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Title: Hungry
Date; October 7, 2007r 7, 2007
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
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(World Communion Sunday)
Texts: Lamentations 1:1-6, 3:19-26Lamentations 1:1-6, 3:19-26
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Lonely Jerusalem The Prophet Speaks: ^{1 1} . Jerusalem, once so crowded, lies deserted and lonely. This city that was known all over the world is now like a widow. This queen of the nations has been made a slave. ² Each night, bitter tears flood her cheeks. None of her former lovers are there to offer comfort; her friends a lovers ... friends: Israel's former allies. have betrayed her and are now her enemies. ³ The people of Judah are slaves, suffering in a foreign land, with no rest from sorrow. Their enemies captured them and were terribly cruel. b Their ... cruel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. ⁴ The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels there to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are deserted; priests are weeping. Young women are raped; c raped: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Zion is in sorrow! ⁵ Enemies now rule the city and live as they please. The Lord has punished Jerusalem because of her awful sins; he has let her people be dragged away. ⁶ Zion's glory has disappeared. Her leaders are like deer that cannot find pasture; they are hunted down till their strength is gone. ⁷ Her people recall the good life that once was theirs; now they suffer and are scattered. No one was there to protect them from their enemies who sneered when their city was taken. ⁸ Jerusalem's horrible sins have made the city a joke. Those who once admired her now hate her instead— she has been disgraced; she groans and turns away. ⁹ Her sins had made her filthy, but she wasn't worried about what could happen. And when Jerusalem fell, it was so tragic. No one gave her comfort when she cried out, “Help! I'm in trouble, Lord! The enemy has won.” ¹⁰ Zion's treasures were stolen. Jerusalem saw foreigners enter her place of worship, though the Lord had forbidden them to belong to his people. d to ... people: Or “to enter his temple.” ¹¹ Everyone in the city groans while searching for food; they trade their valuables for barely enough scraps to stay alive. Jerusalem Speaks: Jerusalem shouts to the Lord, “Please look and see how miserable I am!” ¹² No passerby even cares. e No ... cares: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Why doesn't someone notice my terrible sufferings? You were fiercely angry, Lord, and you punished me worst of all. ¹³ From heaven you sent a fire that burned in my bones; you set a trap for my feet and made me turn back. All day long you leave me in shock from constant pain. ¹⁴ You have tied my sins around my neck, f You ... neck: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. and they weigh so heavily that my strength is gone. You have put me in the power of enemies too strong for me. ¹⁵ You, Lord, have turned back my warriors and crushed my young heroes. Judah was a woman untouched, but you let her be trampled like grapes in a wine pit. ¹⁶ Because of this, I mourn, and tears flood my eyes. No one is here to comfort or to encourage me; we have lost the war— my people are suffering. The Prophet Speaks: ¹⁷ Zion reaches out her hands, but no one offers comfort. The Lord has turned the neighboring nations against Jacob's descendants. Jerusalem is merely a filthy rag to her neighbors. Jerusalem Speaks: ¹⁸ The Lord was right, but I refused to obey him. Now I ask all of you to look at my sufferings— even my young people have been dragged away. ¹⁹ I called out to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and my leaders died while searching the city for scraps of food. ²⁰ Won't you look and see how upset I am, our Lord? My stomach is in knots, and my heart is broken because I betrayed you. In the streets and at home, my people are slaughtered. ²¹ Everyone heard my groaning, but no one offered comfort. My enemies know of the trouble that you have brought on me, and it makes them glad. Hurry and punish them, as you have promised. ²² Don't let their evil deeds escape your sight. Punish them as much as you have punished me because of my sins. I never stop groaning— I've lost all hope! ² The Lord Was Like an Enemy The Prophet Speaks: ¹ The Lord was angry! So he disgraced g disgraced: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Zion though it was Israel's pride and his own place of rest. In his anger he threw Zion down from heaven to earth. ² The Lord had no mercy! He destroyed the homes of Jacob's descendants. In his anger he tore down every walled city in Judah; he toppled the nation together with its leaders, leaving them in shame. ³ The Lord was so furiously angry that he wiped out the whole army h army: The Hebrew text has “horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine. of Israel by not supporting them when the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire that swallowed up the descendants of Jacob. ⁴ He attacked like an enemy with a bow and arrows, killing our loved ones. He has burned to the ground the homes on Mount Zion. i the homes on Mount Zion: Or “the temple on Mount Zion.” ⁵ The Lord was like an enemy! He left Israel in ruins with its palaces and fortresses destroyed, and with everyone in Judah moaning and weeping. ⁶ He shattered his temple like a hut in a garden; j He ... garden: Or “He shattered the temple walls, as if they were the walls of a garden.” he completely wiped out his meeting place, and did away with festivals and Sabbaths in the city of Zion. In his fierce anger he rejected our king and priests. ⁷ The Lord abandoned his altar and his temple; he let Zion's enemies capture her fortresses. Noisy shouts were heard from the temple, as if it were a time of celebration. ⁸ The Lord had decided to tear down the walls of Zion stone by stone. So he started destroying and did not stop until walls and fortresses mourned and trembled. ⁹ Zion's gates have fallen facedown on the ground; the bars that locked the gates are smashed to pieces. Her king and royal family are prisoners in foreign lands. Her priests don't teach, and her prophets don't have a message from the Lord. ¹⁰ Zion's leaders are silent. They just sit on the ground, tossing dirt on their heads and wearing sackcloth. Her young women can do nothing but stare at the ground. ¹¹ My eyes are red from crying, my stomach is in knots, and I feel sick all over. My people are being wiped out, and children lie helpless in the streets of the city. ¹² A child begs its mother for food and drink, then blacks out like a wounded soldier lying in the street. The child slowly dies in its mother's arms. ¹³ Zion, how can I comfort you? How great is your pain? k How great ... pain: Or “What are you really like?” or “What can I say about you?” Lovely city of Jerusalem, how can I heal your wounds, gaping as wide as the sea? ¹⁴ Your prophets deceived you with false visions and lying messages— they should have warned you to leave your sins and be saved from disaster. ¹⁵ Those who pass by shake their heads and sneer as they make fun and shout, “What a lovely city you were, the happiest on earth, but look at you now!” ¹⁶ Zion, your enemies curse you and snarl like wild animals, while shouting, “This is the day we've waited for! At last, we've got you!” ¹⁷ The Lord has done everything that he had planned and threatened long ago. He destroyed you without mercy and let your enemies boast about their powerful forces. l powerful forces: The Hebrew text has “horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine. ¹⁸ Zion, deep in your heart you cried out to the Lord. Now let your tears overflow your walls day and night. Don't ever lose hope or let your tears stop. ¹⁹ Get up and pray for help all through the night. Pour out your feelings to the Lord, as you would pour water out of a jug. Beg him to save your people, who are starving to death at every street crossing. Jerusalem Speaks: ²⁰ Think about it, Lord! Have you ever been this cruel to anyone before? Is it right for mothers to eat their children, or for priests and prophets to be killed in your temple? ²¹ My people, both young and old, lie dead in the streets. Because you were angry, my young men and women were brutally slaughtered. ²² When you were angry, Lord, you invited my enemies like guests for a party. No one survived that day; enemies killed my children, my own little ones. There Is Still Hope The Prophet Speaks: ^{3 1} I have suffered much because God was angry. ² He chased me into a dark place, where no light could enter. ³ I am the only one he punishes over and over again, without ever stopping. ⁴ God caused my skin and flesh to waste away, and he crushed my bones. ⁵ He attacked and surrounded me with hardships and trouble; ⁶ he forced me to sit in the dark like someone long dead. ⁷ God built a fence around me that I cannot climb over, and he chained me down. ⁸ Even when I shouted and prayed for help, he refused to listen. ⁹ God put big rocks in my way and made me follow a crooked path. ¹⁰ God was like a bear or a lion waiting in ambush for me; ¹¹ he dragged me from the road, then tore me to shreds. m shreds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ¹¹. ¹² God took careful aim and shot his arrows ¹³ straight through my heart. ¹⁴ I am a joke to everyone— no one ever stops making fun of me. ¹⁵ God has turned my life sour. ¹⁶ He made me eat gravel and rubbed me in the dirt. ¹⁷ I cannot find peace or remember happiness. ¹⁸ I tell myself, “I am finished! I can't count on the Lord to do anything for me.” ¹⁹ Just thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering makes me miserable. ²⁰ That's all I ever think about, and I am depressed. n I am depressed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. ²¹ Then I remember something that fills me with hope. ²² The Lord's kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. o destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ²². ²³ The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. ²⁴ Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!” ²⁵ The Lord is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him. ²⁶ It is good to wait patiently for the Lord to save us. ²⁷ When we are young, it is good to struggle hard ²⁸ and to sit silently alone, if this is what the Lord intends. ²⁹ Being rubbed in the dirt can teach us a lesson; p lesson: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ²⁹. ³⁰ we can also learn from insults and hard knocks. ³¹ The Lord won't always reject us! ³² He causes a lot of suffering, but he also has pity because of his great love. ³³ The Lord doesn't enjoy sending grief or pain. ³⁴ Don't trample prisoners under your feet ³⁵ or cheat anyone out of what is rightfully theirs. God Most High sees everything, ³⁶ and he knows when you refuse to give someone a fair trial. ³⁷ No one can do anything without