Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
How long, O Lord? I’ve prayed this brief, pleading prayer before. Maybe it’s one you’ve uttered, or even cried out, too. If so, you and I are not alone. Today’s psalm of lament includes this questioning prayer and more: “O Lord, how long? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?” (79:5)
Scripture scholars tell us the occasion of this lament is likely the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army resulting in their Temple being defiled and their people killed and even their bodies left unburied. The psalmist makes a graphic, poetic depiction: “They have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of heaven, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.” (vs 2) “They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and no one is left to do the burying.” (vs 3)
It is a grim scene to be sure. The lament is understandable. Again, turning to scripture scholars, we read that this communal prayer includes an acknowledgment that this catastrophe has been brought about by the people’s own sins and the belief that God is withdrawing “divine favor” out of jealousy and anger. Yet, I question, is their suffering a result of their sinfulness and God’s anger and jealousy as the psalmist indicates? I fall prey to the temptation of that way of thinking at times, as well. Yet, it doesn’t seem to fit with our understanding of God as all merciful and forgiving, slow to anger and rich in kindness.
The psalmist is also pleading for God’s compassion to “move quickly ahead of us, for we have been brought very low.” (vs 8b) And I do believe God’s compassion is what ultimately saves us – a compassion and mercy that we are not always deserving of, just as we are not always deserving of the suffering that comes with being human. It’s something I continue to grapple with but also find consolation in knowing that our God took on our suffering through Jesus; God is with us.
Let us pray today’s psalm response with trust and confidence in that mercy, compassion, and love. “For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.” With all thanks and praise to our God who saves us. Amen.
~Eileen Miller