Preface
Today in Indonesia, church closing incidents recently
are increasing. Those incidents happen parallelly with the increasing number of
moslem fundamental and radical movements in Indonesia, specially for this last
decade. The number of crime hates also increasing. Some people just can except
any differences any more and forget about diversities that Indonesia has as a
nation. Specially with this moslem fundamental and radical groups, they just
can except Christian as a part of this nation. They just do not like Christian,
even they just do not like other moslem groups which have differences
ideologies with them.
One of the church closing incidents happened
in our church at Dayeuhkolot, about 30 minutes from Bandung, the capitol city
for West Java province and at Cisewu – Garut, about 3 hour from Bandung. In
short they just came to our church and questioning about permit letter for
having worship activities in church building. They did not want to hear any
explaination that we gave specially about the permit letter according to one on
Indonesia’s law (number 8 and 9 year 2006 which regulate the permission to
build any religious building; but moslem fundamental groups only intrepret that
law to any religions except moslem).
The moslem fundamental movement in Bandung
(called AGAP / BAP) not only forbid all worship activities held in the church,
they also seal the church after they ruin and ravage church’s furnitures (in
the other congregation of GKP or Pasundan Christian Church, the moslem
fundamental group also burnt church’s building with everything inside it, like
bibles, furnitures, pulpit, hymn books etc).
When all these incidents happened and took a
place among our church members’ life, they felt very afraid, frustrated, felt
hopeless and in the same time, angry. They had a question about why this
incident happened. Was God angry with them? Did they do anything wrong so God
just let all the incidents happened in their life? They had a traumatic
experiences after saw how the moslem fundamental group ruin and ravage their
church building brutally and also threatened their life.
Exegesis
Generally according to the type , The Books of Psalm can be identified as[1] :
- Hymn songs (i.e Psalm 8, 19, 29, 33, 46-48, 76, 84,
87, 96, 100, 103-106, 113, 114, 117, 122, 135, 136 and 145-150). These
songs are for praising God who show remarkable works in all creation and
or in the history of Israel. Among those hymns, there are hymns that
praise Zion and Jerusalem as a place where God dwell (i.e Psalm 46, 48,
76, 87).
- Songs for expressing thanks to God who already give to the people (i.e
Psalm 18, 21, 30, 34, 49, 65-68, 92, 116, 118, 124, 129, 138, 144). Sometime, those psalms also consists of
prayer crying for God’s help.
- Songs of Royal Dynasty and
songs about kings and the nation (i.e Psalm 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 61, 72, 84,
110, 132, 144).
- Wisdom psalm i.e Psalm 34, 37, 62, 111, 119, 145
- Psalms for sickness and dying i.e Psalm 3, 6, 16, 19, 38, 88
- Psalms for reconciliation i.e Psalm 32, 33, 38, 51130
- Lament psalms. There are a lot of psalms that have lamentation form.
Usually that psalms was spoken or used when distress and woes happened.
There are two type of this kind of Psalms. First is personal lamentation
like Psalm 3; 5-7; 13; 17; 22; 25; 26; 28; 31; 35; 38; 42; 43; 51-57; 59;
63; 64; 69; 70-71; 77; 86; 102; 120; 130; 140-143 and second is collective
or communal lamentation like Psalm 12; 44; 60; 74; 79; 80; 83; 85; 106;
123; 129; 137)
According a list above, Psalm 79 belongs to
lament psalm, particullary belongs to communal lamentation. What is lament? In
general, we can say that lament is a strong expression of sorrow,
regret, or complaint to God in prayer or song, either individual or communal. What is lamentation in Psalm? Lamentation in Psalm is when the people of
God experienced national disaster, persecution from enemies, sickness or death,
felt like God was absent from their life, so they lamented. There is a pattern
: stating some kind of complaint or protest to God, a reference to God as the
one who has been the Deliverer, a direct request for God to intervene and a
promise to praise God in the end.
In this communal lament psalm, Asaph mourned
Jerusalem’s destruction and raise a plea with God to have a mercy on God’s
people. Asaph may have lifed after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem.
