MAY42026

In the play by Shakespeare, Henry V, after the English have defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt the king prays from Psalm 115, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name give glory.” In the movie version of the play Kenneth Branagh recites the psalm while walking through the corpses of the fallen. It seems almost blasphemous to ascribe God’s intervention to such a horror. That serves to remind us of how tempting it can be to presume that what we want necessarily is what God wants. I want to get God on my side so that my plans, my ideas will come to fruition. The example of Jesus in Gethsemane shows us we need to reverse the process. Jesus expresses his plan “let this cup pass from me” but surrenders to God’s plan “but not my will but thine be done.” And, we can be sure, that God’s plan is going to demand that we grow in love.