By Rev. Paul Graves
Centrifugal rage seems everywhere in September, irresponsibly sprayed in every direction possible.
I write this shortly after conservative political/religious pied piper Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Plus, a 16-year-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. 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 and 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.
We must stop. As we reflect on Psalm 137, we might stop transmitting our pains and fears and learn to transform them into healing grief.
Psalm 137 is 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.
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 and pursuing justice for all. God also knows 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. Know God is ready to wipe away our tears.
The Rev. Paul Graves is a retired elder member of the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.
