Psalm 80:7-14

7 Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it.
9 You prepared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.
11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea and its branches to the River.
12 Why have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.
14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted.

This year, Monday Matters is focused on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen.

Restore us

But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
-Matthew 19:14 (King James Version)

In my current stage of life, it’s a joy and privilege to have time with grandchildren. They keep me on my toes. We babysat a three year old this past weekend, which was so fun. She’s a delight and I look forward to watching her grow up. As we carried out our babysitting duties, I couldn’t help but think about another three year old featured in recent news.

He was one of the many children as young as two years old being brought before immigration courts nationwide, many without attorneys, to make their case to stay in the United States and avoid deportation. (It's a practice not limited to current administrations.) A three year old child, with no attorney by his side, was examined about impending deportation. Three years old. What is up with a judge who would preside at such a hearing? How did we get to this moment in our common life?

Other folks at other times have been forced to pose such questions. They come up in many places in the scripture. The children of Israel ask: Can God set a table in the wilderness? Jesus on the cross asks if God had forsaken him. And then there is the psalm you may have heard in church yesterday, reprinted above. The psalmist speaks on behalf of the nation, which he compares to a vineyard that has been planted by God but now seems abandoned to predators. The psalmist speaks to the Lord and asks: Why have you broken down the walls of the vineyard, leaving it open to those with destructive instinct? In other words, the psalmist asks: Where did you go, God? We only read a portion of the psalm in church, but the entire psalm repeats this prayer: Restore us, O Lord of hosts. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved.

As I think about toddlers before an immigration judge, or children targeted last week at a school in Kyiv, or young students killed in the opening salvos of the war with Iran, I wonder what we have become. How did we get here? I’m mindful of the insight of Cory Booker, who said of one egregious policy move: This is not a matter of right or left. This is a matter of right or wrong. I am inclined to ask with the psalmist this question of the God of love: Why have you broken down the walls?

How did we get here? The fact is, here we are and what do we do about it as people of faith, as followers of Jesus? It may well be that as Christ’s hands and feet in this moment, we are called to do what we can to set things right.

So perhaps we begin by admitting that it is wrong for toddlers to face an immigration judge all alone. That’s beyond debate, just as it is wrong to separate families or put children in cages or send migrants to countries with which they have no connection. (Regrettably, the list goes on.)

Second, we do what we can (pray, vote, donate, write letters, talk to friends) to move toward a more perfect union as we admit those things that are simply wrong and as we seek to join with leaders who will strive for justice and peace.

Third, we recognize our complicity in systems that tolerate or ignore injustice. The Litany of Penitence read on Ash Wednesday asks us to repent for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty (Book of Common Prayer, p.268). I suspect each one of us has some work to do in this regard.

Fourth, we see that not only on the national scene, but also in our personal lives, we may feel that the walls of our vineyard have been broken down. So we do what the psalmist is doing. We pray, repeating a prayer for restoration. We keep the faith. In the face of indefensible injustice and inexplicable tragedy, we withstand when we can’t understand. We proclaim when we can’t explain. We proclaim the good news of God in Christ, hoping against hope that God is faithful. That God is compassionate. That God will restore us. That God hears the cry of those who have no one to advocate for them.

Like that three year old alone at that table in that courtroom.

-Jay Sidebotham