Today’s Scripture Reading (April 15, 2016): Psalm 30
Apparently we are headed toward a contested Republican convention (and there is a chance, although it is fairly small, that we might also have a contested Democratic Convention.) I have a number of friends who seem to like to wax eloquent about the unfairness of what might happen in July of this year. They believe, as do several prominent people in the media, that the most votes should win. Enter Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. What is amazing about both of these candidates is that they have unbelievably high negative numbers. What separates them is that the Democrats want Hillary and her high negatives in control, and the Republicans are scared of a future that is managed by Donald and his high negatives. In fact, in Republican circles electing Donald Trump as the presidential candidate is the first step in the process of blowing up the Grand Old Party. And the truth is that Donald Trump seems to be about as unLincolnlike as anyone possibly could be.
But what seems to really anger my friends is that both parties possess a certain number of unpledged or super delegates. Their purpose is to give the party the ability to try to swing a presidential race away from a disaster. The Democrats have more super delegates than the Republicans, and the Republican elite is wishing that they had more unpledged delegates to bring into the current fight (if the party survives past Donald Trump it might be something that they might want to fix in the post-Trump era.) Essentially, the presence of super delegates means that the political elite still has the ability to sway a presidential nomination away from the will of the people. But this also becomes the problem for the Republicans. Not listening to the will and the desire of the people was how the GOP got to this position in the first place (and if you are a Democrat, it seems to be a struggle that your party will fight possible in the not too distant future.) The Trump dilemma is a serious one. He may be the most disliked presidential candidate in history and doomed to lose in a landslide to whoever the Democrats put forward (in a Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump political fight, the ultimate winner might be apathy), but to sidestep him and once more not listen to the people might cause even more damage to the political future of the party.
Bible Scholars have looked at this verse and have often been amazed at the two concise prayers that are contained in David’s words. The two important prayers are “have mercy on me” and “be my help.” It is evident at this point in David’s life that he is done depending on himself. He has made a mess of his life every time that he has tried to take control of his own future. He needs God to have mercy on him for the sins that he has committed, and he begs God to help him as he moves forward. These two prayers are important for David and also for all of the rest of us. But in itemizing these two prayer requests of David, I think we might be missing an even more important third – Hear me!
It is the prayer that we have all prayed and in many different circumstances. We need to be heard. Even if we are in the wrong, we need to know that someone has actually listened to our words and our ideas. This need to be heard is fundamentally important to our development as people. To not be heard usually means that we disengage in the process. David needs God to hear him in order to keep him engaged with God. The church needs to hear the people in order to keep the parishioners involved in the ecumenical process. And political parties need to hear people to keep them involved in the political process. Someone needs to be listening and we need to know that they are listening.
David’s prayers are important. We all need forgiveness for the past and help as we move forward. But the overarching need and prayer is to be heard. If God refuses to hear David, then really the rest of the prayer is unimportant.
And so pray that we too will be heard.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 31
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