Links for today’s readings:
May 7 Read: Micah 7 Listen: (3:36) Read: Psalms 88 Listen: (1:58)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 88.18
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Reflection: Hello, Darkness, My Only Friend?
By John Tillman
Many psalms of lament have a “turn.” They pivot toward hope, toward praise, or hint at a coming salvation. Not Psalm 88.
Psalm 88’s only glimmer of light is in verse one, and it descends into darkness from there. The poet holds a gloomy course, turning neither to the right nor to the left. The poem’s last word is “utter darkness.”
Resist the urge to “fix” Psalm 88. Stop looking for the bright side. Don’t manufacture what isn’t there. The psalmist doesn’t need cheering up. We shouldn’t sing, with insensitivity, “songs to a heavy heart.” (Proverbs 25.20) This darkness has lessons. Like its author, we need to sit in it for a while.
One reason to sit in this darkness is that there will be a time that darkness covers you. We need to learn endurance in the dark. We need to learn to pray in the dark. We need to toughen our faith against times of testing.
Study the psalmist’s cries in the dark as a model. Cry out, based on God’s identity as “the God who saves.” (v. 1) Cry out expecting God to hear. (v. 2) Cry out consistently and persistently. (v. 9) Cry out honestly. Hold no grievance back. (v.6-9, 10-12, 14-17)
Sitting in darkness also drowns false forms of faith. There are versions of Christianity that can’t (and shouldn’t) survive darkness.
There is a version of Christianity that thinks the faithful shouldn’t suffer. There is a version of Christianity that markets miracles, victory, success, and “winning.” There is a version of Christianity that manufactures grievances and claims persecution in a culture war when all they’ve ever faced is the consequences of their prideful actions (1 Peter 2.20; 3.17; 4.15-17). Psalm 88’s darkness lands like a sledgehammer, shattering these trite, toxic, and worthless forms of faith. Leave the shattered pieces where they lie.
Even when causes of dark times are evil or intended for evil, God can use darkness for good (Genesis 50.20). Darkness can be a teacher to us, strengthening our faith and disciplines. Darkness can be a surgeon to us, cutting out cancers of trite, cheap, and toxically positive Christianity. In these ways, darkness, even that intended for evil, can be an unexpected and unintentional friend. (Psalm 88.18)
Don’t rush through darkness without learning from it but never forget that we don’t belong there. One way or another, in this life or the next, God will rescue us, bringing us into the light.
Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” — Matthew 10:29–31
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: Equally Skilled Hands
In most individuals, one hand is more skilled than the other…Micah says both hands of his nation and their leaders are equally skilled at wickedness.
Read more: Admit the Dark
In order to hope in the light, we first have to notice and confess that we live in the dark.
