Today's Daily Office comes from Psalm 55 verses 4 through 8:
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”
For everyone there comes the existential moment when we realize we cannot run out of the the room through its walls. This is the moment of truth and acceptance or deep alienation. Often it is the moment of truth and acceptance after deep alienation.
We are not prepared. We have neither the tools nor the coping skills to survive the wilderness we find ourselves in. We would so wish to escape, to take on wings and fly away, but we cannot. The fate of circumstance and genes and the roll of dice have found us. Too many bad hands have finally caught up with us. This is our Reality.
"Give fifty dollars and we'll pray over and anoint this bracelet and send it to you." "Go see one more specialist in Houston." "Let's hope for a miracle." And the stores goes under. And the band plays on.
No. This is our Reality. We are at the end of our rope.
And there is nothing in the world that we can do except hope in grace -- the grace which does not rescue but will redeem.
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