Drama

Discussion Questions 

1. Read Psalm 102. Then read the devotional below, “Drama.”  

2. Have you seen or read Howl’s Moving Castle? If so: is Howl’s silly tantrum actually about his hair color, or is it actually about something bigger? Is he truly shallow or just confused about what’s actually bothering him. If you haven’t seen or read it, consider it! 

3. Think about a time you tantrumed or spiraled over something silly. Was it really about the silly thing or was it about something deeper. What did you need from the people around you in that moment? From God? 

4. The psalmist seems to consider an assertion of God’s regard and compassion to be a sufficient response to deep suffering. Do you agree or disagree? 

Devotional 

My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning, my bones cling to my skin. – Psalm 102:4-5 (NRSV) 

In my house we love Howl’s Moving Castle, both the movie and the book. In it, there’s a scene where vain and self-centered Wizard Howl dyes his hair a slightly wrong color. He spectacularly decompensates, unconsciously summoning evil spirits to scare the other inhabitants of the castle, and ultimately ending up collapsed and oozing a sinking green slime of his own making, moaning that life isn’t worth living. Sophie, another main character, has younger siblings and little patience for this kind of thing. “He’s just throwing a tantrum,” she tells the others, and summarily drags him off to the showers to get over it. 

I bet Howl said stuff just like Psalm 102 while he oozed. Usually, when I read this psalm, I picture real suffering: war, sickness, oppression. This time, I couldn’t help thinking about Howl’s hair drama. I’ve had a spiral or two over silly things. Maybe you have too. Mid-tantrum, it can be easy to lose perspective. 

A lot of people claim persecution and suffering when what they’re actually experiencing is inconvenience. Then again, a lot people are actually persecuted, actually suffering. Who’s to say which is which? 

Honestly, it doesn’t much matter if your suffering is “real.” Either way, God’s compassion is firm, says the psalmist. God’s regard is everlasting. God’s will is the freedom of those bound—by suffering or by their own pouting. 

Good news for anyone for whom Psalm 102 speaks, the ones who are actually suffering and the ones mid-tantrum who only think they are. 

Prayer
Be with me when what I need is healing, and be with me when what I need is to be tossed in the shower to get over it. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.