Dcn Leah Sandwell-Weiss

Dear Friends,

Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock;
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
stir up your strength and come to help us.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
Psalm 80:1-3

When I hear the beginnings of Psalm 80, I think of Advent. It is often the Psalm for the First Sunday in Advent, including this year, on December 3. I never really thought of it as a Psalm of Lament. But reading the whole Psalm brings this theme out.

Three times, the Psalmist prays: Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. When the Psalmist wrote this, he or she might have been living in the Northern Kingdom of Judah, where the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh settled, looking at the threat posed by Assyria. The Psalmist drew on the theme of Israel as a vine, transplanted from Egypt to Canaan, which was carefully grown and protected and spread. So why would the God who transplanted it, tear down the walls that provided protection and let it be destroyed by wild boars and beasts of the field?

Why indeed? Over the past thousands of years since this Psalm was composed, many have wondered the same. We can think of many, especially today, in the Holy Land and elsewhere who wonder where God is? Why God is not protecting them from whatever disasters—war, illness, poverty, racism—are happening around them?

Some interpreters see the Psalm’s three repetitions of the same phrase as the Psalmist’s anxiety over whether God will ever show the light of God’s countenance and save the people. I choose to believe that the Psalmist is expressing confidence that God will do so.

I believe that God has shown light and saved us through Jesus Christ. But I also believe that we need to work with God to bring God’s light to the world. God works with and through us. Perhaps as we head into Thanksgiving and Advent, we can reflect not only on our gratitude for what God has provided us, but on what we can do to bring peace into the world.

—Dcn Leah