the Lord's approval. ³⁸ Good and bad each happen at the command of God Most High. ³⁹ We're still alive! We shouldn't complain when we are being punished for our sins. ⁴⁰ Instead, we should think about the way we are living, and turn back to the Lord. ⁴¹ When we lift our hands in prayer to God in heaven, we should offer him our hearts and say, ⁴² “We've sinned! We've rebelled against you, and you haven't forgiven us! ⁴³ Anger is written all over you, as you pursue and slaughter us without showing pity. ⁴⁴ You are behind a wall of clouds that blocks out our prayers. ⁴⁵ You allowed nations to treat us like garbage; ⁴⁶ our enemies curse us. ⁴⁷ We are terrified and trapped, caught and crushed.” ⁴⁸ My people are destroyed! Tears flood my eyes, ⁴⁹ and they won't stop ⁵⁰ until the Lord looks down from heaven and helps. ⁵¹ I am horrified when I see what enemies have done to the young women of our city. ⁵² No one had reason to hate me, but I was hunted down like a bird. ⁵³ Then they tried to kill me by tossing me into a pit and throwing stones at me. ⁵⁴ Water covered my head— I thought I was gone. ⁵⁵ From the bottom of the pit, I prayed to you, Lord. ⁵⁶ I begged you to listen. “Help!” I shouted. “Save me!” You answered my prayer ⁵⁷ and came when I was in need. You told me, “Don't worry!” ⁵⁸ You rescued me and saved my life. ⁵⁹ You saw them abuse me, Lord, so make things right. ⁶⁰ You know every plot they have made against me. ⁶¹ Yes, you know their insults and their evil plans. ⁶² All day long they attack with words and whispers. ⁶³ No matter what they are doing, they keep on mocking me. ⁶⁴ Pay them back for everything they have done, Lord! ⁶⁵ Put your curse on them and make them suffer. q make them suffer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. ⁶⁶ Get angry and go after them until not a trace is left under the heavens. The Punishment of Jerusalem The Prophet Speaks: ^{4 1} The purest gold is ruined and has lost its shine; jewels from the temple lie scattered in the streets. ² These are Zion's people, worth more than purest gold; yet they are counted worthless like dishes of clay. ³ Even jackals r jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller. nurse their young, but my people are like ostriches that abandon their own. ⁴ Babies are so thirsty that their tongues are stuck to the roof of the mouth. Children go begging for food, but no one gives them any. ⁵ All who ate expensive foods lie starving in the streets; those who grew up in luxury now sit on trash heaps. ⁶ . My nation was punished worse than the people of Sodom, whose city was destroyed in a flash without the help of human hands. s hands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ⁶. ⁷ The leaders of Jerusalem were purer than snow and whiter than milk; their bodies were healthy and glowed like jewels. t jewels: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ⁷. ⁸ Now they are blacker than tar, and no one recognizes them; their skin clings to their bones and is drier than firewood. ⁹ Being killed with a sword is better than slowly starving to death. ¹⁰ Life in the city is so bad that loving mothers have boiled and eaten their own children. ¹¹ The Lord was so fiercely angry that he burned the city of Zion to the ground. ¹² Not a king on this earth or the people of any nation believed enemies could break through her gates. ¹³ Jerusalem was punished because her prophets and her priests had sinned and caused the death of innocent victims. ¹⁴ Yes, her prophets and priests were covered with blood; no one would come near them, as they wandered from street to street. ¹⁵ Instead, everyone shouted, “Go away! Don't touch us! You're filthy and unfit to belong to God's people!” So they had to leave and become refugees. But foreign nations told them, “You can't stay here!” u here: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ¹⁵. ¹⁶ The Lord is the one who sent them scattering, and he has forgotten them. No respect or kindness will be shown to the priests or leaders. ¹⁷ Our eyes became weary, hopelessly looking for help from a nation v nation: Egypt, a former ally of Judah. that could not save us. ¹⁸ Enemies hunted us down on every public street. Our time was up; our doom was near. ¹⁹ They swooped down faster than eagles from the sky. They hunted for us in the hills and set traps to catch us out in the desert. ²⁰ The Lord's chosen leader w chosen leader: Probably Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, taken away to Babylonia in ⁵⁸⁶ B.C. was our hope for survival! We thought he would keep us safe somewhere among the nations, but even he was caught in one of their traps. ²¹ You people of Edom can celebrate now! But your time will come to suffer and stagger around naked. ²² The people of Zion have paid for their sins, and the Lord will soon let them return home. But, people of Edom, you will be punished, and your sins exposed. A Prayer for Mercy The People of Jerusalem Pray: x The People of Jerusalem Pray: Or “The Prophet Prays.”