April 3/Fifth Friday of Lent
I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,
My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! ~ Ps 18.2-3
Rock, fortress, and stronghold. Such rugged metaphors befit a psalm that is said to be an expression of gratitude to God after a military victory. But what does it mean for us today to think of God in these terms? After all, the battles we fight in our lives do not usually entail swords or shields, fortresses or strongholds. But most people I know do feel embattled right now. In this case, the corona virus and the impacts it is having on our livelihoods, our communities, and our relationships, the forces arrayed against us seem to be invisible, intangible, insidious. We do need strength, protection, security in a world beset by chaos, swamped by troubles, and irretrievably broken — or as Jeremiah cries out in today’s first reading, “terror on every side!” While we wouldn’t be allowed to leave our homes to go to an actual fortress (social distancing!), we do have a safe place to turn as we are feeling engulfed by what the psalmist calls “the breakers of death,” or enmeshed by “the cords of the nether world.” And that place is God. He is our sanctuary: as steady as a rock, as protective as a fortress, as immovable as a stronghold. And the path to that refuge runs through prayer. Praying every day will lead us to peace and safety in the presence of God’s love. It is the locus of restoration and renewal in which we gather our scattered selves up in the healing light of God’s grace, and head back out into the world to fight the good fight for another day.
Lord of strength and peace, Surround me with your protecting love amid the world’s strife. Amen.
To hear the King’s College Choir sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0132OxXRdA
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040717.cfm
