15^th August 2010

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley

Lessons -- Psalm 10; Luke 12:35-40

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1 NRSV)

Surveying the international scene as a member of a nation 'situated in a storm-centre of world politics' (B Anderson, The Living World of the Old Testament, p512) the Psalmist cries out for the presence of God. Why, when the wicked mock God and oppress the weak, is God so aloof? Why doesn't God intervene and destroy the perpetrators of evil and their arrogant schemes?

The Psalmist doesn't shy away from the hard question. If, as Israel knew from experience, God is the Creator who is good, holy and righteous and who summons human beings to act justly in the world, then why are such complacent, unscrupulous, greedy, blasphemous, scornful, deceitful and tyrannical people allowed to thrive? (10:2-11.)

The description of these power-brokers sends a chill up the spine! They lurk in the shadows (like a lion) looking for opportunities to pounce on the vulnerable (vv 8,9). They speak in a way that is designed to hide their mischievous and evil plans 'under their tongues' (v7). They laugh at the idea of being held accountable to God for their actions (vv 4,6,11).

What is more chilling to the Psalmist is that, at times when evildoers inflict 'terror on the earth' (v18), God's goodness, holiness and righteousness seems to have been eclipsed. Certainly the wicked think that God can be safely ignored because God is so remote from us and doesn't care about injustice (v11) or judge our actions (vv 4,13).

The Psalmist feels the force of this argument. The undeniable fact that the wicked do 'prosper' at the expense of those who are humble, poor, helpless, innocent, orphaned and oppressed does shake his faith in God.

However, it is shaken in such a way that, instead of ending in despair (as you would expect), it leads him to a firmer hope. In this Psalm of Lament (one of fifty), which bemoans the fact that wickedness thrives and goodness withers, there is a notable lack of 'whining self-pity or vindictive bitterness' (B Anderson p512). Instead, there is renewed confidence in the sovereignty of God. God does and shall judge the wicked. God does and shall strengthen the oppressed. God shall bring wickedness to an end.

What are his grounds for hope? There is no hope in the world situation. There is no need to list the atrocities committed through history to see that evil thrives among the nations. Tyrants oppress the weak.
Politicians, business and religious leaders often dupe the public, seeing themselves as accountable not to God but to the party, the company or the institution. Human dignity is often demeaned by individuals and groups.

In view of this it is surprising -- indeed alarming -- that there is talk of human progress. Many people are still optimistic about our ability, not only to curb the worst excesses of human evil, but to create a society and a planet that will put an end to all things bad without seeing the need to be accountable to God. The admirable and necessary goal of trying to improve conditions for vulnerable citizens is spoilt by arrogance about our ability to create a utopia without God.

Others, seeing through this pride, have despaired of hope long ago. They may become stoically resigned to their miserable lot or commit suicide or join apocalyptic cults promising freedom in the next world.

The Psalmist doesn't find hope in progress or consolation beyond the world. Nor does he despair. Instead, he looks for signs of God's goodness in the midst of evil, counts on God's sustaining grace to enable the weak to withstand godless arrogance now and in future (vv 14,17) and looks to the time when, in God's sovereign power, the earth will be rid of the wicked (vv 15,16,18b) and those whom they have oppressed will get justice (v18a).

This doesn't stop him from being distraught at God's aloofness (v1). He implores God to 'rise up' and demonstrate God's justice to the perpetrators of evil and their victims (v12). Drawing on the long experience of Israel's fractured relationship with the God who called them to be 'a light to the nations', he calls on God to do now what God has done in the past: topple callous leaders and defend the vulnerable. He concludes by reaffirming his faith. 'Since Yahweh is both just and the Lord of all, the cause of the oppressed will be vindicated whatever the immediate circumstances might be.' (AA Anderson, The Book of Psalms Vol 1, p105.) It is left open as to whether that vindication will take place in the near future (in the lives of the oppressed) or at that time when God will put all things right.

It may be, as history shows, that those who are oppressed or persecuted must endure great suffering during long nights of evil. They may not see the defeat of tyranny. Perhaps they will be at a new dawning of justice on earth?

Whatever situation confronts them, they are called to live by hope -- to be ready to stand up for what is true, good and just. They are not to sit around being victims (as some of the oppressed do) but to join God's cause in naming and shaming arrogant, unscrupulous tyrants who trample on human dignity.

A people of hope must align themselves with the goodness and justice of the One who is Sovereign Lord of the earth. This is brought out in Luke 12:35-40 where Jesus urges the disciples to wait for the coming of the Son of Man who will bring to fulfilment God's righteousness on earth. They are to 'be dressed for action and have their lamps lit' (v35) -- to keep their lamps flickering 'in the middle of the night' (when evil is at its darkest and God seems remote) and 'near dawn' (when the coming of light drives out darkness. v38)

The Psalmist's question about where God is to be found when wickedness prospers is ultimately answered by the coming of the 'Son of Man'. Hope is to be found in the 'Son of Man' who will usher in the age of holiness and justice. Unlike 'sons of men' who do evil, this 'Son of Man' embodies the goodness of God who identifies himself with the oppressed and the sinful.

We can express this most fully in creedal language. As the incarnate Son of Man he embodies God's love for the broken world. As the crucified Son of Man who experienced utter God-forsakenness, he suffers evil on our behalf. As the Son of Man who has been 'raised up' (as the Psalmist urged) he triumphs over evil for us. And as the ascended Son of Man he assures us that, despite the continuing presence of 'terror on earth', the Sovereignty of God shall be displayed when history is brought to its glorious fulfilment, and those who have 'hungered and thirsted for righteousness' and those who have been treated unjustly shall be fully satisfied.

Where, then, is God to be found when the schemes of evildoers thrives and God seems aloof? In the One who embodies the love of Israel's God for strife-torn nations. Because of what God has revealed in him, hope prospers, even when the world descends into madness and all seems dark.

Sometimes the darkness threatens to overwhelm us! We wonder why God doesn't step in to prevent unspeakable brutality and clever schemes to strip the vulnerable of their dignity. Yet, because a flicker of light can be discerned among the Hebrew people and in the person of Jesus, we may live in hope. Such hope looks to the time when, through Christ, the light of goodness and justice shall extinguish all darkness, and commits us to stand firm against evil wherever God is mocked and our brothers and sisters are dehumanised. We need to be 'dressed for action with our lamps lit' when God's good will for humanity is trampled, as it is today wherever Christians and advocates for justice are persecuted or the needs of the poor, homeless, refugees, unborn, disabled, frail elderly and suchlike are neglected.

We don't have any guarantee about the time or place of the consummation (v39) -- it's been a long wait since the Psalmist implored God! God may still seem hidden and clues to his whereabouts may be hard to find. But if we look to Israel's God and to the Son of Man we have grounds for genuine hope. If the God who suffers with the oppressed and persecuted (in Israel and in Jesus) is the God who raised Jesus from the dead, then we can live in hope that even the worst atrocities cannot ultimately separate us from God's love.

Hope sets us free to act in the present: to praise God in the midst of turmoil and doubt and to shed light in the dark places of earth. In this way the Church is to be a community of hope which unsettles the wicked, defends the dignity of the weak and proclaims the grace and goodness of God. It remains to be seen whether this is possible in Western churches which often seem more concerned to avoid upsetting people than risk their reputation by standing firm for what is right, good and true in the purposes of God, the Sovereign Lord of all the earth.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.