Maddie Foley
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Today’s Psalm, Psalm 37, is difficult for me to accept. You’re telling me that all I have to do to receive the desires of my heart is to take delight in the Lord? The words of the Psalmist seem suspiciously like a cheap expression of the Prosperity Gospel. Does the writer really mean that good things happen to good people?
When one takes a deeper look at the text, one can see that the Psalmist is not being quite that straightforward. In the Psalmist’s picture of the world, the wicked are succeeding. This is familiar to us in our own time. It is easy to observe billionaires and oligarchs take advantage of war, economic crises, and ecological disasters. Just turn on the news!
However, the Psalmist reminds us that these successes are only momentary. The wicked will “wither” like the grass, while the righteous will be vindicated “like the noonday sun.” It is not currently the case that good things happen to good people, but it will be that way. Justice is on its way.
The obvious next question that one might ask God is, “When?”
As some of you may know, I am currently in the process of converting to Judaism, and I would like to offer a quote from the Talmud that has often resonated with me.
Rabbi Hillel used to say, “If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?”
Those more familiar with the Christian tradition may find resonances with the text of the Our Father: “Thy kingdom come, on Earth as it is in heaven.” Such a request sounds vaguely like a command, and it definitely implies urgency.
A way to further emphasize this urgency is to draw our attention to the various wars, oppressions, and exploitations currently afflicting our world. It does not seem right that the wicked should continue to dominate for a day longer, in the hopes that one day the righteous will succeed.
And yet the Psalmist tells us not to fret, because the wicked will wither. How is it that we are not to fret?
I believe that the key to understanding this text is to pay close attention to our side of the bargain.
We must “trust in the Lord and do good,” and “commit [our] way to the Lord,” so that “he will do this.”
My parents used to always tell me that in situations of crisis, we must “Look for the helpers.” For me, working at Habitat for Humanity is a way that I can pay constant attention to those who are participating in the solution, rather than the problem. The volunteers at Habitat are examples of people that are trusting in the Lord and doing good.
We face huge, systemic challenges in our country and in this world, systems that oppress and dehumanize billions of people. Righteous individuals operating in a corrupt society will face setbacks, persecution, and even violence. The Jewish tradition has more wisdom to share here. The people Israel are a community first, before a system of belief. Jewish theology pays much attention to the value of collective action. If we– together– could build a community in which it was easy to do good, and collectively behave righteously towards the poor and towards our neighbor, then change could come. This is called “tikkun olam,” or “repairing the world.”
One might imagine a repaired world in which all people, together, would trust God and do good. Imagination is crucial, because it enables us to work towards our dreams. It’s important to remember that these words about the reward of the righteous are not just imagination– they are also a promise from God.
Lastly, if we are actually working to build this repaired world, then perhaps we have less reason to fret that it is not yet here. By recognizing our own role in the covenant, we might avoid growing impatient. It seems like hard work– like building a Habitat house. But the reward is sweet.
When the kingdom is on earth as it is in heaven, the righteous will shine like the dawn, and the wicked will finally wither.
May it come soon. May it come now.
Maddie Foley
Maddie (she/they) is a current Beloved and a recent graduate of Our Lady’s University (Go Irish!) (University of Notre Dame). They work as a volunteer coordinator at Habitat for Humanity Tucson. They are also going to be staying in Tucson for the next few years, so they will see you around!