Psalm Meditation 869
Sixth Sunday After Epiphany
February 12, 2017

Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows 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! 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!
(NRSV)

Most of the time the music we choose complements our mood in some fashion. When we are depressed and want to wallow in it for a moment we pick sad songs to amplify our mood. When it is time for that foul mood to lift off our shoulders for even a moment we turn to lighter fare. In some moods it is not the song but the singing that makes a difference; the act of lifting our voice in song is enough to lift our spirits and to change our mood. When we are already in a good mood a song can lift that goodness higher yet. All of that goes with having some say in what we are singing. Even in a choir or congregation there is a voluntary note in our participation.

I imagine that being in an oppressive situation and being forced to sing a happy song is a cruel joke played by the oppressor. This is the situation of the psalmist. Captured and carried off, they are forced to sing happy songs of their homeland. In a place where they feel abandoned by God, the psalmist and company are asked to sing a song about how wonderful God is. The intent of the captors is to deepen the funk of those who are already demoralized. And for the psalmist, it seems to have worked. Forced to remember home, the thought of the complete destruction of these captors and families rises to the minds of the captors.

At our best and most faithful there are those who can be transported by music in the midst of dire circumstances. Rather than being depressed by thoughts of home and God they are transported to a place of wholeness and peace in the midst of oppression. Instead of letting the weight of their situation crush the spirit of their song, they let the song lift their spirits out of the current crisis, at least for a moment.

February 6, 2017
LCM