December 19

Psalm 80:1-7

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn[a] of our neighbors;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

When our children were younger and there was confusion in the house, if she needed attention, instead of calling out “Dad!” our daughter would sometimes shout out my first name. Saucy, but effective; I listened!  She knew me well enough to call me by another name.

The Psalmist does something like this, using a collection of names: Shepherd! Enthroned one! God of hosts! -- Restore us! save us! shine your face upon us!  We call out for such things in Advent, the season of waiting. It may seem futile, trying one name, then another. Yet it is the language of lament, a gift the Bible offers. It is full of sorrow, yet not hidden sorrow; rather, it is sorrow expressed, sorrow addressed, to a specific one, whom we know well. Later Jesus will do it, mimicking Psalm 22: “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?”

Psalms of lament give us voice to speak out, to describe graphically how we really feel: my only bread is my tears! But the lamenting psalmist does not shout into the wind; no, he addresses God, who has made himself present before in many ways. We know him, and this gives us confidence to keep on calling until we are heard.  

God of many names, you have come before. Come again. Heed our cry, and the cries of so many who sorrow today. 

 

Charlie Pinches