For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites.
I
As the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When can I enter and see the face of God?
My tears have been my broad day and night,
as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?”
Those times I recall
as I pour out my soul,
When I would cross over to the shrine of the Mighty One,
to the house of God,
Amid loud cries of thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.
Why are you downcast, my soul;
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
II
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I remember you
From the land of the Jordan and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar,
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your torrents,
and all your waves and breakers
sweep over me.
By day may the Lord send his mercy,
and by night may his righteousness be with me!
I will pray to the God of my life,
I will say to God, my rock:
“Why do you forget me?
Why must I go about mourning
with the enemy oppressing me?”
It shatters my bones, when my adversaries reproach me,
when they say to me every day: “Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, my soul,
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
Psalms 42:1-12
Today the psalmist seems to be sad because of the lack of faith around him. He mentions that others say “Where is your God?” He struggles to defend his faith to them, although that faith does not seem to be shaken.
Maybe we can relate to that a little bit in the 21st century. There are certainly more who believe in God now than in those times, but lately there is a more prevalent pop culture swing away from faith, or so it seems. The media, the entertainment industry, and politicians sometimes lean away from faith-based ideals, and the atheists around us are becoming more vocal.
Because of that trend, it is easy to be hesitant to share the faith in public. Do any of you ever avoid talking about God just in case someone might not believe and become offended or judgmental? I feel intimidated like that all the time.
Evangelization? How about keeping it to myself unless I’m sure everyone around me agrees? But that’s not what Jesus calls us to do. We are supposed to take God’s good news to all the world.
On Facebook, there are people who share ideas of our faith. I am even hesitant sometimes to click on the “like” button because I don’t want it to come up in the newsfeeds of my friends who don’t believe. Certainly, sharing a Facebook meme with someone doesn’t have much chance to convert him to the faith, but I always struggle with my own fear of offending the non-believers.
At the same time, there are right ways and wrong ways to share our faith. Being really pushy about it isn’t going to lead to anyone’s conversion. We can’t be critical of those who don’t believe or put them down. They can’t be forced or coerced into belief.
So how can we do it? How can we fulfill our call to evangelize the world? I think it has to grow from the example of our lives. A Christian life well-lived should be a beacon for all to see.
Of course, that’s a tall order in itself! We are, after all, only human. So we’ll have to rely on the Holy Spirit to carry us through our weakness.
As we enter Lent tomorrow, maybe we should think about this some more. What might we adopt as a Lenten promise that will help to promote the faith throughout the world?