Hearing Our Wounds
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Dear Sutton and Savannah,
You amaze me with how much you juggle; job demands, a marriage relationship, two children in diapers, and numerous other commitments. How do you do it? Finding time to reflect on the inward journey seems impossible when life circumstances demand your constant engagement. If you find spare moments, or budget personal time, I encourage you not to fill it with guilt, or cram it with a check list of health activities. Just breath. Sit for a moment and notice what it feels like to rest. I know it won’t last long, but have a moment where nothing is everything.
I love you, -Dad
Year A - Second Sunday of Advent
Readings for December 7, 2025:
Isaiah 11:1-10 / Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 / Romans 15:4-13 / Matthew 3:1-12
This psalm may have been a coronation prayer for King Solomon, asking God to empower the king to rule with justice and compassion. As indicated in verse 20, Psalm 72 concludes Book II of the Psalms. Book II is comprised of Psalms 42–72. These Psalms are described in verse 20 as the prayers of David, son of Jesse. Maybe this was David’s prayer for the coronation of his son.
Psalm 72 paints a picture of the ideal king. It celebrates both human kingship under God and the divine promise that one day God’s rule of peace, justice, and abundance will fill the earth. The psalm closes with doxology, blessing the Lord God of Israel who alone does wondrous things. His glorious name is to be praised forever, and His glory will fill the whole earth.
One of the axioms regarding inward work is that we project outwardly what is happening inwardly. We often don’t see this in ourselves, because much of the inward life is happening unconsciously. We have fears we try to ignore, biases we try to deny, conflicts with our shadow side, and patterns developed in childhood that often rule our outward behavior. Even though the Psalm may be divinely inspired, it still reflects the inner journey of the writer. Thus it can be an instructional psalm as to how we might hear our inner voice.
The psalmist wants justice, righteousness and prosperity. He sees in the world around him the very thing he longs for inwardly. Probably all of us can relate to the pain of injustice; the feeling of being cheated, mistreated, abused, and powerless to bring about change. The outward injustice may have long since subsided, but the inward wounds may last longer than we could have imagined. Self-righteousness may grow as a salve for the unhealed wounds, but true righteousness is thwarted by bitterness, resentment and vilification of those in power.
The anger of our wounded parts needs heard. The fear attached to the darkness of our feelings, needs acknowledged. The loneliness of our shame needs accompanied. The psalmist wants the oppressor crushed. That’s the outward solution to the inward pain. It might bring some relief, but not inward healing; not redemption. As the psalmist declares in the closing doxology, it is divine love, the Lord God, who takes up residence within us, that alone is able to do marvelous things. We are invited into the journey of facing our wounds and our anger, our feelings and our fear, our shame and our loneliness. And to do so with a posture of grace, curiosity and hope. As the inner world experiences healing, we are one step closer to the coronation of a new world order.
Prayer
Lord, reign in my heart with justice, compassion, and peace. Let Your love transform and redeem. Align my inner life with Your ways so that my thoughts, words, and actions reflect Your kingdom. May the peace You bring to me overflow into blessing for others, until the whole earth is filled with Your glory. But for now, maybe just a little bit of peace from 8-9pm after the kids fall asleep! Amen.