^{5 1} Our Lord, don't forget how we have suffered and been disgraced. ² Foreigners and strangers have taken our land and our homes. ³ We are like children whose mothers are widows. ⁴ The water we drink and the wood we burn cost far too much. ⁵ We are terribly mistreated; y We ... mistreated: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. we are worn out and can find no rest. ⁶ We had to surrender to z surrender to: Or “make treaties with.” Egypt and Assyria because we were hungry. ⁷ Our ancestors sinned, but they are dead, and we are left to pay for their sins. ⁸ Slaves are now our rulers, and there is no one to set us free. ⁹ We are in danger from brutal desert tribes; we must risk our lives just to bring in our crops. a crops: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ⁹. ¹⁰ Our skin is scorched from fever and hunger. ¹¹ On Zion and everywhere in Judah our wives and daughters are being raped. ¹² Our rulers are strung up by their arms, and our nation's advisors are treated shamefully. ¹³ Young men are forced to do the work of slaves; boys must carry heavy loads of wood. ¹⁴ Our leaders are not allowed to decide cases in court, and young people no longer play music. ¹⁵ Our hearts are sad; instead of dancing, we mourn. ¹⁶ Zion's glory has disappeared! And we are doomed because of our sins. ¹⁷ We feel sick all over and can't even see straight; ¹⁸ our city is in ruins, overrun by wild dogs. ¹⁹ You will rule forever, Lord! You are King for all time. ²⁰ Why have you forgotten us for so long? ²¹ Bring us back to you! Give us a fresh start. ²² Or do you despise us so much that you don't want us? ³ The people of Judah are slaves, suffering in a foreign land, with no rest from sorrow. Their enemies captured them and were terribly cruel. b Their ... cruel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. ⁴ The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels there to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are deserted; priests are weeping. Young women are raped; c raped: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Zion is in sorrow! ⁵ Enemies now rule the city and live as they please. The Lord has punished Jerusalem because of her awful sins; he has let her people be dragged away. ⁶ Zion's glory has disappeared. Her leaders are like deer that cannot find pasture; they are hunted down till their strength is gone. ⁷ Her people recall the good life that once was theirs; now they suffer and are scattered. No one was there to protect them from their enemies who sneered when their city was taken. ⁸ Jerusalem's horrible sins have made the city a joke. Those who once admired her now hate her instead— she has been disgraced; she groans and turns away. ⁹ Her sins had made her filthy, but she wasn't worried about what could happen. And when Jerusalem fell, it was so tragic. No one gave her comfort when she cried out, “Help! I'm in trouble, Lord! The enemy has won.” ¹⁰ Zion's treasures were stolen. Jerusalem saw foreigners enter her place of worship, though the Lord had forbidden them to belong to his people. d to ... people: Or “to enter his temple.” ¹¹ Everyone in the city groans while searching for food; they trade their valuables for barely enough scraps to stay alive. Jerusalem Speaks: Jerusalem shouts to the Lord, “Please look and see how miserable I am!” ¹² No passerby even cares. e No ... cares: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Why doesn't someone notice my terrible sufferings? You were fiercely angry, Lord, and you punished me worst of all. ¹³ From heaven you sent a fire that burned in my bones; you set a trap for my feet and made me turn back. All day long you leave me in shock from constant pain. ¹⁴ You have tied my sins around my neck, f You ... neck: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. and they weigh so heavily that my strength is gone. You have put me in the power of enemies too strong for me. ¹⁵ You, Lord, have turned back my warriors and crushed my young heroes. Judah was a woman untouched, but you let her be trampled like grapes in a wine pit. ¹⁶ Because of this, I mourn, and tears flood my eyes. No one is here to comfort or to encourage me; we have lost the war— my people are suffering. The Prophet Speaks: ¹⁷ Zion reaches out her hands, but no one offers comfort. The Lord has turned the neighboring nations against Jacob's descendants. Jerusalem is merely a filthy rag to her neighbors. Jerusalem Speaks: ¹⁸ The Lord was right, but I refused to obey him. Now I ask all of you to look at my sufferings— even my young people have been dragged away. ¹⁹ I called out to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and my leaders died while searching the city for scraps of food. ²⁰ Won't you look and see how upset I am, our Lord? My stomach is in knots, and my heart is broken because I betrayed you. In the streets and at home, my people are slaughtered. ²¹ Everyone heard my groaning, but no one offered comfort. My enemies know of the trouble that you have brought on me, and it makes them glad. Hurry and punish them, as you have promised. ²² Don't let their evil deeds escape your sight. Punish them as much as you have punished me because of my sins. I never stop groaning— I've lost all hope! ² The Lord Was Like an Enemy The Prophet Speaks: ¹ The Lord was angry! So he disgraced g disgraced: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Zion though it was Israel's pride and his own place of rest. In his anger he threw Zion down from heaven to earth. ² The Lord had no mercy! He destroyed the homes of Jacob's descendants. In his anger he tore down every walled city in Judah; he toppled the nation together with its leaders, leaving them in shame. ³ The Lord was so furiously angry that he wiped out the whole army h army: The Hebrew text has “horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine. of Israel by not supporting them when the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire that swallowed up the descendants of Jacob. ⁴ He attacked like an enemy with a bow