What are you going to do about it? - Psalm 82, Luke 10:25-37

My mother was an early childhood behavioral development specialist, and for most of her career, she taught Kindergarten. Some of the things I gleaned from her particular skill set are clear and legible handwriting, strong cutting skills, and a commitment to “a little drop’ll do ‘ya,” when it comes to Elmer’s glue. But I also learned from my mother that one of the best ways to help young children learn and grow is to empower them to be problem solvers.

I cannot count how many times I watched a young child approach my mom tearfully to complain about a bump or scratch, or a classmate not playing fair. Sometimes my mom knew that the situation called for a band aid or a hug. But often, her response to the crying child would be, “I wonder what you’re going to do about that?” In her wisdom, she knew that the challenge of figuring out the next right step would build confidence and strengthen necessary social skills.

It is truly remarkable to watch a young child’s brain work out the answer to a practical problem, because despite their inexperience, children usually come up with brilliant and creative solutions that put our feeble attempts to shame. I think this is one of the things my mother loved most about her vocation. Regretfully, I’m not sure if God gets to experience my spiritually young brain working out healthy solutions to life’s problems very often. Instead, I’m afraid God gets an earful of my complaints with very little confidence or creativity to do anything about them.

A few moments ago we prayed Psalm 82 together. The Psalms are one of the key places in scripture when we complain to God about our own physical maladies and the behavior of our enemies. We cry out, “how long, O Lord?” It’s the cry of those with chronic medical conditions. It was our global cry this time five years ago during lockdown. Depending on which political party has a majority standing in the federal government, it tends to be the cry of about 50% of our nations’ population.

Now sometimes the Psalmist reminds us of the ways that God offers comfort and encouragement - a band aid and a hug, if you will. I think of the 23rd Psalm, “surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” But sometimes, we get Psalm 82. The first verse tells us that “God takes [a] stand in the council of heaven; [and] gives judgement in the midst of the gods.” This heavenly council should not be completely unfamiliar to us. If you’ll recall, the many tribulations that befall our friend Job come about after God is challenged by Satan in a very similar setting. We might also think about the sixth chapter of Micah, in which the whole of creation is called on to witness God's case against Israel who, as my mother would have said, weren’t acting right.

In this heavenly council, God cries out to the lesser gods, who are those with power over the nations, “how long will you judge unjustly?” The Psalmist understands that while we ask God when will there be justice and mercy on the earth, God, in turn, asks us when we will show such justice and mercy on the earth. When we complain, God wonders what we will do about it. I think my mother was really onto something.

The presence of the Psalms in our scriptural canon affirms the fact that lament is an important part of our spiritual life. Grief and sorrow are very human and very holy. They are a faithful response to pain and suffering in our world. But there is danger in letting our lament strip us of our agency. Our God is mighty to save, and works through us. Lament is powerful, but it is no match for our call to be part of the Body of Christ.

We also heard the story of the Good Samaritan today. Although technically a parable, this story doesn’t require a ton of explanation. We know who the good guys and the bad guys are and we know whom to emulate. But my own faith journey has led me to give the benefit of the doubt to all the men who crossed over to the other side of the road.

Perhaps they were poor and had nothing to spare. Perhaps they were facing their own emergency. Perhaps their experience had taught them that robbers sometimes bait innocent bystanders by pretending to be hurt. Most of all, I wonder if their inner dialogue was like mine: “someone else is bound to come along.” “Aren’t there people and organizations who specialize in these situations? Aren’t they more qualified to help?” “Aren’t I supposed to trust that God will enact justice and mercy? How long, O Lord?”

I'm sure the Samaritan was a kindhearted and generous person by nature, but when we read his story next to Psalm 82, it’s clear to me that he may cry out, “how long, O Lord?” He also hears God calling out these words to the world, and he answers them. He leans into his agency as a child of God to bring about the Kingdom on earth. This is what Jesus refers to when he tells us that we should go and do likewise.

In Psalm 82, God is clear that we are to save the weak and the orphan, defend the humble and needy, rescue the weak and the poor and deliver them from the power of the wicked. Admittedly, there are a lot more vulnerable and disenfranchised people on the planet today than when this Psalm was written. The collective task is overwhelming.

To make matters more complicated, we are in the midst of a massive political shift in our nation. When we consume too many headlines about too many issues without prayerful consideration, we can slip into the false narrative that big sweeping policies are the only way change can happen in our society. On the contrary, yes our votes and our voices on the national stage are important, but they are not the only agency we have.

The Samaritan changed the world by changing the life of one person, by following God’s instructions in Psalm 82 in his daily life. When we’ve just deleted the tenth email of the day asking us to donate our money or our time to yet another good cause, it can be helpful to remember that God doesn’t ask any one of us to save the whole world on our own. God asks each of us, in our everyday lives, to show mercy and kindness. When we complain to God about the state of the world, and God asks us what we’re going to do about it, the best answer we can give is to show more mercy, to be more generous, to love our neighbors even more.

Now from time to time, my mother would bring home a report about particularly precocious children who, when asked what they should do about a predicament, suggested tactics such as “time out forever” or “punch him right on the nose.” And she would have to explain to these overstimulated youngsters that such punitive measures rarely bring the desired results, and a gentler approach might be better. But more often, when frustrated children are given space to contemplate a better scenario, they are able to resolve conflicts with kindness, compromise, and even self-sacrifice for the sake of others.

As adults, we sometimes find ourselves a little rusty at practicing these virtues. This is one of the many reasons that having kids in church is so important to our collective spiritual growth. But it’s also why the parable of the Good Samaritan never gets tiresome. When it comes to showing mercy in this world, we’ll take all the reminders we can get. So in the spirit of the parable, and of Psalm 82, maybe the next time a sense of dread overtakes us and we feel a good lament coming on, we’ll remember to listen closely, so that once we’ve finished our holy complaint, we’ll be able to hear God ask, “I wonder what you’re going to do about that?” Amen.