Sean Major-Campbell | Faith from the desolate pit

The world has moved into a difficult season. There are more questions than answers. The resource of religious faith is also tested in the face of natural disaster, the threat of pandemic, and the ever-closer reality of wars and rumours of wars.

It is easy for one to be drawn into despair when the world appears to be leaning into doom and gloom, and the realities that may facilitate anxiety and unease. The psalmist in Psalm 40 offers us a note of comfort in the opening sentences: “ I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

In times like these, a new song is indeed welcome. A beautiful image is used here. It is that of God like a caring parent, stooping or bending the knee to place the ear closely at the mouth of crying child in order to hear even more of the child’s complaint.

The desolate pit may be experienced in different ways. It is dark. Lonely. Confusing. Painful. Filled with doubt and fear and questions. Many have found support and strength in the faith position of the psalmist who understands God as the one who “set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure”. And this, I suggest is a posture to adopt in 2026. I prefer to be among those who “see and fear and put their trust in the Lord”.

The psalmist, though faithful, was honest about the voice of faith which was also a voice of lament at times. What could have caused this confident voice of faith to become so overwhelmed later?

“ For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.” Such is the reality of life and living. No one is ever in a constant state of feeling “blessed and highly favoured”.

The opening verses of Psalm 40 have long inspired a popular chorus of praise: “ He lifted me up from the miry clay, He planted my feet on the King’s highway, And that’s the reason why, I sing and I shout For Jesus came down, down, down And He lifted me up, up, up.”

It is good to remember praise and thanksgiving amid life’s different seasons. An attitude of gratitude makes a world of difference in the face of life’s uncertainties.

WEAPONISED STRATEGIES

But what happens when we are just not in the mood for song and praise and even faith? What happens when the darkness of bad news prevails every day? I am tired of threats to world peace. It is disheartening to see the weak and powerless further boxed about like a discarded lunch box blowing in the wind. I am beginning to wonder, which is worse – artificial intelligence or surrendered intelligence? Increasingly, people are expected to doubt what they see, hear, and know.

If truth is the first casualty of war, maybe the task at hand is to discern the truth that World War III is here. World Wars I and II were readily identified by the dropping of bombs. The present global war is really being defined by weaponized strategies in terms of economics, financial markets, technological power, trading routes, and mind games!

Evil is being called good. Those who epitomise evil are being canonised as saints. Those who are unleashing fatal power on the powerless are now presented as victims of the victim. And all of this under the blessing of evangelical Christianity which has sold its soul to the cult of political extremists. Many voices from evangelicals have hijacked the good news of Jesus Christ while convincing many Christians that the real problem of evil resides in strangers, sexual minorities, women, and people of colour! We are in a desolate pit!

It is okay for the lamenting voice to acknowledge the darkness of this moment. This same voice of faith will however return to God in prayer: “ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me. Let all those be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life be turned back and brought to dishonour who desire my hurt. Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!” As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.”

On this second Sunday after the Epiphany, we pray in the words of the Collect: “ Almighty God, whose Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that Your people, illumined by Your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that Christ may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (BCP – Book of Common Prayer).

Fr Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest and advocate for human rights and dignity. He is also the Rural Dean of Kington. Please send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and seanmajorcampbell@yahoo.com