“Shame! Shame!!”
These cries of outrage might be familiar to those of you who’ve spent any time in the streets or paying attention to any of the public protests in recent years - whether for democracy, justice and peace, or against tyranny and hatred of all sorts.
There are several key phrases that capture the essence of outrage and linger in our cultural vocabulary even long after whatever cause for protest has been resolved or at least somewhat addressed. And some phrases of protest, like the ills they face, seem perennial.
Such key cultural phrases are echoed in today’s psalm which includes the litany of loss and the power of protest. This chapter contains echoes of actual public calls - as if we’re listening to a recording of Jerusalem’s streets, mid drama and discord, thousands of years ago, and, incredibly, still heard today.
Psalm 70 is not only an almost exact copy of verses in psalm 40 - but also continues the tone of the previous chapters -- the lament of the person who feels isolated, confronted by haters, seeking solace and help from beyond. Like so many of us who carry grudges and recycle hate-speech, or keep processing a particularly annoying email that we got - there are such toxic phrases that keep playing over and over in our mind, triggering strong emotions and responses.
Today’s poet echoes both slogans that are hated - and those yearned for most:
יָ֭שׁוּבוּ עַל־עֵ֣קֶב בשְׁתָּ֑ם הָ֝אֹמְרִ֗ים הֶ֘אָ֥ח ׀ הֶאָֽח׃ יָ֘שִׂ֤ישׂוּ וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ ׀ בְּךָ֗ כל־מְבַ֫קְשֶׁ֥יךָ וְיֹאמְר֣וּ תָ֭מִיד יִגְדַּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃
Let those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their frustration.
But let all who seek You be glad and rejoice in You;
let those who are eager for Your deliverance always say,
“ God is Great!”
Ps. 70:3
“Aha, Aha!” doesn’t sound so terrible, but according to most scholars, the biblical context points at these as words of derision and rebuke - something like boo’ing or ‘shame’! It may even be akin to the contemptuous ‘blah, blah, blah’ - undermining righteous intention with cynical derision.
The poet imagines that one day those who rail against the truth will be silent, and will turn on their heels away from the fight and confrontation. Their taunting words will be replaced by other calls - “God is Great!” - or some sort of slogan that celebrates the triumph of justice.
What happens when angry words, even in the name of the divine, become the worse sort of verbal and physical abuse is public domain? What happens when in the name of precious ideals speeches become rants and constructive criticism become cruel curses?
Beyond the political and religious undertones of this chapter and its recorded phrases, the difference between the two quoted figures of speech is about our attitude.
Will we boo and negate others with insults and calls of what’s wrong - or will we focus on where growth and goodness can be present? Can we and will we protest with power but not descend to shaming each other and devolving into hate speech ourselves, even when confronted with those who blah, and boo, and deprive us of decency?
Positive or negative speech is at the heart of what it takes to speak up - and to do with love, passion, with commitment to change, and respect of differing opinions -- and trust that things can and will improve, step by step, word by word, bit by brave bit.
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