In Generosity We Trust?
Ps. 146:3-4
“Religion is the opium of the people. It is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of our soulless conditions.”
Karl Marx’s famous quote about the role of religion in our lives is a bit longer, more nuanced and complex than how it’s usually quoted. It also echoes an important sentiment that shows up in today’s psalm.
Who do you rely on when you need real help? How does the divine essence play a part in our personal and political arena of spiritual supply - and demand?
Whether it’s about financial support or simple gestures of friendship -- and despite good intentions, some of us, maybe most or all of us, don’t always deliver on our promises - to ourselves - and especially to each other.
The most generous donor or philanthropist who enables big ideas to become possible will not always be there. Priorities shift. How then do we rely on the wealth of the world to make our dreams come true? Who can we trust when those we turn to - turn out to be unhelpful?
As someone who has been involved with philanthropy for over two decades - mostly on the receiving end - I relate to these verses from today’s psalm, and have recited them on occasion - seeking solace and direction when people I relied on failed to show up. There’s something comforting in knowing that I’m not the first to be told by someone that they can’t help me, or that I will not have a grant renewed, or face rejection for whatever I think is a big new idea in the world. David or whoever wrote this poem faced similar frustrations:
אַל־תִּבְטְח֥וּ בִנְדִיבִ֑ים בְּבֶן־אָדָ֓ם ׀ שֶׁ֤אֵ֖ין ל֥וֹ תְשׁוּעָֽה׃ תֵּצֵ֣א ר֭וּחוֹ יָשֻׁ֣ב לְאַדְמָת֑וֹ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַ֝ה֗וּא אָבְד֥וּ עֶשְׁתֹּֽנֹתָֽיו׃
Put not your trust in the generous people,
in mortals who hold no salvation.
Their breath departs;
they return to the dust;
on that day their plans come to nothing.
Ps. 146:3-4
Even the most generous and kind person will one die, and for reasons that we may not know - can not always be reliable or trustworthy.
How then do we live with trust? Who can we turn to when people fail to raise each other up even when we want to and can?
The poet here has no doubts. The source of all support and every way of holding up each other is the Source of Life itself. It’s only God, at the end of the day and when shift happens who is the provider of substance and hope.
At least in theory.
What happens when on any given day so many suffer? Even those whose faith in God is real and strong?
The poet’s answer here is to have patience. It isn’t always instant and there are factors and reasons that exceed our understanding but the ultimate truth is trust in divine love.
For those among us reading this with doubts - we’re not alone. In every generation since these psalms were written, people questioned the zeal and conviction with which the poet attributes all life’s needs to God and every moment of pain, every inhuman injustice to being part of a bigger picture that takes time to comprehend.
At times it isn’t about supply and support of physical needs - but about the simple but profound gift of encouragement.
A unique Hebrew word shows up in today’s and tomorrow’s poems, with an indication of how divine generosity works in the world:
יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ שֹׁ֘מֵ֤ר אֶת־גֵּרִ֗ים יָת֣וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֣ה יְעוֹדֵ֑ד וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים יְעַוֵּֽת׃
GOD watches over the strangers among us,
gives courage to the orphan and widow,
and confounds the path of the wicked.
Ps. 146:9
The Hebrew word Ye’oded is translated here as ‘gives courage’ - which is how we say ‘encourage’ in modern English. It’s how we become cheerleaders for each other when the stakes are high and the chips are down and we need each other’s heart and hand.
Robert Alter writes his comments on this verse and offers his own translation:
“The LORD guards sojourners, orphan and widow He sustains but the way of the wicked He contorts.”
The verb ‘oded appears only here and in Psalm 147. In modern Hebrew, it means “to encourage,” which could conceivably be its meaning here. But it probably is derived from the adverb ‘od, “still” (as in the declined form ‘odi in verse 2). In that case, the likely sense is to enable someone to persist, or to sustain someone.”
Whether it’s about sustaining or supporting someone else, or whether it’s about encouragement and affirmation - what these verses offer us is hope inside some situation that feels more like deep despair.
We get to encourage each other - and that’s how hope works in the world.
Maybe that’s what Marx meant when he wrote about the religious idea being “the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of our soulless conditions.”
Whose cheerleader can you be today? In what/who can we trust?
PSLAM FOR PEACE!
Our Zoom study sessions are back by popular demand - after a few months off for summer travels and High Holy Days Season.
On Sunday 11/3/24 5pm ET, join me for a hour of contemplative talk & study about the Psalms and their meaning to our lives - right now.
Imagine this as restorative rest-stop with poetic reprieve from anxieties and election fever.
We will mark the completion of all 150 chapters of the Psalms with this co-created online learning session - featuring selections from YOUR favorite psalms.
Bring your own favorite word of line from the psalms, poetic fragment, or just show up to join the conversation.
Together, on the spot, we’ll discover a mosaic of modern and ancient intentions and inspirations - to help us lift up peace, justice and joy at this difficult time, lifting up each other's hopes for better days for all.
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