Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me, even while I make prayer for them.
So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
✙ Ps. 109:1-5
✙
I am moved today to meditate on an affirmation of faith used by Scotland's Iona Community:We believe that God is presentHelp me hear your word of hope, Lord, over the voices that speak evil. And help me to keep loving, even I do not receive love in return. In the Name of the One who forgave his executioners, I pray as he taught me: Our Father...
in the darkness before dawn;
in the waiting and uncertainty
where fear and courage join hands,
conflict and caring link arms,
and the sun rises over barbed wire.
We believe in a with-us God
who sits down in our midst
to share our humanity.
We affirm a faith
that takes us beyond the safe place
into action, into vulnerability,
and into the streets.
We commit ourselves to work for change
and put ourselves on the line;
to bear responsibility, to take risks,
live powerfully and face humiliation;
to stand with those on the edge;
to chose life
and be used by the Spirit
for God’s new community of hope.
