From Psalm 79:1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. 2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth. 3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. 4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. 5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire? 6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name. 7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation. 8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name's sake.
The word enemy is not a good word. We don't like to think that there are people who dislike or hate us, and many times for just who they think we are without really knowing us. I remember going to college in East Texas, in those days and still today in some regions, not known for its love of nonwhite people. I remember three individuals who hated me and others like me. I need not share what gave them away. It was, as this psalm implies, that I had come from another nation and defiled the holy temple of their realm. Two of these three stooges were in the pre-ministerial organization. The third, like me, worked in the school cafeteria, but I was the student supervisor. They may have truly believed I existed to "taunt" them just by being a shade darker in skin color and had the audacity to sit in the same classes of higher education with them.
Years later, when our firstborn was about six and I was pastor in a new church, she came to Mom and asked, "Not everybody likes Daddy, right?" She took a moment to talk with her and said that yes, she had observed right and the fact of life was that not everyone would like everyone.
As a nation we are hated. We are judged for what we have and for what we do. We are seen as evil for having so much and living lifestyles of excess and outward displays of what are believed to be forbidden in their worlds. The words of this psalm could be interpreted by them as being written just for them. Yet, we know as believers in the God of love, we are called to love one another. We are called to seek justice and righteousness and to not defile the things of God, seeking daily to be made right with God and what God has asked of us. Ours is a journey towards being delivered from our sins, through Christ Jesus, living a life that says FORGIVEN all over us as an invitation to others to do the same. We are called to love and forgive even those who hate us and seek our destruction. Ours is the better way to live, not the easiest.
PRAYER: Loving God, even as we remember those who might see themselves as our enemies, we pray for them rich and wonderful blessings. We pray that we would not see divisions and obstacles to truly being companions in faith. Forgive us those times when we have indeed gone against You and Yours. This in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
