A CRY OF DESPERATION - This psalm is a communal lament or simply, a cry of desperation. Thinly veiled is the cataclysmic and disastrous experience of the sacking of Jerusalem and the exile in 587 bce. What makes this psalm especially jarring is its juxtaposition with the preceding psalm. In that psalm-a Zion/David theology has Israel being led out under the care of God the Shepherd. That theology is now broken and will need a rethinking of the role of suffering in the life of God’s people.

DEFILED - Verses 1-5 graphically depict the desecration and destruction by the people of Jerusalem. The words, "defiled" and "holy" suggest the desecration of Israel’s purity-the Temple. God’s place has become defiled. Then the unburied bodies would have added insult to injury (cf. 2 Kgs. 23:16) which suggests the shame of defeat and heavenly judgment.

SUFFERING AS A SIGN -

The temptation is to view suffering in one of two extremes among those who trust God: to view suffering a sign of God’s weakness-God no longer rules-or as a sign of God’s punishment-God is forever angry. Yet in the face of catastrophic suffering, the psalmist continues to affirm . . . It opens the way to an embrace of suffering as something other than an indication of alienation from God . . . In short, the psalmist’s affirmation in the face of adversity prepares the way for a time when a cross-the emblem of suffering and shame-will become a symbol of power and grace, the ultimate answer to the question, ‘Where is God?’

If you faced the tragic death of hostage and you were allowed to say last words or have a last request, how would you respond?

How would you react if the events recorded in this psalm were happening in your church or community? Has distress ever given your family or church community the opportunity to pull together?

Part of what this psalm does is to evoke the pathos of people who have been defiled, whose holy place has been desecrated, a nation that has been exiled from their country of origin.

A homily on this particular psalm may seek to replicate at least a bit of that pathos. To do that you might consider several options: (1) recall a specific face, name, family in a land that shares some of the deep sadness that this psalm reflects; e.g. a refugee family that you’ve read about in a magazine, the book about a people besieged by war, a movie that reveals the struggle of a people politically, socially, or economically. (2) share a story that you’ve personally participated in that involves assisting a family or helping people to rebuild in the wake of a hurricane or mudslide; (3) retell the story-having reviewed the history of the fall of Jerusalem carefully-so that listeners can also read between the lines and visualize the pathos of the psalm.

Move to the petition part of the psalm (vv. 9-11) as a way to encourage folks to look to God in all situations.

Suggest how suffering can be understood not as punishment nor as weakness, but as a part of human experience. Yet in the suffering we can meet the God is no stranger to suffering and can pray our petitions for help to one who has been touched with our infirmaries.

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