Even When the Lions Roar: Psalm 22:

 ¹⁹But you, O Lord, be not far away;
  O my help, hasten to my aid.
 ²⁰Deliver me from the sword,
  my life from the power of the dog.
 ²¹Save me from the lion’s mouth!
  From the horns of wild bulls you have rescued me.
 ²²I will declare your name to my people;
  in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. 
 ²³You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
  Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.
 ²⁴For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither is the Lord‘s face hidden from them;
  but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.
 ²⁵From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
  I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
 ²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
  Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever!
 ²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
  all the families of nations shall bow before God.
 ²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord,
  who rules over the nations. (NRSV)

To Mars and Beyond! VBS 2019. Courtesy of Callie Bobo Photography

For several years, we’ve given each of our vacation bible school participants a CD of all the music from the week. The CDs should contain a warning label to parents saying, “resistance is useless.”

The songs are about as infectious as the “rockin’ pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu.” Your children will be singing these songs: in the car, at the dinner table, in the shower… And you, in turn, will be singing them even when you sleep. And that’s a good thing—because this is music with a message: “God can do-oo-oo far beyond all that we could ask or imagine, by his power at work within us.” Can you honestly think of a more effective way to memorize Ephesians 3:20?

And if you’re wondering if Jesus attended Vacation Bible School, let me tell you, “yes he did.” But people would’ve had no concept of a vacation—and Bible School would have been a years-long preparation for his bar mitzvah. We know his song book as the Old Testament Book of Psalms. Being “the word made flesh,” Jesus would’ve known them all quite well. In fact, Jesus cries out psalm lyrics from the cross—the first line of today’s Psalm: “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

There are no words that more effectively capture the depth of Jesus’ suffering than these. Jesus knows what it’s like to be under attack by vicious dogs, roaring lions, wild bulls, and enemies bearing swords.

But do we, as Christ’s Body, cry out together in one voice when one of God’s own is trapped in the lion’s den? When you come to church, do you feel free to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Is this church a safe space for you to weep and wail in the presence of God and people who genuinely care about you?

On one hand, I believe such a safe space does exist in our GriefShare ministry. But what about Sunday worship?  If you believe, that when you come to church, it’s expected of you to put on a happy face, demonstrate a strong faith, and not question or complain about anything, have we not turned God’s house into play house to act out what we think the Christian life should be? And if we think being a Christian is about living according to a high moral standard and wearing a faith that never questions, second-guesses, or grieves, what do we need a God for?

There is much going on in the world to weep and wail about. But Ancient Israel didn’t hide its feelings from God. Neither did Jesus. Neither should you. Jesus welcomes you into his house, just as you are right now. You have 100% permission, validated by the bible, to weep, to wail, to complain, to question, and to be angry at God. And your cries will not fall on deaf ears. You will be heard. God’s goodness will carry you safely through suffering and death into resurrection and new life.

And in this Psalm, we witness the people of God crying out with one voice to remind God to be faithful in the present crisis, just as God had been in the past. And the congregation that does this together is one where the suffering individual can have no doubt that God’s love is surrounding them in the sisters and brothers who care.

This is something we did during the past week for the parent of one of our VBS students who was facing a time of terrible crisis: we laid hands on her and prayer with her. It’s hard to see God in the turmoil, but there’s no denying God among the people. We must do that more and more as a congregation.

And we need to make time to tell others the stories of God’s deliverance in our own lives. One of the most effective ways to be inspired in your faith is to hear the people you love speak of all that God has done for them, just like the man who was freed from a thousand demons. After all, God is accomplishing what our world desperately needs. We have a song to sing.

All the world knows what goes into a Big Mac, thanks to the song. People from Western Pennsylvania know that Century III Chevrolet is on Lebanon Church Road in Pittsburgh; minutes from the mall. So let’s be a church that teaches the world to sing the wonders of God’s love. Let’s join our children, who sang: “I will not be shaken; I will not be moved; all my hope is in you, even when the lions roar!”