Useless is the horse for safety;
despite its great strength, it cannot be saved.
The biblical context: a victory psalm of the power of God’s word in creative design contrasting with the plots of kings wreaking destruction with armies.
This man Leroy’s context: the early 80’s as the Bishop of Amarillo, Texas, with the nation’s largest nuclear arms manufacturing plant in his diocese.
Leroy Mattheisen would become one of a handful of the so-called “Peace bishops,” calling his people to reconsider whether or not it was moral to participate in the productions of weapons of mass destruction.
The horse power of the psalmist’s day. The nuclear power of the present day.
Whether the Koran, the Torah, the Shastras – or other sacred texts: pay attention not to the print on paper, but the imprint on your heart.
-Fr. Joe Driscoll