Polarization, Opposites

Polarization

Opposites

The law, Love neighbor as self; do to others, as you would have them do, is the exact opposite of political polarization.  If we are politically polarized, we cannot be obeying God.  If we are obeying God, we cannot be political polarized.  It’s wrong.  Let’s try to fix it.

Obviously, in any dispute, both sides usually have a legitimate grievance.  Neither side is completely right; neither side is completely wrong: the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.  Where do we begin?  By trying to listen to each other.

We cannot solve problems unless we treat each other with gentleness and respect… pretty hard to do if one or both of us is in a lot of pain: for example, suffering from grief over dead children.  So, we have to work through the grief first.  That could take five years or longer.

We cannot solve problems if one or both sides is buried in bitterness: for example, the stinging pain of a century or more of slavery, and unjust segregation.  Now, we learn the hard way that modern business employment is just another form of slavery.  Who is not bitter over that?  We have to remove the sting of bitterness first.  Barring miracles, that could take another century.

Are we willing to forgive and forget those who have been complicit in the death of our children?  Pretty hard to do, isn’t it?  Still, it must be done for grief clouds our vision.  Out of 350 million fellow Americans, where maybe 350 individuals are at fault: our grief causes us to lash out at everybody else, even those who are suffering grief with us.  We have 350 million friends.  We see, irrationally, 350 million enemies.  Even some of those involved in the deaths of our children are truly sorry: but, our grief keeps us from seeing that.

Are we willing to forgive and forget those who have been duplicit in our slaver?  That may be even harder to do.  There is no evidence whatsoever that those involved in lending, usury, and all the rest, are the least bit sorry for their evil deeds: they seem to think that they have a God given right to enslave others.  Very well, God has an app for that, Love even your enemies.  So, as we attempt to tear down the castles, fortresses, and halls of lending, and usury, we work to forgive the individuals involved… seeing most of them as just as entrapped in an evil system as we are.

We have 350 million friends in America, most of whom share the same hopes and dreams that we do.  We have nearly 7.5 billion fellow human beings worldwide, pretty much in the same boat as we are: although, if we’re honest about it, we realize that Americans are a lot better off than most of the world.  The point is that, we will make much better progress if we figure out how to work together.  If we figure out how to build, and stop destroying our own neighborhoods.  America is our house: most of us still have to live here….

Psalm 137:1-9 rA

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Psalm 137:1-9[1]

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.  Yes, we wept when we remembered Zion.  We hung our harps on the willows in the middle of it: for there, those who carried us away captive required of us a song.  Those who wasted us [required of us] mirth, [saying], “Sing us the songs of Zion.”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in an alien land?  If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget.  If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.  Remember, Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze, raze, to its foundation.”

O daughter Babylon, who are to be destroyed, blessed [is he], who rewards you as you have served us.  Blessed [shall he be], who takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.[2] [3]

---

[1] Truly, there is a Psalm for every season and emotion of man.  The Psalms of David are set around 1000 BC.  This Psalm is set after 586 BC, after the Babylonian Captivity and Exile.  The psalmist is bathed in anger, bitterness, and grief.  He is able to see and understand the promise of God to Solomon, that God answers all prayer directed to Him, and His Temple in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion: so he prays accordingly.  However, Solomon’s Temple is destroyed, it seems like the end of the world to this psalmist, and he is not yet able to grasp that there is, and always was, a heavenly Jerusalem, a heavenly Zion, and a heavenly Temple, far greater than Solomon’s Temple.  So he clings to his earthly memory through his tears of anger, bitterness, and grief.  In such a state the psalmist lashes out at all around him.  This is a normal part of the grieving process.  In fact we see several aspects of the grieving process in play here: anger (obviously), denial (he can’t quite face the fact that the Temple and everything in it is gone), negotiation (“let my tongue”, etc.), depression (“how shall we sing”, etc.).  The only thing missing is acceptance: the psalmist cannot yet see God’s grace and mercy in his misery, and he cannot yet embrace his captivity as a blessing from God.  So the fact that the psalmist lashes out is to be expected: he utters a wicked and terrifying oath.  “Blessed [shall he be], who takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.”

Before we judge the psalmist harshly, or even at all, perhaps we should consider some harsh realities.

The psalmist has witnessed living babies being killed by hammering them against rocks.  There are people who have witnessed firsthand Dresden, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Oklahoma City, or New York.  These are terrible soul scarring experiences: these witnesses will never fully recover.  It seems as if everything except breath itself has been take away from them: they wait, only to die, and thus, at last, forget.

