By Paul Graves | FāVS News Columnist
Centrifugal rage seems everywhere in September, irresponsibly sprayed in every direction possible. I wrote this shortly after conservative political/religious pied piper Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Plus a 16-yr-old Colorado student shot two of his fellow students on the same day, then killed himself.
Political violence and attacks on free speech are rising and seem unstoppable. Our rage and fear rise proportionately, too.
Singing in a foreign land
In this time of cultural chaos, I offer a simple reflection on Psalm 137. It reflects the deep, unending pain of Israel during its seven-decade captivity by Babylonia in 587 B.C.
In reaction to Babylonian mocking, Israel asks “How can we sing a (joyful) song to the Lord in a foreign land?”
I sense that today’s people of compassionate, justice-driven faith try to sing our faith songs in a “foreign land” we’ve never experienced in America before! As joy smothers beneath the words, our sung laments cry for political/social/economic injustices and fears to be transformed into hope.
The psalm is most famous for its last line. The Israelites curse their captors with a horrific, ghastly image that quickly turns us away: “Happy is the man who pays you back for what you have done to us — who takes your babies and smashes them against a rock!”
Now that’s rage! Unfortunately, it echoes in too many reckless political commentaries and social media pronouncements today. We’re definitely not immune to the exaggerated rhetoric of rage.
Transforming pain into healing
But we need to stop! As we reflect on this Psalm, we might stop transmitting our pains and fears, learning to transform them into healing grief instead.
Psalm 137 is a song of remembrance and retribution. The psalm’s violent imagery shows a distressed community processing its grief and anger in God’s presence. Their bone-deep lament is so real.
Weighed down by grief and rage, Israel’s lament is unanswered in this psalm.
Our laments are not easily answered in our rage and fear either. Some of us are paralyzed by despair. Some organize significant resistance. Others wait on God to “rescue” us. But nothing will happen unless we help it happen.
The psalmist sensed that only out of deep pain can deep transformation emerge. So when he speaks of horrible action against the “little ones,” he momentarily lets go of his rage. Each time Israel recited the psalm, they and God were real to each other.
If we can’t fully share our fears and rages before God, it confirms our fears that God punishes rather than loves. Our inner conflicts fester when we’re afraid to be real before God.
The psalm writer was not afraid. His courage both scandalizes us and fascinates us. It’s hard for us to duplicate his honesty before God.
Admitting our extremes
As a nation, we bounce from one extreme to the other. Political violence is an acceptable reaction for some. Political violence is abhorrent for others. Most of us live in between those options.
The “little ones” of Psalm 137 are a jolting reminder that we have a national rage that must find a healthy expression. If it doesn’t, our increasing political chaos puts millions of people in physical peril. Our nation’s soul is drastically diminished.
Our rage must shock us into remembering God knows how radically capable we are of loving others, of pursuing justice for all. God knows also how radically capable we are of hating others.
God knows our extremes. Can we admit to both extremes? When we can, that’s a giant step toward letting God transform our fears. Psalms 137 can be a transformative psalm for the rages!
Read it and weep. And know God is ready to wipe away our tears.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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Rage, fear, disappointment, both love and hate, desire and retribution, are tied up in our emotions; too often the result of pride and selfishness, why me?
Judea was conquered because of national apostasy. For 490 years (70 X 7) they had failed to let the land have its Sabbath, its rest. During that time the kingdom had split, Israel had fallen to Assyria and prophets had warned they were next. Yet they fell in morality and pride overtook humility. They trusted themselves and not God. Even their worship of God was mingled with idolatry. God is patient. He gave them another 490 years to learn to play nice (obey God).
Their pain was real. Their humiliation was real. Their suffering and grief were great. They had lost everything, even members of their family and they were now slaves in a foreign land. Had they done evil? They were not punished for the sins of their fathers were they? Or so they thought. And so we think.
We live in a world of Hatfields and McCoys. We do not know what the war is over but if I believe you have wronged me, I will get my revenge. If you have something I want or say something I don’t like, that is justification enough.
“Others wait on God to “rescue” us. But nothing will happen unless we help (or make) it happen.”
God does not promote evil. He promises peace and we do not have to wait for it. We can have the peace that passes understanding now and we can bring it to the table regardless of what others think.
Yes, evil happens, but we can choose not to participate. That takes a change in heart and mind that is against our human nature of selfishness, me first. God wants to change us and will when we surrender our ideas of “fixing” it to Him and engage in making disciples that reflect His character of selflessness. That will change hearts and minds of the willing. Changing laws that does not change hearts and minds will have little effect.