Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Psalm 68

At the end of April, I went to see the movie Noah. Walking out of the theatre, I could not quite decide how I felt about the movie. There were some really extraordinary moments, some moments that were disturbing beyond all others, and then plenty more that left me wanting. Sitting in the theatre, though, watching thousands of people drown in God’s floods, I couldn’t help but wonder, how do I see God in this brutal, angry, and violent destruction of humanity? 

One of the best concepts in the film for me was “the Watchers”: angels who had chosen to come down to earth to aid Adam and Eve. In heaven, these angels had bodies of light; to punish them, God imprisoned them in the matter of the earth – rock and mud and dirt – so that throughout the film, they stumbled along, trapped and reduced by their form. 

When I read Psalm 68, the first images I have are of an angry, powerful – even controlling – God. It is a God who breaks those who are defiant, who “shatters the heads of his enemies.” But buried in these images within the Psalm is the God who is “Father of orphans and protector of widows,” the God who “provides for the needy.” This is a God who “gives power and strength to his people.” 

In the movie, Noah, God punishes the fallen angels. But God does not abandon them. As they die defending the ark against the depravity of humanity, the Watchers look up into heaven and weep for forgiveness. And God brings them home. They are a people who are desolate, who are broken, they have turned away from God. And still, God lifts them up into God’s presence. God watches over all. 

Blessed be God!

- Joshua Zentner-Barrett