Saturday, October 20

Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 98 & 68: Habakkuk 3:1-19; Luke 19:11-27; Romans 7:21-25

Today I glanced at an Internet article about Charles Schulz. It turns out the cartoonist and man of great personal faith, who spent the bulk of his adult life making us smile through his comic Peanuts, suffered from depression and bouts of misery throughout his life. The article reminded me of the information that came out recently about Mother Theresa’s periods of the dark night of the soul. The information revealed how the saintly woman was racked with doubt during many of her years of service to humanity. The authors of the accounts of Charles and Theresa seemed shocked that folks who had a public reputation for one thing (humor in Charles case and faith in Theresa’s case) could be plagued by something quite different (depression in Charles case and doubt in Theresa’s case). As people of faith, however, you and I know that our faith does not eradicate every element of the human experience. Just because we have faith, for instance, doesn’t mean that we’ll never wrestle with doubt, fear, or depression. What our faith does do, however, is affect our experience of those things. A beautiful example of this came from today’s passage from Habakkuk. In the culminating chapter of the book, the prophet names the brutal realities he and his community face. The Message translation of Habakkuk 3:17 notes: “…the cherry trees don’t bloom and the strawberries don’t ripen; … the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted; the… sheep pens are sheepless, and the cattle barns empty…” Sounds like Habakkuk’s bleak assessment of their circumstances was no different than the account any of his peers might have given – faith or no faith. Here’s where things change, however; here’s how he responds to that reality. In the very next verse, Habakkuk cries out: “I’m signing joyful praise to God. I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.” And how is he able to make that leap from one verse to the next? Faith. He said in verse 19: [Because] “I’m counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.” Today, as you find yourself wrestling with very human things – things like Charles and Theresa wrestled with – don’t beat yourself up for being human. Instead, remember Habakkuk’s words and celebrate the fact that we are connected to the One who can help us rise above our human experiences and limitations and see things in new ways. As you begin to do this, get ready to enjoy the cartwheels that will follow! Til next time…