Centrifugal rage seems everywhere in September, irresponsibly sprayed in every direction possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political violence and attacks on free speech are rising and seem unstoppable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In reaction to Babylonian mocking, Israel asks: \u201cHow can we sing a (joyful) song to the Lord in a foreign land?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sense that today\u2019s people of compassionate, justice-driven faith try to sing our faith songs in a \u201cforeign land\u201d we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The psalm is most famous for its last line. The Israelites curse their captors with a horrific, ghastly image that quickly turns us away: \u201cHappy is the man who pays you back for what you have done to us \u2013 who takes your babies and smashes them against a rock!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that\u2019s rage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, it echoes in too many reckless political commentaries and social media pronouncements today. We\u2019re definitely not immune to the exaggerated rhetoric of rage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 137 is of remembrance and retribution. The psalm\u2019s violent imagery shows a distressed community processing its grief and anger in God\u2019s presence. Their bone-deep lament is so real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weighed down by grief and rage, Israel\u2019s lament is unanswered in this psalm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201crescue\u201d us. But nothing will happen unless we help it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The psalmist sensed that only out of deep pain can deep transformation emerge. So, when he speaks of horrible action against the \u201clittle ones,\u201d he momentarily lets go of his rage. Each time Israel recited the psalm, they and God were real to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we can\u2019t fully share our fears and rages before God, it confirms our fears that God punishes rather than loves. Our inner conflicts fester when we\u2019re afraid to be real before God. The psalm writer was not afraid. His courage both scandalizes us and fascinates us. It\u2019s hard for us to duplicate his honesty before God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201clittle ones\u201d of Psalm 137 are a jolting reminder that we have a national rage that must find a healthy expression. If it doesn\u2019t, our increasing political chaos puts millions of people in physical peril. Our nation\u2019s soul is drastically diminished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s a giant step toward letting God transform our fears. Psalms 137 can be a transformative psalm for the rages!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it and weep. Know God is ready to wipe away our tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rev. Paul Graves<\/strong>\u00a0is a retired elder member of the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist\u00a0Church.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a time marked by rising violence and cultural chaos, Rev. Paul Graves turns to Psalm 137\u2014a psalm of lament and raw rage\u2014as a mirror for our national unrest. He challenges us to bring our deepest fears and angers before God, trusting that honest lament can become the soil where transformation and hope take root.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,74,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conversation","8":"category-opinioneditorial","9":"category-pacific-northwest-conference"},"yoast_head":"\n