and arrows, killing our loved ones. He has burned to the ground the homes on Mount Zion. i the homes on Mount Zion: Or “the temple on Mount Zion.” ⁵ The Lord was like an enemy! He left Israel in ruins with its palaces and fortresses destroyed, and with everyone in Judah moaning and weeping. ⁶ He shattered his temple like a hut in a garden; j He ... garden: Or “He shattered the temple walls, as if they were the walls of a garden.” he completely wiped out his meeting place, and did away with festivals and Sabbaths in the city of Zion. In his fierce anger he rejected our king and priests. ⁷ The Lord abandoned his altar and his temple; he let Zion's enemies capture her fortresses. Noisy shouts were heard from the temple, as if it were a time of celebration. ⁸ The Lord had decided to tear down the walls of Zion stone by stone. So he started destroying and did not stop until walls and fortresses mourned and trembled. ⁹ Zion's gates have fallen facedown on the ground; the bars that locked the gates are smashed to pieces. Her king and royal family are prisoners in foreign lands. Her priests don't teach, and her prophets don't have a message from the Lord. ¹⁰ Zion's leaders are silent. They just sit on the ground, tossing dirt on their heads and wearing sackcloth. Her young women can do nothing but stare at the ground. ¹¹ My eyes are red from crying, my stomach is in knots, and I feel sick all over. My people are being wiped out, and children lie helpless in the streets of the city. ¹² A child begs its mother for food and drink, then blacks out like a wounded soldier lying in the street. The child slowly dies in its mother's arms. ¹³ Zion, how can I comfort you? How great is your pain? k How great ... pain: Or “What are you really like?” or “What can I say about you?” Lovely city of Jerusalem, how can I heal your wounds, gaping as wide as the sea? ¹⁴ Your prophets deceived you with false visions and lying messages— they should have warned you to leave your sins and be saved from disaster. ¹⁵ Those who pass by shake their heads and sneer as they make fun and shout, “What a lovely city you were, the happiest on earth, but look at you now!” ¹⁶ Zion, your enemies curse you and snarl like wild animals, while shouting, “This is the day we've waited for! At last, we've got you!” ¹⁷ The Lord has done everything that he had planned and threatened long ago. He destroyed you without mercy and let your enemies boast about their powerful forces. l powerful forces: The Hebrew text has “horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine. ¹⁸ Zion, deep in your heart you cried out to the Lord. Now let your tears overflow your walls day and night. Don't ever lose hope or let your tears stop. ¹⁹ Get up and pray for help all through the night. Pour out your feelings to the Lord, as you would pour water out of a jug. Beg him to save your people, who are starving to death at every street crossing. Jerusalem Speaks: ²⁰ Think about it, Lord! Have you ever been this cruel to anyone before? Is it right for mothers to eat their children, or for priests and prophets to be killed in your temple? ²¹ My people, both young and old, lie dead in the streets. Because you were angry, my young men and women were brutally slaughtered. ²² When you were angry, Lord, you invited my enemies like guests for a party. No one survived that day; enemies killed my children, my own little ones. There Is Still Hope The Prophet Speaks: ^{3 1} I have suffered much because God was angry. ² He chased me into a dark place, where no light could enter. ³ I am the only one he punishes over and over again, without ever stopping. ⁴ God caused my skin and flesh to waste away, and he crushed my bones. ⁵ He attacked and surrounded me with hardships and trouble; ⁶ he forced me to sit in the dark like someone long dead. ⁷ God built a fence around me that I cannot climb over, and he chained me down. ⁸ Even when I shouted and prayed for help, he refused to listen. ⁹ God put big rocks in my way and made me follow a crooked path. ¹⁰ God was like a bear or a lion waiting in ambush for me; ¹¹ he dragged me from the road, then tore me to shreds. m shreds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ¹¹. ¹² God took careful aim and shot his arrows ¹³ straight through my heart. ¹⁴ I am a joke to everyone— no one ever stops making fun of me. ¹⁵ God has turned my life sour. ¹⁶ He made me eat gravel and rubbed me in the dirt. ¹⁷ I cannot find peace or remember happiness. ¹⁸ I tell myself, “I am finished! I can't count on the Lord to do anything for me.” ¹⁹ Just thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering makes me miserable. ²⁰ That's all I ever think about, and I am depressed. n I am depressed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. ²¹ Then I remember something that fills me with hope. ²² The Lord's kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. o destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ²². ²³ The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. ²⁴ Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!” ²⁵ The Lord is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him. ²⁶ It is good to wait patiently for the Lord to save us. ²⁷ When we are young, it is good to struggle hard ²⁸ and to sit silently alone, if this is what the Lord intends. ²⁹ Being rubbed in the dirt can teach us a lesson; p lesson: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ²⁹. ³⁰ we can also learn from insults and hard knocks. ³¹ The Lord won't always reject us! ³² He