By Rosilee Sherwood

By Caleb Ratzlaff

Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
1 By the rivers of Babylon--
   there we sat down and there we wept
   when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[a] there
   we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors
   asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
   “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How could we sing the Lord’s song
   in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
   let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
   if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
   above my highest joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
   the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
   Down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator![b]
   Happy shall they be who pay you back
   what you have done to us!
9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
~Psalm 137

It’s difficult to accept the fact that the Bible describes revenge in such brutal detail as found in Psalm 137. There are other Psalms that ask us to direct our anger in ways that promote peace rather than perpetuate violence but not Psalms 137. Psalm 137 doesn’t temper an author’s fierce anger towards injustice and desire for revenge. It’s important to hear and remember the extent of the anger expressed here because it was apocalyptic verses like these that inspire Christ. He too is angry at the injustice he sees around him and condemns Israel in a similar way as Jeremiah (the prophet we think authored Psalm 137) condemns Babylon.

Psalm 137 is remembered for its violence but also because of the haunting tune set to its lyrics by Don McLean titled “Babylon” linked at the beginning of this post. If we let them, the song and its lyrics can haunt us in three healthy ways.

By Erika Klassen

When God came to live on earth as a human being, He entered into a culture and a religion that had many, many dark places full of fear and ignorance.  Jesus came to bring light.  He came to bring the Kingdom of God to earth as it is in heaven. He came to show us a new vision and a new way of life.

In the first century a woman was defined almost exclusively in terms of her family relations. One of the biggest issues shrouded in darkness was the role and treatment of women. Jesus lived in an age of sexual discrimination. Women were dehumanized, viewed as objects and property. Most were banned from full participation in public life or any type of leadership role.  
Two primary roles of women were: raising children and satisfying their husband’s desires, sexual or otherwise. 

One day a Jewish woman called out to Jesus, “blessed is the mother who gave birth and nursed you,” to which Jesus replied, “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Jesus wanted to make it clear that a woman’s status was not dependent on the children she bears: her identity comes from God.
​

By Caleb Ratzlaff
​
Although considered the oldest book of the Bible, the Book of Job was probably recorded around the same period as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Isaiah, during what’s known as the period of Exile. During this time period a number of Israeli tribes were taken captive by Babylon (Daniel, in fact, is one of these captives). At the time it was recorded many in Israel would have identified with Job. Like Job, the Israelites felt their current lot in life was unfair, that the scale of life was imbalanced. From their perspective, God shouldn't have handed them over to their enemies, just as Job shouldn’t have been handed over to Satan. 

Before considering Job’s suffering, I’d like to reflect on the imbalanced scale in my own life. 

Last week I volunteered a lot of my time. I spent three and a half days helping my father-in-law replace the roof on his greenhouse, which is over a square acre in size. This was dangerous work. We had to walk the gutters between the peaks of the greenhouse roofs that were three stories high without harness or support. The slightest breeze could have easily swept the giant piece of plastic from the house and us with it. Then, yesterday, after helping my father-in-law, I went to my father’s and helped butcher turkeys. I’m not complaining, I enjoyed the hard work. It made me consider, however, the debts we owe one another.

We have a saying, Dad and I, that volunteer work among friends and family is “money in the bank”, meaning when you volunteer for friends and family the other is in your debt. Thinking about this, however, I realized that the balance of father and my father-in-law was pretty skewed to their side. I owe them so much that no amount of volunteer work on my part could ever satisfy my debt. This is true for many of us, we owe a tremendous amount to our parents or parent figures. For some, however, with irresponsible parents, the scales are imbalanced in the opposite direction, their parents actually owe them. And, it’s entirely possible that these irresponsible parents will never be able to atone for their mistakes. In general, however, I think it’s true that the youth carry a debt that will never be returned. It’s only because of the grace of our parents or past generations that we are free to live ordinary lives. 

At best, our parents and our inheritance, encourages us to live on, using what’s been given us. Through their mercy, we are freed from our impossibly large debt and blessed to transcend the gift given. ​