Considering the point of view found in this psalm, they were perhaps the
survivor left in Jerusalem after the destruction, rather than that who were the
deportees. This psalm repeat and have some similarity in themes with Psalm 74,
buat still we can feel there were more venom feeling in this psalm. With psalm
74, psalm 79 has a similarity like the situation is the same, the temple is
destroyed, and Israel is bereft many things and also conquering by the enemy.
This psalm can be outlined in various ways;
some OT scholars devided into vv 1-4, 5-12, and 13; or devided it into : vv
1-4, 5-7, 8-9, 10-12, and 13; and the psalm can be divided into two major parts
: vv 1-7 and 8-13.[2] This paper follow the division of this Psalm
is like[3] :
- Invocation and complain 1-4
- Against enemies 1-4
- Own suffering 4
- Petition 5-12
- Reproachful question and imprecation 5-7
- Plea for help 8-9
- Reproachful question and plea for mercy 10-11
- Imprecation 12
- Collective vow 13
A lament over
Jerusalem's destruction (79:1-4)
The psalm most likely reflects
Nebukadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BCE. Israel was
invaded by the enemy. The temple was defiled and Jerusalem was destroyed. Even
the enemy left the bodies of Israel’s soldiers unburied, like an animal. Israel
was humiliated. Israel now become an object of derision from other natioins.
Here we
can see a description about tragic conditon which was experienced by the God’s
people. Jerusalem was really destroyed and can be described as “stone heaps” or
“ruins” and also the temple. Jerusalem become a city of the dead where corpses
outnumber those who could bury them. This is a description of brutal massacred happened.
The destruction of the nation, was a theological
crisis as well as a political, economic, and social one. The destruction of
God’s own dwelling, God’s home on earth, was more than the loss on the national
worship center; it seemd to indicate that God had either abandoned the temple
and people or had been defeated himself. This is apparently how Judah’s
neighbors interpreted the events (see v.10)[4]
The crucial issue here is not only God’s
justice in judging Israel but the means used by God, which were another nation
that did not have Yahweh as their God.
A plea for
deliverance (79:5-12)
The psalmist have a question. Psalmist was
wondering for how long God would be angry to Judah and allow them to suffer
defeat and humiliation. Asaph urged God to direct a rage at Israel’s enemies
who disregarded God and devoured God’s habitation. Asaph also asked God to
forget the sins of Israelites’ ancestors and show compassion on God’s people.
Asaph based his pettion on God’ glory as well as the Israelites’ need.
Then Asaph asked for vengeance against the
enemy. He continued urged God to answere the prayers of the prisoners who
applealed to God for deliverance. Asaph wanted a thorough repayment of the
reproach enemy had heaped on Yahweh’s name, because Yahweh had not given Israel
victory.
May this is hard to understand if we have
such prayer like that. But people who speaks in this psalm, they were faithfull
enough to submit their yearning to God.
A promise of future
praise 79:13
The psalmist just like to promise that God’s
people which called “helpness sheep”, they would give praise if God would give
them deliverance. It is appropriate to petition God for vengeance when enemy
defeat God’s people and consequently make God looks bad. But actually, God will
deliver the people, because God has promised to preserve and save them. Still
in the midst of the chaos caused by the destruction of everything, the people
hold onto faith in God.[5]
Reflection
Trauma is a psychological and
physiological response to an intensely stressful event or experience, which happened after that. We can call it
as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).[6] When people suffer from PTSD,
they will experience psychological symptoms which are severe enough to impair
their daily life. They will suffer from emotional and cognitive reactions like
feeling hopeless, feeling numb, having difficulty to concentrate, feeling
nervous, avoiding things that are reminders of the event, or easily angered.
They also will suffer from physical reaction like headaches, trouble sleeping,
racing heart, rapid breathing etc. And sufferinig from spiritual reactions like
anger at God, questioning God’s goodness, difficulty trusting God and
difficulty finding meaning in life’s events. So lamentation in psalms looks
like posttraumatic stress symptoms reactions, specially from suffering spritually.
