¹ By the rivers of Babylon—
    there we sat down and there we wept
    when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there
    we hung up our harps.
³ For there our captors
    asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴ How could we sing the Lord’s song
    in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

We oftentimes skip over some of the less ‘happy’ passages in the Bible in communal worship. I admit, even in citing the above Psalm, I stopped before the revenge portion of the Psalm. Yet the Bible illuminates the lives of God’s people. This includes both the joys and the sorrows. God’s people are confident enough in God’s faithfulness to approach Him with all the aspects of their lives. We are confident enough in God’s faithfulness to share the whole of our lives.

A lament is defined as “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.” (Oxford dictionary) Sixty of the 150 Psalms are laments. The Book of Lamentations is primarily…a lament. The Israelites were confident that God was listening even when they were full of grief or sorrow. When they were experiencing hardship or tragedy, they turned to God.

Psalm 137 is a communal lament over the (first) destruction of Jerusalem roughly 2600 years ago. The leaders, the craftsmen, the prophets, the priests – basically those whom the Babylonians saw as either a threat or useful – had been hauled off to Babylon. They were removed from everything they found familiar. They were immersed in an unfamiliar location, a different culture, and a foreign language. This new reality caused them angst and sorrow. They lamented their situation.

Some of the more familiar Bible stories from this period of exile include Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, and the Book of Esther. Those tales illustrate the struggle of the Jewish exiles to continue to serve and worship God. It was not easy. They made choices that were punishable by death. They struggled with the choice of whether or not to identify themselves as children of God in public. They struggled with the basic question posed by the Psalmist, “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” The Psalms were the cornerstone of Jewish worship. This question could easily be rephrased, “How do we worship the Lord in a foreign land?” Worship was fundamental to their identity as God’s people. The question for those exiles was, how do we live as God’s children in this new reality we are facing?

Those questions translate well into our current climate. Although we are not exiled into a foreign country, we are exiled from our regular habits and routines. We are living in a foreign reality, filled with angst and wondering. We ask those questions: How do we sing the Lord’s song in an unfamiliar territory? How do we continue to live as God’s children in times of fear and uncertainty?

While none of us is facing a fiery furnace, a lion’s den, or genocide decree, there are moments that challenge us. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. News programs are probably getting the highest ratings in years. In this age of instant news and social media, we can be unsure about what is indeed fact and what is exaggerated or misleading. In this scientific era, we are troubled by how much we do not know about COVID-19 and its spread. Like the exiles 2600 years ago, we are coping with the strangeness of the unpredictability of a new reality. We are sojourners in a foreign land, even if that foreign land is our own residence.

We, like those Biblical heroes, face difficult choices as we seek to discern how to live as God’s children in uncharted territory. How do we adapt our current habits and routines to protect the health of our neighbors? How do we foster community while practicing social distancing? How do we live as God’s children in this new reality? How do we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

We lament. We take the cue of our ancestors in faith and express our fears and grief to the Lord. We share their cries from so long ago and make them our own. We have confidence in God’s faithfulness to know that he hears our prayers. We trust God’s promise that He will lead us out of this challenge and whatever challenge may lie ahead.

One of the most amazing elements of a Biblical lament is that it concludes with praise. Our Biblical ancestors trusted that no matter how passionate their grief or how dire their current situation was, God was still God. Even when they were suffering, they remembered God’s promise to them. They pinned their hope on God.

Paul reminded the Corinthians, “God is faithful. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) That reminder is for us as well. As we face days when we feel tested beyond our strength, experiencing the weight of uncertainty and isolation, we remember. God is with us. God is faithful. God’s love endures forever. God promises to be with us through whatever grief or anxiety the days may bring.

Even in our sense of exile, we know and believe the promise of Christ found in the Gospel according to John: (Jesus said) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3) Cling to that promise for it is trustworthy and true. Cling to Christ for He is trustworthy and true.

The peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla