Psalms of Imprecation---And other stuff

I am now two weeks into my second semester at Candler School of Theology.  This week as I sat in old testament I was reminded of A Sunday a couple of years ago that I preached for Longs United Methodist Church where I am now a member.  I had chosen the text for the sermon but had not chosen the psalter.  The pastor had not provided me with a bulletin ahead of time and I did not take the time to look up the Psalm of the morning before I read it aloud to the congregation.  I got up and announced the Psalter for the morning, Psalm 137, and began to read:

"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
² There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
³ for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴ How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
⁵ If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.

⁷ Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
⁸ Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
⁹ Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks." (NIV, from Biblegateway.com)

 

Imagine me stopping half way through that line and saying it slowly, unsurely and with shock in my voice.  I was mortified to then follow those words with "The word of God for the people of God."  Really, the word of God?  Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks?  The word of God.  I just had to follow that up with something.  I couldn't declare that the word of God and say nothing more.  I was unsure of mysef but one thing I was very sure of was that I knew God would not condone taking people's children and dashing them against rocks.  I just said timeout, I have to say that we need to remember when we approach the bible that men wrote these words.  Men who have human emotions and who pour their hearts out to God wrote these words.  I then went on to the hymn to follow it.  I remember nothing else about that day.  I don't know what I preached, what hymns we sang, but I that Psalm has stuck with me. 

I am happy to say that this psalm was the subject of one of our assigned readings this week and was further addressed by my wonderful Old Testament professor, Dr. Joel LeMon.   There are many ways of approaching these Psalms of Imprecation (meaning curse).  The one that resonated the most with me was to view these psalms as a "letting go and a holding back."  For example the person who wrote this Psalm is writing from the "banks of Babylon" indicating they are in exile longing for their home that had been taken and torn down by the Babylonians.  They cry out in their anguish to their God that they know to be a God of justice.  They let Go of their violent thougts by pouring them out to their God of refuge and hope.  (the letting go)  They do not enact this violence themselves (the holding back) but give the desires of their heart to God and allow the divine to be the judge. 

I had a moment this week of needing to let go/hold back.  I was the victim of a crime.  I have never been the victim of a crime committed by someone I didn't know before.  I went out to my car Tuesday morning, patch on and gym bad in hand to find my glove box open.  I looked up and saw glass in the drivers seat.  Someone had been in search of the GPS that belonged in the mount that was in clear site.  The GPS and all other electronics were in the house.  The theif got away with about 25.00 and a wallet full of discount/reward cards.  My initial reaction was to drop my shoulders in a sigh of defeat as I turned around and went back to the house, calling my cousin to let me in so I could begin the calls to the police and the insurance company.  As I walked into the house I threw my bookbag down on the couch and threw my keys toward my bookbag and exclaimed "little jerk."  That was the extent of my imprecations against the person who violated my privacy and damaged my property.  I have said that he/she was a respectul thief.  They didn't ramsack my car.  They looked for what they were looking for. They Grabbed what they thought was valuable and left everything else undisturbed.  I ended up missing some class time, being without my car for a couple of days and overall inconvenienced but I did expereince grace.   I experienced grace in the friends who gave me rides.   I experienced grace in my cousin being available to oversee the repair to my car.  I experienced grace in that we didn't have a quiz the morning that I missed class.  I heard a great quote this weeks.  It was someone quoting Good Morning America's Robin Roberts.  "Turn your mess into a message."  So the message from my mess this week is take down your GPS mounts and wipe off the suction circular mark it leaves. 

It is Finished

I wrote the below after my last day of class last semester and forgot to post it.  To update it, I made it through exams and ended my first semester with  3.24 average.  Not to bad for this old lady if I do say so myself.  Looking forward to the next one:

It is official.  I have completed my last class of my second first semester of seminary.  All that is left is final exams and the semester will be completely over.  I learned two things about commuting on this last day of classes.  #1.  Waiting for buses and trains in 30 degree weather is very different then walking from your side door to your car in the mornings.  Coat, Gloves and a hat are a must regardless of your strong dislike for keeping up with said items.  Secondly, If you want to perfectly time your commute with absolutely no waiting time, plan to wait and have something you want to do while you are waiting.  Transportation will be waiting for you at every stop.

Interestingly it seems like these are the kinds of things I have learned my first semester at Emory.  It may have something to do with having already done the first year of seminary once before though it was in the early 90s and was Southern Baptist.  As I have filled out class evaluations it has been hard for me to put my finger on the one big thing I've learned or that I'm taking away.

What I have learned is that I love Atlanta, especially the decatur area.  I've learned more about my cousin and her husband which has been wonderful.  I've learned to love hairless cats.  I've learned how to use public transportation.  I've learned how to get around Atlanta and that if I weren't living with Jessica and Donald I would rent an apartment in Decatur rather than stay for free with my Uncle in Woodstock.  A daily commute between Woodstock and Atlanta is surely the picture of Hell.  I've  learned that at 44 you have to develop a different pattern/method of studying and retaining information than you had when you were 21.  This I am still learning and trying to figure out.  I don't remember as well or as much and my body does not allow for all night cram sessions.  This body needs a full 8 hours of sleep.  I've learned that I need regular chiropractic services.  It's been affirmed to me that my Uncle Stan is just simply one of the top 4 men on the planet.  The other 3 would be his dad and brothers in no particular order because they all have things that are unique to them.  I've learned that those who live with me are sacrificing much more than I am for me to follow God's call on my life.  I've learned that I'm still kind of shy and still have a hard time approaching people face to face to develop new friendships.  ( I know those of you who know me well will have trouble believing this but it is the truth.)  I've learned that when my bladder wakes me up at 4:30 AM I need to stay up which means I should really go to bed earlier.

You may be asking yourself if this is really worth 10,000 dollars.  Well I certainly have learned more.  I just can't narrow it down to one big thing.