{"id":1172,"date":"2011-05-27T10:31:52","date_gmt":"2011-05-27T14:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/flunkingsainthood\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2011-05-17T22:34:24","modified_gmt":"2011-05-18T02:34:24","slug":"psalms-for-when-your-life-completely-totally-and-utterly-sucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flunkingsainthood\/2011\/05\/psalms-for-when-your-life-completely-totally-and-utterly-sucks.html","title":{"rendered":"Psalms for When Your Life Completely, Totally, and Utterly Sucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ah, the Psalms of lament<\/a>. In terms of the \u201cbig categories\u201d of Psalms, this one is the granddaddy. It seems I\u2019m not the only one who likes to complain about life occasionally. Or daily. Here’s a sampling<\/a> of some of these kvetchy masterpieces:<\/p>\n

Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89*, 90, 94, 123, 126, 129<\/p>\n

Individual<\/strong><\/p>\n

3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27*, 28, 31, 36*, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42-43, 52*, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86, 89*, 120, 139, 141, 142<\/p>\n

Impressive, eh?<\/p>\n

Despite their prevalence, however, I\u2019ve not been a huge fan of the laments until quite recently. That\u2019s because I would read them, feel a catharsis in stating my complaints\/ailments\/shattered dreams out loud, and then have to turn right back around in a head-whipping 180 to worship God. And I can\u2019t upshift that fast.<\/p>\n

The typical formula for a lament, either individual or communal, is the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Launch opening salvo: \u201cMy life sucks.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Include 289 or so verses describing all<\/em> the many ways your life sucks. No detail is too small here. Lay it all on the table, people.<\/li>\n
  3. Repeat opening salvo; once more with feeling. There’s certainly no harm in restating. For good measure, remind God about how unfair it is that your enemies are healthy and wealthy. And then . . .<\/li>\n
  4. Pop a happy pill and affirm that God will come to your rescue someday really, really soon. Also add that you know he is good and righteous and will bring you candy just like the Easter Bunny did that one time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    My problem was always in jumping from Step 3 to Step 4. That final stage felt inauthentic, like the tidy ending tacked on to a made-for-TV movie. Deus ex machina<\/em>, indeed. Pass the popcorn.<\/p>\n

    However, biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann<\/a> recently rocked my world on this point. He was the Wednesday evening Lenten speaker at my husband\u2019s church<\/a>, so for 5 Wednesdays he explored the Psalms to rapt audiences of 150 or so people \u2013 no exaggeration. It was fantastic.<\/p>\n

    And here is what he said about the Psalms of lament: They are ancient Israel\u2019s psychotherapy session.<\/p>\n

    When people go into therapy for an hour, all they do is vent about their problems. And vent and vent. At the end of the hour, nothing about their circumstances has really changed; there is still distance in the marriage or cancer in the liver or not enough money in the bank. But they feel<\/em> different. They have said their piece. They have made their case and pointed to their suffering. And at the 55-minute mark in therapy, they can breathe a little easier. They might leave with a spark of hope.<\/p>\n

    And as a bonus, saying the Psalms is way<\/em> cheaper than psychotherapy.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 72: G, please help our king Solomon, for he delivers the needy when they call. Except when he enslaves them. There\u2019s always that.<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 73: You know, the wicked don\u2019t seem to be doing so badly. They\u2019re gorgeous & wealthy & praised. Remind me why that is?<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 74: Rise up, G, & plead the cause of the poor. They couldn\u2019t afford a lawyer & you\u2019ve been appointed as Public Defender #1.<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 75: When earthquakes come, both literal and metaphorical, G will keep us steady. Except for the wicked, who are once again toast.<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 76: G, everyone is terrified of you. It\u2019s that awful temper of yours! Thx for throwing stuff at our enemies this time though.<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 77: I\u2019m trying to remind myself of those great deeds you did in the past, G, b\/c right now I\u2019m sad & exhausted. You still w\/ me?<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 78: 78 is G\u2019s side of the story, & is HE ever ticked. Sees himself as a Giving Tree that Israel keeps lifting its leg to pee on.<\/p>\n

    #Twible Ps 79: G, pour out your anger on the nations who don\u2019t know you, not at us. We\u2019re family! Go pick on some goyim for a change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ah, the Psalms of lament. In terms of the \u201cbig categories\u201d of Psalms, this one is the granddaddy. It seems I\u2019m not the only one who likes to complain about life occasionally. Or daily. Here’s a sampling of some of these kvetchy masterpieces: Community 12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89*, 90,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[1143,340,22,21,331,332,333,334,335,336,337,338,70,339,319,1145,72,317],"class_list":["post-1172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-twible","tag-bible","tag-episcopal-church-of-the-redeemer-in-cincinnati","tag-flunking-sainthood","tag-jana-riess","tag-psalm-72","tag-psalm-73","tag-psalm-74","tag-psalm-75","tag-psalm-76","tag-psalm-77","tag-psalm-78","tag-psalm-79","tag-psalms","tag-psalms-of-lament","tag-suffering-in-the-bible","tag-twible","tag-twitter-bible","tag-walter-bruegemann"],"yoast_head":"\nPsalms for When Your Life Completely, Totally, and Utterly Sucks - Flunking Sainthood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flunkingsainthood\/2011\/05\/psalms-for-when-your-life-completely-totally-and-utterly-sucks.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Psalms for When Your Life Completely, Totally, and Utterly Sucks - Flunking Sainthood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ah, the Psalms of lament. In terms of the \u201cbig categories\u201d of Psalms, this one is the granddaddy. It seems I\u2019m not the only one who likes to complain about life occasionally. Or daily. 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