causes a lot of suffering, but he also has pity because of his great love. ³³ The Lord doesn't enjoy sending grief or pain. ³⁴ Don't trample prisoners under your feet ³⁵ or cheat anyone out of what is rightfully theirs. God Most High sees everything, ³⁶ and he knows when you refuse to give someone a fair trial. ³⁷ No one can do anything without the Lord's approval. ³⁸ Good and bad each happen at the command of God Most High. ³⁹ We're still alive! We shouldn't complain when we are being punished for our sins. ⁴⁰ Instead, we should think about the way we are living, and turn back to the Lord. ⁴¹ When we lift our hands in prayer to God in heaven, we should offer him our hearts and say, ⁴² “We've sinned! We've rebelled against you, and you haven't forgiven us! ⁴³ Anger is written all over you, as you pursue and slaughter us without showing pity. ⁴⁴ You are behind a wall of clouds that blocks out our prayers. ⁴⁵ You allowed nations to treat us like garbage; ⁴⁶ our enemies curse us. ⁴⁷ We are terrified and trapped, caught and crushed.” ⁴⁸ My people are destroyed! Tears flood my eyes, ⁴⁹ and they won't stop ⁵⁰ until the Lord looks down from heaven and helps. ⁵¹ I am horrified when I see what enemies have done to the young women of our city. ⁵² No one had reason to hate me, but I was hunted down like a bird. ⁵³ Then they tried to kill me by tossing me into a pit and throwing stones at me. ⁵⁴ Water covered my head— I thought I was gone. ⁵⁵ From the bottom of the pit, I prayed to you, Lord. ⁵⁶ I begged you to listen. “Help!” I shouted. “Save me!” You answered my prayer ⁵⁷ and came when I was in need. You told me, “Don't worry!” ⁵⁸ You rescued me and saved my life. ⁵⁹ You saw them abuse me, Lord, so make things right. ⁶⁰ You know every plot they have made against me. ⁶¹ Yes, you know their insults and their evil plans. ⁶² All day long they attack with words and whispers. ⁶³ No matter what they are doing, they keep on mocking me. ⁶⁴ Pay them back for everything they have done, Lord! ⁶⁵ Put your curse on them and make them suffer. q make them suffer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. ⁶⁶ Get angry and go after them until not a trace is left under the heavens. The Punishment of Jerusalem The Prophet Speaks: ^{4 1} The purest gold is ruined and has lost its shine; jewels from the temple lie scattered in the streets. ² These are Zion's people, worth more than purest gold; yet they are counted worthless like dishes of clay. ³ Even jackals r jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller. nurse their young, but my people are like ostriches that abandon their own. ⁴ Babies are so thirsty that their tongues are stuck to the roof of the mouth. Children go begging for food, but no one gives them any. ⁵ All who ate expensive foods lie starving in the streets; those who grew up in luxury now sit on trash heaps. ⁶ . My nation was punished worse than the people of Sodom, whose city was destroyed in a flash without the help of human hands. s hands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ⁶. ⁷ The leaders of Jerusalem were purer than snow and whiter than milk; their bodies were healthy and glowed like jewels. t jewels: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ⁷. ⁸ Now they are blacker than tar, and no one recognizes them; their skin clings to their bones and is drier than firewood. ⁹ Being killed with a sword is better than slowly starving to death. ¹⁰ Life in the city is so bad that loving mothers have boiled and eaten their own children. ¹¹ The Lord was so fiercely angry that he burned the city of Zion to the ground. ¹² Not a king on this earth or the people of any nation believed enemies could break through her gates. ¹³ Jerusalem was punished because her prophets and her priests had sinned and caused the death of innocent victims. ¹⁴ Yes, her prophets and priests were covered with blood; no one would come near them, as they wandered from street to street. ¹⁵ Instead, everyone shouted, “Go away! Don't touch us! You're filthy and unfit to belong to God's people!” So they had to leave and become refugees. But foreign nations told them, “You can't stay here!” u here: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ¹⁵. ¹⁶ The Lord is the one who sent them scattering, and he has forgotten them. No respect or kindness will be shown to the priests or leaders. ¹⁷ Our eyes became weary, hopelessly looking for help from a nation v nation: Egypt, a former ally of Judah. that could not save us. ¹⁸ Enemies hunted us down on every public street. Our time was up; our doom was near. ¹⁹ They swooped down faster than eagles from the sky. They hunted for us in the hills and set traps to catch us out in the desert. ²⁰ The Lord's chosen leader w chosen leader: Probably Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, taken away to Babylonia in ⁵⁸⁶ B.C. was our hope for survival! We thought he would keep us safe somewhere among the nations, but even he was caught in one of their traps. ²¹ You people of Edom can celebrate now! But your time will come to suffer and stagger around naked. ²² The people of Zion have paid for their sins, and the Lord will soon let them return home. But, people of Edom, you will be punished, and your sins exposed. A Prayer for Mercy The People of Jerusalem Pray: x The People of Jerusalem Pray: Or “The Prophet Prays.”^{5 1} Our Lord, don't forget how we have suffered and been disgraced. ² Foreigners and strangers have taken our land and our homes. ³ We are like children whose mothers are widows.

