For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim. A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.I
Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High,when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.I trust in God, I do not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?II
All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,
recorded in your book?My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the LORD.In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?III
I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,4For you have snatched me from death,
Psalms 56:1-14
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
” I trust in God, I do not fear. What can mere flesh do to me?” …well, I’m working on it. How about you? I know we’ve talked about this before. Are you making any progress?
I still avoid the faith conversation unless I am REALLY sure I am talking to people of like-mind. Presumably, that is no way to contribute the mission Jesus gave us to evangelize the world, is it? But I just haven’t found the right way to present the faith to non-believers that will mean anything to them.
Let’s be honest, we live in a culture that does not value Christianity. In fact, Christians are painted as a bigoted and hateful group. We certainly have some serious stereotypes to overcome, and popular media is not making that easy for us.
Then, on occasion, a film or television show that promotes Christian ideas actually makes it to the airwaves. We need to watch for these productions and, if appropriate, show support. For example, last year there was a movie called, “I Can Only Imagine” that was unexpectedly successful in theaters. It is about a Christian pop musician whose song by the same name became the best-selling Christian single of all time.
There is another movie that will come out this weekend called, Unplanned. The National Council of Catholic Women is encouraging Christians to go to theaters in it’s first weekend (March 29-30) because decisions about how long a movie will be run in theaters are often based on the first weekend’s box-office receipts.
Have you heard of this movie? It is the story of Abby Johnson, who was actually a rising star in the pro-choice movement and a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood …until one day, she was actually in the room where an abortion was happening, and she actually saw it. Now she is a leader in the pro-life movement.
Let’s acknowledge right away, this has the potential to bring up a lot of controversy. If we do what the Council suggests, and the movie starts to be successful, there will be a powerful reaction in opposition to it. I must admit, to this point in my life I have, fairly successfully, avoided the front lines of this battle. Will I suddenly find my self there if I go to this movie this weekend?
Well, I just made plans with my son’s girlfriend to go to the movie this Saturday evening. We are going Saturday instead of Friday because that way my husband can be with us. When he and I discussed it a couple weeks ago, he expressed a desire to be with me in case there are activists. I am blessed to have a protector in my life!
As I mentally prepare myself for this outing, I rest on the message of today’s psalm, especially the line I mentioned at the beginning, that practically repeats. Later in the psalm it is “In God I trust, I do not fear. What can man do to me?” I pray that I can take that trust in God out into the world, even to face these moments.
Could the impact of this movie be a cultural turning-point? Who knows? That might be asking a lot. But this might be a way that we can make our small contribution. Above all, we must set a good example by living our lives in God’s love, even when it is unpopular.
So if you go to the movie this weekend and there are protesters there, do your best to remain calm. Don’t let them goad you into an angry confrontation that they will then use against you. Keep a prayer in your heart, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you so you can support the protection of human life without lashing out in anger.
I pray it will be a peaceful event and that it will shed some light on such a divisive issue for our society.