| Scripture text: Psalm 89 Finding Psalm 89 among the texts for Advent 4 begs this question: Should Advent be a season of emotional de-crescendo and rest, as the church approaches with certainty the time of God with us; and/or should it be a time of emotional crescendo and dismay as we fly through yet another year of "how long, O Lord" (Psalm 89:46) with no certainty of the Messiah's imminent return? Appearing elsewhere in the lectionary cycle at the end of Lent, on Maundy Thursday, Psalm 89 speaks to a time of crisis, as hope in the Lord appears betrayed and headed toward certain death. Therefore, the appearance of Psalm 89 again, here, leads me to this conclusion: Although the church tends to advocate emotional de-crescendo as Advent progresses, "but now" (v. 38), the church should be entertaining an emotional crescendo of lament that the Lord has NOT come as promised; that the disconnect between promise and reality is almost unbearable yet again. Only then is the joy of Christmas a true expression of God's in-breaking hope in the midst of seeming impossibility and dismay. Concluding Book III of the Psalter, Psalm 89 is a royal psalm, swinging the faith of Israel between assertive confidence in God's steadfast love, faithfulness, and promise to all generations (v. 1-4), and at the other extreme, Israel's protest and disappointment in God's apparent breach of covenant in abandoning the anointed one during the exile (v. 38-51).
Scripture text: Psalm 89
Finding Psalm 89 among the texts for Advent 4 begs this question: Should Advent be a season of emotional de-crescendo and rest, as the church approaches with certainty the time of God with us; and/or should it be a time of emotional crescendo and dismay as we fly through yet another year of "how long, O Lord" (Psalm 89:46) with no certainty of the Messiah's imminent return? Appearing elsewhere in the lectionary cycle at the end of Lent, on Maundy Thursday, Psalm 89 speaks to a time of crisis, as hope in the Lord appears betrayed and headed toward certain death. Therefore, the appearance of Psalm 89 again, here, leads me to this conclusion: Although the church tends to advocate emotional de-crescendo as Advent progresses, "but now" (v. 38), the church should be entertaining an emotional crescendo of lament that the Lord has NOT come as promised; that the disconnect between promise and reality is almost unbearable yet again. Only then is the joy of Christmas a true expression of God's in-breaking hope in the midst of seeming impossibility and dismay. Concluding Book III of the Psalter, Psalm 89 is a royal psalm, swinging the faith of Israel between assertive confidence in God's steadfast love, faithfulness, and promise to all generations (v. 1-4), and at the other extreme, Israel's protest and disappointment in God's apparent breach of covenant in abandoning the anointed one during the exile (v. 38-51). The lectionary rocks the cradle first to the right, including vv. 1-4, which introduce the two key words of the text: "steadfast love" and "faithfulness." The strong link is made between the steadfast love and faithfulness of Yahweh, the heavenly king, and the covenant promise made to David, the earthly king (v. 3-4), both of which are assured to last forever, and for all generations. In this rock-solid affirmation of faith, the Psalmist rests his/her hope. Then the lectionary jumps to vv. 19-26, a divine vision recognizing David as the anointed one, the crowned one, the chosen one, whom God promises to uphold "always" (v. 21) and to favor with victory over all who oppose him (vv. 21-27.) The steadfast love and faithfulness of the heavenly king will be focused upon this particular earthly king; the covenant made with David and his descendants will stand permanently secure. Thus the Psalm echoes the hope professed by a previous divine voice via prophet in the Old Testament lectionary reading, II Samuel 7:1-11; a similar hope that promises through David's kingship "rest" from all enemies (v. 11a), and a divine in-dwelling with David's people, as well as a place in which they might dwell, undisturbed. The lectionary rocks the cradle right, toward hope and rest in trustful interaction between Yahweh and David in the past, extending into perpetuity. But the lectionary fails to rock the cradle back to the left, which the psalm does quite nicely in vv. 38-51. It is in v. 38 that we hear the "but now" of exile, the "but now" of Jerusalem's destruction, the "but now" of defeat, the "but now" of national crisis, the "but now" of broken covenant, the "but now" of betrayal, the "but now" of questioned faithfulness. A cradle does not comfort if it only rocks one way. It must swing the faith between both poles to be of any authentic comfort to "adventing" souls. Our comfort comes in the freedom to express both hope and dismay in the One whom we call Father, God, Rock, Salvation (v. 26). Israel laments the apparent rejection of the Messiah (v.38); the rout of the warrior king by his enemies (v. 43); the ruination of his stronghold (v. 40); the shaming of his office (v.45, 50-51); the apparent dissolution of Yahweh's "permanent" covenant with the Davidic dynasty (v.44); the disappearance of steadfast love and faithfulness (v.49); the breach of Yahweh's promise. This is the lament that perhaps brings comfort to families who have lost a loved one in Iraq; to those who have lost lives, livelihoods, and homes to recent hurricanes; to those overwhelmed by addiction; to those encountering yet another round of chemotherapy. This is the cradle rock expressed in v. 3 of "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear": And ye, beneath life's crushing load, Whose forms are bending low, Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps and slow, Look now! for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing: O rest beside the weary road, And hear the angels sing (Edmund Hamilton Sears, 1849). This is the honest cradle rock of reality that makes the other cradle rock towards hope, also a reality. What will the Messiah look like, whom the angel Gabriel announces to Mary: the one who will restore the Davidic line of promise (Luke 1: 31-33)? Will he perhaps resemble the Messiah of the psalmist's lament: rejected; defiled; defeated; plundered; scorned; shamed? The cradle must rock both ways, for us to be able to affirm our faith in Yahweh/God, the One who brings babies to virgins and old barren women, and the One who promises renewed hope in the midst of seeming impossibility. Behold, an empty rocking cradle may soon hold a King. Marilyn Hedgpeth is associate pastor of First Church, Durham, N.C. She writes: My thanks to colleagues Kathy Parkins, Phyllis Kort, Susan Dunlap, and Judy Pidcock. .
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