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; II Timothy 1:1-14

In his cold and dark dungeon, in isolation, separated from his comrades, Paul writes a letter to his friend, Timothy. “I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day… I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy” (1:3-4). In the piece of the letter we heard this evening we hear from a broken man, in chains, desperate for companions, comrades in the gospel.

On this World Communion Sunday, I’m struck by Paul’s longing for faithful friends. He searches for lines of communication to sustain friendships beyond the separation of bars and walls. Letters—parchments and ink extend the reach of his hunger.

Sure, it seems the Apostle Paul has received word that Timothy’s ministry is like a boat caught in rough waters, maybe even about to sink. And Paul intervenes with this letter of encouragement. He says, “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you” (v6).

But in Paul’s voice we also hear a sharp cry for solidarity, for companionship, for union despite the frustrations of prison life. “Do not be ashamed,” he says, “of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God” (v8).

Don’t be ashamed of me, dear Timothy. Don’t forget about me, locked up in prison… my friend, Timothy. And when you remember me, when you think of me, I want you to remember the gospel—that’s how we can be united, even while separated by bars.

Shut away from the world, Paul needs to know that his friend Timothy is fighting the good fight, proclaiming the good news—that our Savior Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought life through grace (v10). And if Timothy gives up on that message, Paul knows that Timothy also gives up on him. They are united in their confidence, their faith, their trust, that Jesus has saved them from death, no matter what darkness may overtake them.

