Editorial: the ache of holding on
To thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven. Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until he have mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: for we are greatly filled with contempt. For our soul is greatly filled: we are a reproach to the rich, and contempt to the proud.
Psalm 122
Never before have men hated the Truth with such contempt. And the servants of Him; we are not welcome in the future they have planned.
The rich, who have the world, reproach the Christian message because it calls him to leave his dust for life, to leave what he has for now, so that he can receive for eternity.
For this appeal our Lord was hated, as His Christians, are today. But it is much worse now, because they are emboldened in their hatred from seeing no consequence for a life of contempt, while the remembrance of death is placed far from the conscience.
We know that our Lord is true to his word; that the savior of mankind will deliver His own. So we can only wait now.
We watch for mercy. Our eyes hang on the hands of God, looking for motion.
“Our souls are greatly filled,” sings the psalmist, we are as rain barrels filled to the brim with storm waters. We hold together, but the time draws on, and we are already painfully full.
This period of expectation prepares us for the justice to come; when God’s justice is cause for our relief it is merciful for us.
A WQPH contributor offers the following poem in reflection:
When the soul is filled with tears
from withstanding storms,
and casts its shadow, long as years,
upon the sore, eroded grounds,
and yet, retains its faithful form
before the drought of justice comes.
Yea, the sun will rise,
brilliantly for all,
and terrible for some.
Then the ache of holding on
becomes a grace;
full and without want.
Poem and editorial by WQPH contributing members. Barrel image via Flickr/Creative Commons.