The church members have experienced a
traumatic events when their church being closed, being forced not to have any
activites in the church, saw their church building being ruined and ravaged by
moslem fundamental group and their life being threatened by that group. They definitely
felt afraid, frustrated, hopeless, and angry. They have questioned our goverment for not doing anything and just
keep silent, and also God for let such terrible events happened in their
life. The question is what news can the
church bring to them in their traumatic experienced. What is the news for them
to overcome their posttraumatic stress?
By reading Psalm 79, we can understand that being
honest to our selves and being honest to God, is necessary to encounter a posttraumatic feeling. Psalmist in Psalm 79
did not hide the grief, anger, and just pretend there was not anything
happened. Or just say that what already happened in the life of people in
Judah, was God’s will, so just be quiet and excepted everything. No. Psalmist
did not hide the grief and even anger. Psalmist was being honest questioning
God where was God when the destruction took place and the brutal massacred happened. Why did God keep silent?
Why did God not help their people? Why did God use foreign nation who did not
believe in Yahweh, to defeat God’s own people? Even psalmist did not hide
people’s hope for a vengeance as bloodthirsty as the siege they themselves have
lived through.
It is like a patriot watching the flag
burned, or a lover watching his beloved raped etc. Certainly they wanted a revenge.
They wanted people who has done such a terrible things paid even more. So there
was a same feeling inside heart of church members whose church building being
brunt and life being threatened.
The good news definitely is not to have
vengeance or revenge, because it is useless in Indonesia’s context where
Christian is outnumber and being a minority. The good news is helping the church members being honest to them
selves. Being honest to their feeling and being honest to God. They can raise
the question to God. There is nothing wrong with that. It doesnot mean that
they donot have faith and against God or losing their faith. Questioning God infact
can be seen as a action of having faith in God. They can turst God with their
honesty. They only human and not perfect being. So this psalm points to an
important theological affirmation that God loves us as we are. God still and
always loves us even we are questioning God.
Next news to the people who has
suffering experiences like our church member is God who loves us so much, will deliver
them from their suffering. God does not forget them. God has enough power to
help them. So the church members should be hold onto faith in God. Having faith
in God means that people still can find hope in God. See verse 13, this is a
vow of thanksgiving and praise forever as an expression of assurance of being
heard and helped by God. Because we can understand that without divine help,
there can be no praise. They are still capable of hoping again, after encountering
such horrorble and terrible experiences.
It will be not an easy journey. But when
they understand never left them, and always loves them, all the church members
can continue their life in faith and hope in God. Even they can learn to
forgive the people who done such a horroble and terrible actions to them.
Bibliography
Gerstenberger,
Erhard S., Psalms Part 2, and Lamentations : The Form of the Old
Testament Literatur vol. XV,
Michigan : Grand Rapids, 2001
Leadership Team Traning Resource : Trauma and Lament
2005, The Center for Youth and
Family Ministry, Fuller Theological
Seminary
McCullough,
W. Stewart., The Interpreter’s Bible : The Book of Psalms vol. IV., New
York : Abingdon Press Nashville,
1955
Stuhlmueller,
Carroll, “The Spirituality of the Psalms”, Minnesota : Liturgical Press,
1989
Tate,
Marvin E., Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 : Psalm 51-100, Dallas :
Word Book
Publisher, 1990
[1] Stuhlmueller, Carroll., The Spirituality of the Psalm
(Minnesota : Liturgical Press, 1989)
[2] Tate, Marvin E., Word Biblical Commentary Vol 20 : Psalm 51-100,
(Dallas :Word Book Publisher, 1990), p. 300
[3] Gerstenberger, Erhard S., Psalms Part 2, and Lamentations : The
Form of the Old Testament Leteratur vol. XV, (Michigan : Grand Rapids,
2001), p. 100-102
[4] Tate, Marvin E., Word Biblical Commentary Vol 20 : Psalm 51-100,
(Dallas :Word Book Publisher, 1990), p. 302
[5] Ibid.,
[6] Leadership Team Training Resource : Trauma and Lament 2005, The
Center for Youth and Family Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar