still somewhat of a homebody. I treasure time of comfort, and the Sabbath is a command. Yet I have found that I love listening to stories outside my comfort-zone. I love twist endings and stories with ethical quandaries that aren’t neatly wrapped up. I love stories not my own even though I’m still not sure about people putting pineapple on pizza. We all have our limits, but I’m trying to grow as that’s a human thing to do. I had to start with my humanity so I was able to see the humanity in others. And when I saw the humanity in others and found my story wrapped up in theirs… I found God. I found divinity. And I was shocked.

Start with your humanity. Start with your feelings. Start where you are. And you’ll be surprised by the divinity. Wherever you are in your journey, have confidence in God and that the universe is a generative and creative place. Have faith that this whole thing has been rigged in your favor. Not favor like I’ll get everything I want but that I’ll get everything that I need. Not that I’ll be comfortable, but that I shall be comforted. This whole thing is rigged in your favor. Life will find a way. Take heart and be comforted, church. Even God struggled with the task set before Jesus… this is the way? I have to go to the cross?! Let this cup pass! But Jesus took comfort in that discomfort and faced it and thus we have Easter! We have hope! Not even death can stop us.

You might be facing down something huge that you feel might crush or kill you. Yeah… it might. But that’s not the full story. That’s just part of it. Take comfort that God can and will deliver. All who swear by God will glory in God, while the mouths of liars will be silenced. Comfort! Comfort my people, says your God. Comfort in your discomfort. Comfort in your story, wherever you are. And may grace and peace be with you. Amen.

[1] Paraphrase of 1 Samuel 24:11-15

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