Heroes and Villains
AM Psalm 75, 76 • PM Psalm 23, 27
2 Samuel 5:22-6:11 • Acts 17:16-34 • Mark 8:1-10
How many enemies do you have? Do we all at times think of ourselves and our lives like the story of hero unfolding where we regularly encounter a weekly nemesis? Maybe it’s the mail man. Perhaps it’s the person driving in front of you or trying to help you resolve your internet issue on the phone. They’ve hatched a genius plot to destroy your life and ruin your peace. They’ve worked on it for months. Scheming. Plotting. Maybe it’s your neighbor and—worse—their henchman dog. They’ve plotted to pee in your yard once daily so as to throw a wrench in all your horticulture aspirations.
But really, how important are we? What average person has true enemies? Is there really a Skeletor or Lex Luthor lurking in your life? Or have we just all assumed some basic things about people and created villains that plague our existence? The truth is, we do encounter people that rub us the wrong way or do things that we don’t like or disagree with. However, when these encounters lead us to start thinking that the world is out to get us, we soon find ourselves in a predicament we would not wish on anyone. We begin to set ourselves up intuitively as the standard for right and wrong. We judge harshly. Sometimes ruthlessly. We can even fall into the trap of using scripture (that should be convicting our own hearts) as a bludgeon to tell the rest of the world we are right and literally everyone else is wrong. THWAAAMMMM!
When we read the Psalms for today it can be easy to gloss over the use of the word “enemy.” When scripture uses the word “enemy” it almost goes without thinking that enemy means people against me. Sometimes dear friends, enemy, is speaking squarely to us the reader. We at times are our own worst enemy. We judge ourselves harshly, withhold forgiveness and grace, and promote false ideologies that lead us down darkened paths. Thankfully we have a vitamin we can take to build up our spiritual defenses, daily if needed, in Psalms 23 and 27.
There will not be a time in our lives where we won’t fall short. But the miracle and the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus, the Lord, the God of Heaven and Earth, is our Shepherd and Redeemer. He leads us by still waters. He sets a table for us even when we are preventing ourselves from dining. He redeems what seems irredeemable. Sometimes when the Lord conquers our enemies, He really is helping us conquer our own deceptive ways of thinking, that destroy our peace, and block grace from flooding our lives. So, the next time you’re out and about and you encounter your nemesis, take a moment to ask yourself what’s really going on. Maybe think of Psalm 23 or 27. Pray with me the words, “teach us Your way, Lord, and lead us on a level path (Psalm 27:11).
God love you.
Written by Jonathan Wright
Jonathan is a native of Atlanta, GA and a relatively new member of St. Paul’s. He moved to the parish from the Cathedral Church of Saint Mark in Salt Lake City, UT where he became an Episcopalian.