Reflections
Psalm 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
“How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?”
This Sunday's Psalm is a prayer of the Jewish people
in exile in Babylon. As Sunday's 1st reading tells us,
the Lord became angry with the people of Judah
because of their many infidelities. (2 Chronicles 36:14-16)
And when they mocked the messenger of God,
God allowed them to be carried off to Babylon as slaves.
“By the rivers of Babylon, we sat mourning and weeping.”
But God's chosen people could not forget Jerusalem
and the covenant God had made with them. “If I forget
you Jerusalem, may my right hand wither. May my tongue
stick to my palate if I do not remember you.” And more
important, God did not forget them.
It is the same way with us. We sin against God and He
allows us to be carried off into a kind of self imposed exile,
where we separate ourselves from Him for a time.
“How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?”
When our hearts are hardened by sin, how can we sing
a song of the Lord? When we are in the darkness because
we prefer the darkness, how can we sing a song of the Lord?
When we are separated from the Lord and indulging in things
of the world, how can we sing a song of the Lord?
It is only when we are in the light, then can we sing a song
of the Lord.
As Sunday’s 2nd reading tells us, “Even when we are dead in our
transgressions, God brings us to life with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:5)
And the Gospel reminds us in a powerful way that although we
are a wicked people who hate the light, God sent His Son not to
condemn us, but to save us and lead us into the light. (John 3: 17-21)
That is how we free ourselves from our own spiritual exile.
It is only when we are in the light, when we become a light unto
the world, then can we sing a song of the Lord!
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. This Sunday's Psalm Response is, "Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!"
When you are separated from God because of sin, have you noticed how it becomes difficult to praise and worship Him? In a way your tongue becomes silenced for a time.
Explain how you can get your voice back and start again singing a song of the Lord.
2. Our psalmist tells us that it was difficult for the Jewish people captive in Babylon to sing
the songs of Zion in a foreign land. Is it sometimes difficult for you to speak of your faith
in the company of non-believers? If you are being persecuted by a world that does not
acknowledge you as one of its own, how do you overcome your reticence and speak boldly
of your faith?
How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land ?
ReplyDeleteSince Our Lord was angry with the Israelites due to their unfaithfulness, infidelities, now the Jewish people are in exile in Babylon as slaves. And by the rivers of Babylon they sit mourning and weeping instead of singing a song of the Lord. As God’s chosen people they still remember God’s commands and Jerusalem. Their hearts are bitter towards Babylon's oppression of the Jewish people.
The psalmist cries out about how harshly the Babylonians have treated the Jewish people. They were oppressed so badly that they could not sing a song of the Lord. God seems far away from them because of their sins which make barriers.
I want to break the barrier down between God and myself, which is sin.
I relate my sin to the Jewish people’s exile in Babylon - spiritual exile. The exiles sit and weep morning and night. They have lost the joy in their lives. They have suffered long in darkness and they wish to come out of the darkness into the light. They wish to gain back the joy for the love of God.
I thought their case is similar to mine when I suffer spiritually and I am lost and out of touch from His presence. Whenever I see I am sinning I learn to act quickly to confess my sins and ask for forgiveness. God washes aways my sins at the same time as He blesses me with His Grace so that I can feel His presence. God puts a joyful song in my heart.
I know my Father cares about every detail of my life. I can sustain my relationship with Him. I do not wish to experience spiritual exile again, even though I do not have strong, bold faith. I want to reach out to others who are non believers, witnessing that Jesus is my Savior.