Psalm 79
Psalm 79
O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us.
How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
When I first read this passage I thought of all the injustices I see everyday. I think about those that believe the Church is nothing but pretenders. I think about the bigots and the hateful people in this world. I think about myself and the many ways I fail to take action and pronounce the love of God. I think about how many of God's people are being imprisoned and hurt simply because of the color of their skin... and it makes me think about what we look like to this broken world....
If we are the sheep of His pasture, what sheep are we protecting? What sheep are we supporting? Are we neglecting one or two sheep for the supposed good of the flock? Are we claiming that we support them all without taking a stand for those in need? Are we ignoring some of His sheep for the sake of comfort or privilege?
How can His flock proclaim His praise when there are so many sheep being run off or hurt? How can His flock be a beacon of love without standing up for those sheep in need of love? How can we preach Jesus when we fail to address that He would never neglect any of His flock, and neither should we? That's what I thought of when I read this passage, and so that's where my reflection took me today.
It took me to my facebook feed where people post about how all lives matter while conveniently ignoring that right now, all lives do not matter. That much is clear. Racism abounds in our country, as does prejudice and discrimination. We can pretend it doesn't happen. We can roll our eyes at our racist relatives. But we must accept that until black lives matter, all lives simply cannot.
We must push ourselves and ask ourselves uncomfortable questions. We must put ourselves out there. Just as Jesus did. We must leave the comfort of the flock and pursue the sheep that are being lost to violence and discrimination.
We must Love as He first loved us.
I look around and I see that too many people have forgotten His love. They have forsaken His ways. Bloodshed, pain and bigotry surround us when we forget that He died for us all; when we forget to live as He lived. When we forget to demonstrate His love for all His children. Surely, He died for ALL the sheep of His pasture. We cannot ignore the suffering of some of His sheep because He would never ignore any of us.
He gave His all, for us all. He pursues every single one of us. In fact, His love should overwhelm us and motivate us to enact change; to transform this world in the name of His love and forgiveness; to show this world that He truly died for us all and continually pursues each of us...even leaving behind the other ninety-nine.
How have we forgotten that? I turn on the news and I see the groans of His people. I see the blood of His servants being poured out unnecessarily. I see people throwing contempt towards their brothers and sisters because of the color of their skin. I see His people hurting and I read passages like this Psalm and it feels that this world is lost to chaos. It often feels as if this broken world is winning. I see people everywhere asking "Where is their God?"
Are we not called to be His people? Are we not called to praise His name and shine His love? Are we not called to lay down our own selfish ways and beliefs and take up the profound love of God? Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:
He died for black lives. And all lives cannot matter if black lives are continually threatened. His flock is incomplete when other sheep are being oppressed. The love of Christ simply cannot be fully displayed when members of His flock keep facing prejudice and discrimination. Generations cannot praise God when they do not witness His love towards all men and women. This world will continue to ask, "where is their God?"
Let Him be found in us. Let Him live in us. Let us display His love. Let us demonstrate His divine pursuit of every soul. Let us stand up for black lives so that all lives might be made richer through the abundant love of Jesus Christ.
O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us.
How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
When I first read this passage I thought of all the injustices I see everyday. I think about those that believe the Church is nothing but pretenders. I think about the bigots and the hateful people in this world. I think about myself and the many ways I fail to take action and pronounce the love of God. I think about how many of God's people are being imprisoned and hurt simply because of the color of their skin... and it makes me think about what we look like to this broken world....
If we are the sheep of His pasture, what sheep are we protecting? What sheep are we supporting? Are we neglecting one or two sheep for the supposed good of the flock? Are we claiming that we support them all without taking a stand for those in need? Are we ignoring some of His sheep for the sake of comfort or privilege?
How can His flock proclaim His praise when there are so many sheep being run off or hurt? How can His flock be a beacon of love without standing up for those sheep in need of love? How can we preach Jesus when we fail to address that He would never neglect any of His flock, and neither should we? That's what I thought of when I read this passage, and so that's where my reflection took me today.
It took me to my facebook feed where people post about how all lives matter while conveniently ignoring that right now, all lives do not matter. That much is clear. Racism abounds in our country, as does prejudice and discrimination. We can pretend it doesn't happen. We can roll our eyes at our racist relatives. But we must accept that until black lives matter, all lives simply cannot.
We must push ourselves and ask ourselves uncomfortable questions. We must put ourselves out there. Just as Jesus did. We must leave the comfort of the flock and pursue the sheep that are being lost to violence and discrimination.
We must Love as He first loved us.
I look around and I see that too many people have forgotten His love. They have forsaken His ways. Bloodshed, pain and bigotry surround us when we forget that He died for us all; when we forget to live as He lived. When we forget to demonstrate His love for all His children. Surely, He died for ALL the sheep of His pasture. We cannot ignore the suffering of some of His sheep because He would never ignore any of us.
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish" (Matthew 18:12-14).
He gave His all, for us all. He pursues every single one of us. In fact, His love should overwhelm us and motivate us to enact change; to transform this world in the name of His love and forgiveness; to show this world that He truly died for us all and continually pursues each of us...even leaving behind the other ninety-nine.
How have we forgotten that? I turn on the news and I see the groans of His people. I see the blood of His servants being poured out unnecessarily. I see people throwing contempt towards their brothers and sisters because of the color of their skin. I see His people hurting and I read passages like this Psalm and it feels that this world is lost to chaos. It often feels as if this broken world is winning. I see people everywhere asking "Where is their God?"
Are we not called to be His people? Are we not called to praise His name and shine His love? Are we not called to lay down our own selfish ways and beliefs and take up the profound love of God? Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.We must be more. We must do more. We must share His love. We must share in His pursuit of every sheep in the flock. We must call on His Name and seek His Strength. We must not live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us all; for Him who would leave the ninety-nine to save the one; for Him who desires that no one should perish or be lost. Not one.
He died for black lives. And all lives cannot matter if black lives are continually threatened. His flock is incomplete when other sheep are being oppressed. The love of Christ simply cannot be fully displayed when members of His flock keep facing prejudice and discrimination. Generations cannot praise God when they do not witness His love towards all men and women. This world will continue to ask, "where is their God?"
Let Him be found in us. Let Him live in us. Let us display His love. Let us demonstrate His divine pursuit of every soul. Let us stand up for black lives so that all lives might be made richer through the abundant love of Jesus Christ.
Comments