April 6, 2022 (Lent Week 5)

 

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord”

(Psalm 130:1)

 

The first verse of Psalm 130 brings to mind Thoreau’s famous line about people who “live lives of quiet desperation” – this verse gives voice to a soul who has been depleted of self, and is left simply with a weary plea for Divine intervention.

 

I suspect that there are many amongst us who find themselves in a similar place of weariness – emerging from the extended confines of Covid and its social and spiritual deprivations, only to be faced on the horizon with the threat of yet another variant, the intolerance of a fractured social fabric, a frayed supply chain, the return of a once forgotten price inflation, and the spectre of a dangerous, destructive war.  “Out of the depths” indeed.

 

And yet, the simple response of God to our cry of quiet desperation is found in verse 7 – “For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.”  The essence of this answer is in His nature and character – His inherent mercy leading to our rescue and redemption.

 

Because we have that assurance, we can rehearse His faithfulness, even in the depths.  The testament of the Church, through its liturgy, the Church calendar, the work of the Church Fathers and the teaching of modern scholars and vicars, reminds us that our ultimate fate is not to be consigned to the depths of verse 1, but to rest secure in the knowledge of His redemption, as promised in verse 7.  As an Anglican by choice, this is one of the aspects that I so appreciate about the Anglican tradition – practicing a lifestyle of deliberately rehearsing God’s faithfulness, in humble assurance and thanksgiving.

 

The photograph that I chose for this reflection is of the interior of St. George’s in Banff, a quiet place where I began my hesitant journey out of the depths towards the assurance of God’s good redemption – not through any effort of mine, but singularly through His mercy and grace.

 

- Lee Cutforth