Recall
"I am weak from all my troubles; even my bones are wasting away... But my trust is in you, O Lord; you are my God. I am always in your care." Psalm 31: 9-16
Faith is memory before it's hope. It's because of what we've known that faith is possible at all. It's not blind trust that things will work out. It's specific recollection that when we were weak and lost and didn't know what to do we found a way to go--however hard the illness, however painful the broken relationship, however difficult the loss of a job or, much more, a loved one.
Faith doesn't make finding our way easy. It makes it possible. We can credit ourselves with endurance, we should thank others whose help made a difference, but where did all that come from? It's easy to forget that what's given is a gift.
Whether or not we invoke the name of God we are in the hands of a power, beyond our own. It's helpful to remember that the Hebrew name for God spelled in English is G-D because its too holy to pronounce or fathom.
We have experienced so much broken trust that it can be hard to trust again, especially when we're "weak from all our troubles." The same was true throughout the Bible. Its entire story hinges on remembering experiences of care and protection as the basis for hope for the future.
The ancient practice of cleaning the house every spring in preparation for Passover--which, for Christians, became Easter--was a way Jews remembered their deliverance from captivity. Perhaps in turn our spring cleaning can include cleaning our memories. We'll find reason again to hope.
Keep our memories fresh, O God, so we can continue to trust the care we've known. Amen.
William Green is Vice President for Strategy and Development of the Moral Courage Project, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
To say that "God exists" is the greatest understatement ever made across space and time.
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