In the Lord I Take Refuge

In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: "Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face. (Psalm 11) What do you do when you're backed against a wall?  Only hanging on by a thread?  Threatened?  Stuck?   That's the context of this psalm.  When everything is hopeless and you feel helpless what do you do?  Some might say: flee away!  Run as far as you can!  Escape your troubles!  Elijah did just that.  He ran for his life all the way to the mountain of God in the desert to try to find some steady and solid place in which he could reclaim his trust in God in a time when he felt all alone and abandoned.  When he arrived though, God asked him: "what are you doing here, Elijah?"  An arresting question. Of course, maybe the writer of this psalm felt the sarcasm of those who were telling him to flee.  They were taunting, shaming.  Taking advantage of the fact that the psalmist was all alone.  We do attempt to assume the best of others, that they are tolerant, nice, and whatnot—but there are bullies out there.  There are people that cheer for our downfall, or who would love nothing more than to see us throw in the towel and walk away a failure.   Then again, not all those who root against Christians or the Church are bullies.  Some have been deeply wounded by the Church and seek for justice or retribution or simply speak out of their hurt.  There are a lot of them.  Over the last few years we have heard many of those stories—from survivors of Residential Schools and victims of abuse in particular.  These stories have become the epicentre at which many Christians have deconstructed their faith or walked away from it and the Church altogether.  Such stories of abuse and the overreach of power continue, even as the Church continues to decline. So: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  When the church is shrinking, when its witness is broken, when our discipleship falters, and when even God seems distant: what can we who place our hope in Christ do?  Should we give up and flee? We can't.  Somehow beyond all doubt and arrows shot from the shadows, we hold faith that the temple is not empty after all and that the King still sits on his throne.  Somehow, someway, even when everything is hopeless and we feel helpless, we remain because of this curious confession the psalm begins with: "in the Lord I take refuge."   We do not stand as the church because of our own righteousness—indeed, left to ourselves the record doesn't look so good.  No, we stand because Jesus stands.  We stand because the one in whom we've taken refuge forgives and redeems us still.  We stand because we trust that he will do right and that he finally will see us through until the day we see him. As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:     May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you.  May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.