Cancers of Envy and Hatred
They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him.
Genesis 37. 18
Cancer scourges our world. It has touched all of us, robbing us of life and love by impairing and preventing vital organ function. It often results in death. As it wracks a body, it maneuvers its way destroying everything in its path as does the treatment for it. Cancer of the body kills.
What do you know of cancer of the mind and heart? I dare say the two great by products of that kind of cancer are envy and hatred. Just like cancer of the body, they burrow their way through the mind and heart preventing vital function and leaving in in their path scars that might never heal.
We are surrounded by this insidious cancer, and it leads to heartache and heartbreak all around the world. And the truth is, there is no radiation or chemotherapy that can cure it. In fact, one who is eaten up with envy and hatred rarely admits that there is any need for treatment. It is a tragic state of affairs, and it surrounds us in epidemic proportions.
The words of Psalm 121, beloved by so many, are set to music here in a way that might offer treatment. The psalmist questions where to look for help and then responds from experience that there is help in God...our only source for treatment of the cancers of envy, hatred, pride, fear and all the other diseases of mind and heart that infect us and our world.
I pray that today we might look up or down, under and over, around and inside in search of the presence of God...that we might find it, accepting and embracing the greatest Love of all, the Love that heals all hearts and minds, the Love that saves. And I pray that on our journeys, we might see glimpses of reconciliations like Joseph ultimately had with his brothers. May there be tears and great celebration just as there was in Egypt when Joseph and his brothers met again. And may the scars not be too bad, too deep, too open. May The Lord keep our going out and our coming in from this time on and forevermore.