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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? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! 6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem's fall, how they said, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!" 8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! 9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock! (Psalm 137 NRSV)
Just yesterday we shared how not all of the verses in the Bible are of the uplifting kind. And this one is quite a sad one. It is a song of lament from those at the height of their misery. They chose to stray from the Lord and now they're prisoners of war in a foreign land and on this day they are remembering their old home. Instead of being by the Jordan River, they are by the rivers of Babylon, and as they remember their home they are weeping and singing lamentations of what once was. Their captors ask them to sing their songs from back home (Zion), and their response was, of course, "We can't sing the Lord's song in a foreign country." They also begin to verbally swear what they would do if they ever forget their homeland. And then, prayers asking for retaliation against their captors, including the last verses which are painful to even share; "Happy shall they (their captors' conquerors) be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock." Ouch.
Here's the way I understand this. An active faith, one that seeks to serve God and be in relationship with Him is a faith that rarely leads us away from God. All of the texts for this week speak of that faith that blesses. A faith that does not bless is a faith that harms the person with that weak or absent faith. Our desire is to use our faith right now, and right where we are. I also understand that we might not ever find ourselves in enemy territory and I pray that is true for us and our children, but we may find ourselves in an ICU or NeoNatal ICU or a cancer ward, with the sickness being a formidable enemy that seeks to destroy and kill us in its own way. Our cries may be for the radiation or the chemo to be that which will smash the cancer's, or heart disease's babies against the rocks; and we will be able to understand the fight as being real. And our faith calls on the God Who heals, who can destroy and remove the unseen enemies of illness and even despair. And our faith never gives up.
PRAYER: Loving God, bring whatever this dear reader is needing right now. I pray that grace and compassion would shower his or her soul with grace, while healing balms and peace strengthen them and their loved ones who are facing illness or times in the hospital. We want to glorify You in all that we say, think, and do, and we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a bearer of Good News today.
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
