BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON

A Service of Lament

Introduction

Your congregation may use this service to mourn our nation's state of war making, for Ash Wednesday, or during the season of Lent. Psalm 137 creates the theme of lament, as the nation of Israel remembers its captivity in Babylon and expresses profound grief. Similar expressions of the pathos of exile can be found in Psalm 74 and 79. The writers of these psalms throw jagged questions at God because of the incomprehensibility of God's seeming inaction before suffering. The end of Psalm 137 is particularly troublesome with its violent images. It reminds us that unless grief and anger are expressed constructively through song, poetry, or other creative outlets, they can turn inward and cut away at one's own soul or turn outward in acts of violence. Mennonites have traditionally denied or suppressed feelings, particularly anger, so we need rituals and safe places to express our deepest emotions, including our collective political grief.

This psalm of lament reflects the disorientation of being in exile and being at odds with the dominant culture and oppressive power of Babylon. Some members in our congregations feel disoriented from living in a culture captive to violence while trying to be peacemakers. We are constantly barraged by war language and images. If we provide a sacred space for God's people to lament, they may be able to move beyond despair to hope.

Feel free to substitute hymns, readings, or rituals that meet your congregation's specific needs.

Reflection on Lament:

Within the Hebrew worship tradition we find a place for corporate lament. Israel had a history of oppression by foreign powers and needed space within their worship to express their profound grief over national disasters, such as the exile. The psalms of lament gave the Israelites permission to sing their sorrow. In our own current climate of national threats of war and destruction, feelings of despair and hopelessness can overwhelm us. We need to lament, to collectively mourn our government's push for war.

As we sing this psalm of lament and listen to a reading from the book of Lamentations, let us imagine the children and people of Iraq who are struggling to survive under U.S. sanctions and who will be further injured by war³. Remember the words of Jeremiah to the exiles: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more." (Jeremiah 31:15) Mentally see the streams of Iraqi refugees displaced from their homeland, like Israelites were in Babylon. Visualize the peacemakers who are growing weary from their efforts. Remember the soldiers who obey orders and leave home and family and the leaders who send them. As we sing, think of your own sadness evoked by the possibilities of war and our nation's captivity to violence.

Call to Confession (Lamentations 3:40-41)

Let us test and examine our ways,
     And return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands
     To God in heaven.

Litany (adapted from Psalm 79:8-9, a psalm depicting the exile)
Invite worshippers to lift up hands to heaven as they read the litany.

O God, do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors.

Forgive us, merciful God, for our history of violence.

Let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought low.

With haste come to us for we are bent beneath the weight of war making.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name.

Rescue us, O Wind of the Spirit, from the sea of despair.

Deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your name's sake.

Jesus, have mercy on our nation and on Iraq, for the sake of God's reign. Amen.

Rise up; come to our help, O God.
     Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
Rise up, O God.
     Rise up, O God.

Introduction to Scripture readings:

Isaiah 39 describes the historical situation of Israel's Babylonian exile. Scholars recognize Isaiah 40-55 as an exilic text. Some of the most comforting and hopeful words found in the Bible were spoken within the socio-political context of exile. The prophet Isaiah proclaims a message of comfort and hope to the captives. Listen to the prophet's words to a people mourning their political captivity. The words also speak to God's people today who despair, but know there shall someday again be joy.

Reader: Isaiah 40:1-11, 21-31

Sending forth Isaiah 55:1-13

Armbands
You might choose to distribute armbands for mourners to wear throughout a possible war. White and black are traditional colors of mourning; white bands might show up better on the sleeve of dark clothes. Red bands remind us of blood being shed: blood of military personnel, civilians, children, and of Christ who died for us all.