And now Paul is where the rubber meets the road. Sitting there in the dungeon, where people are forgotten, where death and torture reign—does this Jesus really save? When his fiery hope and ministry is cooled by the damp dungeon, he needs to know that there are others, out there, who still have hope, who still believe the sound teaching that he entrusted to them (v14). He needs to know that there are still believers, that he is not alone, that death will not have the last word.

Will Timothy remember? Will Timothy pay him a visit? Will Timothy continue to trust? Can the saving grace of Jesus Christ pass through prison bars?

(pause)

On World Communion Sunday we come together and eat at the Lord’s Table. We eat and drink—“the body of Christ, broken for you… The blood of Christ, shed for you.” That’s what Monica and I will tell you as we offer you this bread and this cup in a few moments.

And I can’t help but see our communion today through the light of the Apostle Paul’s longing from the prison, his hunger for a companion—because with the companion, comes Christ. As Jesus says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

But Paul is alone, without another. And so he can only pray, and write, and remember, companions who bring God’s presence: “I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day… I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.”

At the Lord’s Table, we receive the grace of God’s invitation to unite ourselves to Christ, and with one another, so that we may be filled with joy—that longing we hear from Paul, all the way from a prison two thousand years ago.

Church, and this table at our center, is about this same hunger and our longing for intimacy with God and with one another. It’s about solidarity; it’s about trust; it’s about depending on Christ, and the people who commit themselves to be Christ to us—the people who follow in the life-giving way of Jesus.

It’s about our shared joy that comes with our shared life, which is how we receive one another as gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But it is also about hope. It’s about hearing the good news of the church in Ukraine that Dave and Laura shared with us. It’s about praying for them, like Paul prays for Timothy, and longing for the day when we will be united with them at the heavenly banquet—and maybe sometimes before—when our joy may be complete, where we will be drunk with the Holy Spirit that pours out of our lives.

But communion is a kind of hope that takes lament and mourning seriously. It’s a hope that doesn’t forget the terrors of Lamentations. Our feast isn’t the kind of party where we get drunk enough to forget about all our troubles, and the troubles of the world. Our celebration must not forget the one in Lamentations who, it says, “weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies” (1:2).

At this celebration we remember those who suffer, because we remember the suffering death of Jesus. We remember that our host, Jesus Christ, was tortured and killed, abandoned, violently taken from us. The words of institution from I Corinthians 11 force us to remember because it closes with this haunting line, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” We proclaim a death.

We come together at the Lord’s Table, and receive the grace of God poured out for us, and celebrate the joy of companions for the journey, companions that will not abandon us when we may be separated like Paul was from Timothy… But we also remember, and lament, and hope for that heavenly banquet where no one will be forgotten, where all will eat and drink with each other, where our joy and our love will be made complete.

Communion is an invitation to a longing, a hunger, a mission to celebrate and share the love of Christ, the grace of God, and the permeating union of the Holy Spirit.

Communion is about learning how to hunger and thirst after that God who brings us friends and companions—the God who brings us the joy of the Holy Spirit, the joy of union, the joy of companions, with every new person at our table.

When we eat this bread, we come to see how our lives are the grain. And the path of our lives is the cross of Christ, where we are crushed into flour. But through the power of the Holy Spirit we become one loaf of bread, the body of Christ. But it is the body of a broken Christ, crucified.

Our church, like Christ, is this loaf, broken for the world. And our church, like Christ, is this cup, poured out for the world. And as we remember, with our lives, the gracious gift of God’s Son, who has given us life everlasting and invited us to that heavenly banquet at the end of the ages where every tear is wiped away, let us be that bread of life broken for the world, that cup of Christ poured out for the world.

So, let us eat and drink the Supper of our Lord.

Pray with me:

God of perfect love, through Jesus, your Son, we have come to know you. In the company of the whole communion of saints, we come before you as we remember the death of Jesus, and receive with gratitude the redemption of his resurrected life.

God of grace, we come to this table, your table, with our hearts filled with joy. God, may this be a sign to us that you are a God who forgives us gladly and accepts us graciously. May this bread and cup show Christ’s work of redemption in our midst. In this Holy Supper, make us one with Jesus Christ that we may be steadfast in following him.

God, send your Spirit to sanctify us that we might praise our Redeemer and taste his presence now and evermore. Let the bread we break and the cup we drink be our communion of the body and blood of Christ, and our union with one another. Hear us for his sake, merciful God, as we pray as your Son taught us to pray, “Our father…”

Words of Institution (from I Cor. 11):

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.