Return, O Lord!  How long?

Have pity on your servants! 

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness

That we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.

Make us glad, for the days when we were afflicted,

For the years when we saw evil.

 

Psalm 90: 14-17

 

I love this scripture passage for the way it illuminates the humanness of the Psalmist and the audience for whom they were speaking.  This Psalm, most likely written during the time of the Babylonian captivity, speaks of the desperation and longing to remember the Presence and Action of God during a time of great challenge for the Hebrew people.    

From the perspective of the Jewish people, it would have appeared as if God had abandoned them.  I can almost see the Israelites on their knees, wringing their hands, tugging on their hair and their vestments as they pleaded with God to return to them.  The Psalmist, in his/her infinite wisdom, challenged the Hebrew people with the following prayer:

"Make us glad for the days we were afflicted."  

Take a moment and contemplate this prayer:

"Make me glad for the days I have been afflicted."

 

What is your reaction?  I know when I first read this, all I could say was, "OUCH."  Who wants to be glad during times of affliction, struggle, conflict or suffering?  Wouldn't we rather complain, whine, moan and groan?  Don't we want to feel sorry for ourselves and look outside of us for someone to blame?  And who better to blame than God?  If God is the giver of all good things, isn't God also responsible for our suffering?  When we are feeling angry, resentful, lonely, sad, depressed, and frustrated, isn't this what we would like to believe? 

But, even deeper than the desire to blame God, as the psalmist observed, is the desire to once again remember the peace, love and joy that are our true nature in God. No one really wants to feel abandoned and alone.  And yet, as the psalmist also observed, when we are in the midst of despair and longing, we are frequently unable to muster up the faith to remember the Presence of God. It is for this reason that the psalmist offered up this prayer. 

"How long, Lord, before you return?  Have pity on your servants!

Fill us with your kindness!  Make us glad!"

 

This prayer echoes the longing to remember the peace of God while acknowledging our powerlessness in mustering this up on our own.  When we are in the pits of despair, longing and rage, there is often nothing else we can do but pray for God's help.  "Help us to remember your peace and your love, even in the midst of disaster."  As I was reminded by a dear friend this week, a modern-day philosopher offered the same kind of prayer during his own time of despair and in the process discovered his own source of comfort. Perhaps this too can be our mantra when we are faced with the difficulties of the human experience and realize our powerlessness to do anything about it:

 

"When I find myself in times of trouble, mother, Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, 'Let it be."    

(Paul McCartney)