Today’s Scripture Reading (July 9,
2013): Psalm 33
It is
interesting that Robert Downey Jr. has now signed up to don the armor of Iron
Man at least a couple of more times. All of this after what looked like his
retirement scene at the end of Iron Man 3. But writers have a tendency to be
able to resurrect their dead money making heroes. When I saw “The Wrath of Khan”
for the first time and watched the touching death scene of Spock, heard for the
first time the now often repeated phrase that “logic clearly dictates that the
needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few – or the one” - I really
thought that we had seen the last of iconic Star Trek character. So I was
amazed when I heard the projected title for Star Trek III was “The Search for
Spock.” I mean, didn’t we all know exactly where Spock was. He was dead and out
into space – or toward what was supposed to be a dead planet. But the writers
of the Star Trek series couldn’t just allow Spock to die. He was too important
to the franchise. And as intriguing as it might have been to watch Leonard
Nimoy play through the Death of Spock – the franchise needed Spock alive and
well – and willing to be part of stories beyond the depictions of the original
series. All of this gives me hope that Batman too will emerge from retirement
to take up the cowl one more time.
The Psalmist
would seem to carry the same idea of to the concept of history. God would play
the part of the writer of the movie, and it is his will that would be done. But
this concept of God carries with it some interesting baggage. We have to admit
that if God is the author of history, then he gets exactly what wants. Of
course, this is exactly what Rob Bell tries to say in his book “Love Wins” –
that we serve an all powerful God that gets exactly what it is that he wants,
and since the Bible says that he wants all people to be saved, how can that not
be true?
The
Christian community passed on Bell’s conception of God preferring something
else. And there is a good reason for it. God seems to have limited his own
power and his own desire when it comes to us. It is part of the idea of free
will – God gives to us the freedom to choose whatever path we want in life –
not just the one that he knows is best for us. But the Psalmist would probably
be quick to also say that while we have a choice over all of our lives – God
holds all of the rest of the cards, which makes him a hard one to win against.
If we date
this Psalm from the early years of the exile, then it really becomes a Psalm of
hope. Life as the people had known it may have changed because of the life choices
the nation had made, but God was still in control and still getting what it was
that he wants. He had thwarted their plans in an attempt to move them toward
his perfect will without interfering with their imperfect will. And if he had
thwarted their plans, he could also thwart the plans of their captors and
return them to their home – after all, if God is truly the writer of history,
why would we assume anything but that he will get what he wants.
Tomorrow’s, Scripture Reading: Psalm
43
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