In grief, the psalmist says things that (s)he would not say or mean, were (s)he in a better, more recovered frame of mind.  The psalmist would be able to embrace the reality, knowing that “what men intended for evil, God intended for good.”  Knowing, (s)he would eventually be able to forgive.  Knowing, we come to realize that these terrible tragedies are not driven by mere human will; but rather by demonic forces far beyond human power.

Grief often takes years for recovery.  We all experience grief at some time or other: all of us die, all of us see death.  We hope for patience and understanding as we struggle with grief.  It’s not something we will just snap out of: we have to endure the experience and its raging gamut of emotions.  We should extend the same patience and understanding to this poor psalmist.

The real beauty of this Psalm is found in the psalmist’s naked honesty: (s)he is just being honest with God.  Would to God that our prayer would achieve such honesty.  This is a Psalm for grief.

In spite of all these things, we must see a strong note of the consummation of the kingdom in this Psalm.  “We wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).”  Our adversary is Satan, who deceives and manipulates the leaders of this world.  Consequently, taking vengeance is forbidden to us.  On the other hand, the judgment of Yahweh is coming upon this world.  In Christ, we will participate in that judgment.  “Blessed [shall he be], who takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.”  Blessed is Christ, Who brings the final and just judgment.  In the Consummation, all anguish, bitterness, and sorrow will be swallowed up in victory.  ΙΣ ΧΣ ΝΙΚΑ!

[2] Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45; 5:25, 30; 7:4, 11, 18, 22, 26-27

[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.

Psalm 77:1-20

Salutation

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Psalm 77:1-20[1]

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.

I cried to God with my voice, to God with my voice.  He gave ear to me.  In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord.  My sore ran in the night, and ceased not.  My soul refused to be comforted.  I remembered God, and was troubled.  I complained, My spirit was overwhelmed.  Consider.

You hold my eyes waking.  I am so troubled that I cannot speak.  I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.  I call to remembrance my song in the night.  I commune with my own heart.  My spirit made diligent search.

Will the Lord cast off forever?  Will He be favorable no more?  Is His mercy clean gone forever?  Does [His] promise fail forever?  Has God forgotten to be gracious?  Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?  Consider.

And I said, “This [is] my infirmity.”  [I will remember] the years of the right hand of the most High.  I will remember the works of the Lord.  Surely, I will remember Your wonders of old.  I will meditate also on all Your work, and talk of Your doings.

Your way, O God, [is] in the sanctuary.  Who [is so] great a God as [our] God?  You [are] the God Who does wonders.  You have declared Your strength among the people.  You have with [Your] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.  Consider.

The waters saw You, O God.  The waters saw You.  They were afraid.  The depths also were troubled.  The clouds poured out water.  The skies let out a roar.  Your arrows also went abroad.  The voice of Your thunder [was] in the heaven.  The lightning illumined the world.  The earth trembled and shook.  Your way [is] in the sea.  Your path [is] in the great waters.  Your footsteps are not known.  You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

________

If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.

---

[1] Jeduthun could be a personal noun, or a musical instruction or tune.  Asaph pours out the sorrows of a bitter and broken heart.  If he is also physically ill, we do not know what malady struck him.  It may well be that his sorrow is so great it made him bodily sick.

Holding the eyes is the gesture of one who is weeping: Asaph somehow knows that God shares his sorrow.  In despair, Asaph tries to remember the past, and put the shattered pieces of his broken life back together.  This is a step we must all take when we are confronted with life crushing sorrow.  We must try to understand the historical causes to our suffering.

Now he spells out the specific questions that his grief demands.  What events in Asaph’s life could possibly call forth such questions?  The destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity are the only events we can recall, which would bring forth such heart-wrenching agony, such screams of horror.

Asaph seeks comfort in the same place he sought understanding: he remembers the good years of God.  Again, this is an essential step for us, as well.  This is a life changing situation, but seen against the overall perspective of God’s goodness, things cannot be nearly as bad as they seem.  Why not?

The answer comes from the sanctuary, not made with hands, which cannot be destroyed.  The earthly temple, ark of the covenant, master copies of Scripture, Urim and Thummim may all be immolated, gone forever: but they were never more than copies, symbols of the heavenly realities of the same things, which can never be destroyed.  God’s omnipotent Glory still rules over all, and even yet, redeems.

Now Asaph is able to remember the Exodus through his tears.  He understands in the greatness of the mystery that a new Exodus, with a new Moses, and a new Aaron are coming.  He knows, from the character of God, that the story isn’t over yet.