“God bless us, everyone!” was the farthest thought from the prophet Jonah’s mind. Much like Scrooge’s partner Marley, Jonah’s empathy for the Ninevites was indeed ‘dead as a doornail’. Jonah thought God’s desire to save Jonah’s enemies (those Jonah thought were deserving of destruction) should be nothing more than “Humbug”. But in this view, Jonah found ‘tummy trouble’, because to wish condemnation for others, invites us to remember the ways we too deserve justice.
The Psalmist reflects on the destruction of Jerusalem in Psalm 79, and as I read it, I hear a similar wrestling. Justice for those who have done us wrong, but a call for God’s grace on us. We may be familiar with complicated feelings during the Christmas season. An empty seat at the table, challenging communal obligations, a low bank account… not enough ‘coal’ for the ‘fire’…etc. And if these challenges are, in our minds or in actuality, caused by another, if we feel unjustly treated, we may, like Mrs. Cratchit, be completely uninterested in raising a glass to their health during this season. Yes, God is a God of justice AND God is a God of mercy. The culmination of both exhibited at the end of the incarnation, where God is born man, lives and then dies for us- satisfying the requirements of the law, and extending grace wide to all us law-breakers.
Life is complicated and so are we. Thankfully, we get to bring every emotion to God. The Psalmist does not hold back. And yet, though they shared similar feelings, unlike Jonah, he runs TOWARD God, not AWAY from Him. Whatever you’re feeling this season, bring it to your Heavenly Father. Share openly and honestly. Don’t let it sit in your stomach and rot. Get it out before Him. He cares. Deeply.
Then, after we have ‘spilled our guts’, let His grace that, yes, He has for others, wash over you too. And afterwhich, trusting in His perfect mercy and His perfect justice, may we say…
“God bless us, everyone.”
Psalm 79:1-10 (NKJV)
O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
2 The dead bodies of Your servants
They have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3 Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and derision to those who are around us.5 How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.8 Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
For Your name’s sake!
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed.
This song “Take it to the Lord in Prayer” is a reworking of the old hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus”. The school group that performed it and posted it say it is dedicated to the victims of ‘recent hurricanes’ – the video was posted in 2017. I am drawn to the somberness of this rendition that focuses on the line “take it to the Lord in prayer” as opposed to the more up-beat version that focuses on “what a friend we have in Jesus”. It’s fascinating that this song can hold both truths – the difficulties of life, and the faithful goodness of our friend Jesus.
Whatever conflicting feelings we feel this season, may we all ‘take them to the Lord in prayer’.
God Thru the Arts 