Heartbreak
This morning I read a poem written by Joseph Fasano as whispers to a child while under siege. It is devastating.
Have you ever been in the midst of scrolling through social media when you see a poem, an image, that stops you in your tracks, and tears start pouring down your face?
The reality of war is harsh. Unlike in chess or hide-and-seek, people die. Violently. Cruelly. Seemingly without rhyme or reason.
Today’s lectionary readings, Psalm 105 and 2 Kings 18, speak to the harsh realities of being sold into slavery and degradation (Joseph, and many others of God’s people), and the carefully calculated instilling of despair by the field commander as he relays to the besieged of Jerusalem that no one is coming to save them, so they better simply give in.
He speaks in Hebrew, the language of the besieged, so that everyone will hear and understand. The ‘best’ oppressors understand how to use words their victims will really get to tempt them to give in.
He speaks with an enormous army behind him. The visual alone of all those troops surrounding Jerusalem could only have been wholly overwhelming.
He scorns their dependence on rheir ally Egypt which he calls ‘a splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it’ (v. 21)
He insinuates that their king Hezekiah is asking them to put their trust in the LORD while supposedly having destroyed the places of worship of the LORD (v. 22). Do I have to tell you this is a total lie, that the places of worship destroyed were those of other so-called gods?
He invites them to make a bargain with his king
He tempts them with the great rewards (two thousand horses! Wow!) they will receive if they accept the bargain.
He underlines the degrading reality of siege that they are reduced to eating and drinking their own human waste products.
He tells them they only have the choice to give in to the power of Assyria, reminding them of the fate of other nations that tried to resist.
He entices them with the delicious food and glorious lifestyle they will have when they surrender.
He uses the words of the LORD: “Choose life and not death!” (Deuteronomy 30).
When besieging, the oppressor will use every single weapon at its disposal to bring the besieged to their knees.
But remember.
Remember this, when the events of 2025 become overwhelming to your soul, and you feel you are sinking for the last time.
The lies of the oppressor are not the final word.
The deception, the insidious torment of using one’s own words the narcissist employs so very skillfully, are not Real.
The final lectionary reading, I Corinthians 9:1-15, at first seems utterly unrelated. Paul is apparently in the middle of an argument about whether those who serve God should be compensated for their efforts.
What I hear though is it speaks of being free, sent (the word we now think of as apostle ἀπόστολος), having met Jesus, having every right to eat and drink well, having the freedom to love and be loved…
I hear the Truth replying to the lies and distortions of the oppressor and the besieger.
Coming back to the words whispered to the child, are they not true? More true than the loud bootsteps of the person coming to hurt and kill?
Does not Life have the final word?
I would love to hear your thoughts.