We Sat & Wept
Psalm 137 is one of the most bracing passages in the entire Bible. It begins: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion (Jerusalem).”
The Israelite singer is in exile and under the power of what we would call a “superpower nation”. It’s the beginning of a song of sadness, longing, and anger from someone who seeks a different world.
Actually, a large percentage of the Psalms are songs of lament, songs like this one born from the sense that something’s broken or missing.
The Prophets are also filled with desperate words. Theirs are about how the people of God have lost track of God and are treating the poor like garbage. Theirs are words of longing for the people of God to rediscover a faith and righteousness they’ve misplaced. Theirs are words seeking a new world.
Also, the first speech of God in the Book of Exodus begins in what we might call a less than happy-go-lucky place: “I, the Lord, have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt….”
And the last words of Jesus from the Cross in the Gospel of Mark are also shocking, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The life of faith is filled with joy and celebration. True.
But the celebrations are cheap if we pretend that the part of life in touch with longing and pain isn’t real or is something we need to simply “overcome”.
It’s isn’t that way, not even in the Bible.
When you or someone you know feels pain and longing, don’t run away. Instead, bear witness to the reality of the pain, claim the love of God offered in the midst of it, and remember that resurrection is even more powerful than the struggles we face.
Psalm 137 is one of the most bracing passages in the entire Bible. It begins: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion (Jerusalem).”
The Israelite singer is in exile and under the power of what we would call a “superpower nation”. It’s the beginning of a song of sadness, longing, and anger from someone who seeks a different world.
Actually, a large percentage of the Psalms are songs of lament, songs like this one born from the sense that something’s broken or missing.
The Prophets are also filled with desperate words. Theirs are about how the people of God have lost track of God and are treating the poor like garbage. Theirs are words of longing for the people of God to rediscover a faith and righteousness they’ve misplaced. Theirs are words seeking a new world.
Also, the first speech of God in the Book of Exodus begins in what we might call a less than happy-go-lucky place: “I, the Lord, have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt….”
And the last words of Jesus from the Cross in the Gospel of Mark are also shocking, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The life of faith is filled with joy and celebration. True.
But the celebrations are cheap if we pretend that the part of life in touch with longing and pain isn’t real or is something we need to simply “overcome”.
It’s isn’t that way, not even in the Bible.
When you or someone you know feels pain and longing, don’t run away. Instead, bear witness to the reality of the pain, claim the love of God offered in the midst of it, and remember that resurrection is even more powerful than the struggles we face.