Make Haste to Help Me

Desperate Requests and Pious Vandalism

O God, come to my assistance! O Lord make haste to help me!

Once more I noticed that on the book rack in the first pew in the chapel, some previous desperate soul has carved the words, “HELP ME JESUS!”

I always forget about this small act of vandalism until I am seated in that pew, silently repeating my own variation of the same prayer.

My own requests often take the form you’d expect from a dramatic and literary minded heart, but the carvings on the pew bring me back down to the simple request at the root of my plea. Help me Jesus!

We want to leave our requests in His presence, in His hands. Our whispered words and silent cries seem to fall short at times, and in desperation, like the carver, we throw our requests upon the Lord, knowing that only He can truly help us.

The capitalized letters, roughly shaped with an unwieldly blade, express the intensity of the desire for solace and comfort.

This simple yearning is the cry of all hearts. Recognizing our desperate state, we plead imploringly, “Help me Jesus!”

• Help - We acknowledge that all is not as it should be. Something needs to be addressed in order for harmony to be restored.

• Me - We acknowledge that in the midst of the chaos of the world, we personally need to be transformed. We are not worthy, but if we believe, we shall be healed.

• Jesus - Knowing that the Divine Physician can truly come to our assistance and help us in our distress, in confidence we call upon His name.

Like many sins and tragedies in the world, I do not condone the action of carving upon church pews, but the Lord, in His providence has brought good from this seemingly wanton destruction. It is not for me to bemoan the hand that carved this fervent request. Rather, I am called to echo this cry with desperate confidence, and to allow these words to be carved upon my own stony heart. Help me Jesus, help me Jesus! Help me to trust in you, dear Jesus.