Hallelujahs in a Broken World

Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
for God is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
God builds up Jerusalem; God gathers the outcasts of Israel.
God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
God determines the number of the stars;
God gives to all of them their names.
Our God lifts up the downtrodden; God casts the wicked to the ground.
Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
     Selections from Psalm 147

Several years ago, my family went to the pet store and bought some new fish to go in our aquarium. I don’t know whether it is our family’s personality or theology, but we tend to get the outsiders for our tank. So, we bought a crab, a very small crab. And when we got home, we realized that some of the crab’s legs were missing and one side of the body wasn’t like the other side. But we loved the crab and it was fine. Then, after a day or two, the crab crawled under an artificial plant and hide away. The kids were convinced that it was dying. We would stare at the crab to see if it would move and it would. But it remained under the plant for several weeks. Finally, my wife said one day I think it’s growing its legs back. But we weren’t really sure. And can crabs even do that? I mean do they molt? So, we kept watching and waiting and giving the crab his space under the plant to hide. And then finally one morning, when we checked on the aquarium, we saw the most amazing sight: the crab was out and about practically skipping around the aquarium with new legs. The old skin was left under the plant. And I stood there with my kids as we wondered at this little creature made anew in our presence and I said:

Hallelujah! It’s a resurrection!!

The Hebrew word Hallelujah, which means simply Praise God!, is an Old Testament word of exclamation. The word occurs throughout the Psalms as a word of celebration and admiration. It is the exclamation point of faith. A short burst of energy and delight toward God.

Psalms 146-150 all begin the same way: Hallelujah! Praise God. The Psalmist knew this word well. The editors of the Psalter placed the hallelujah psalms at the end of the book as the final crescendo of the book!  It is the final word both literally and metaphorically for the Psalms.

The Book of Psalms calls us to praise God. And even gives us a plethora of reasons why. God’s help on behalf of prisoners and strangers, orphans and widows is deserving of a hallelujah. God’s care for Jerusalem, not because it’s the capital city, but as a place where the outcasts are gathered together. People are called to praise God, but all of creation as well. Sun and moon, mountains and animals, everything that has breath is called to a Hallelujah. God numbers the stars and gives them names, and in response we say Hallelujah. In summary, Hallelujah is our answer, our response to God’s works.

Praising God. It is a part of a healthy spirituality to praise our Creator. It is a part of our Christian worship services sometimes when we sing the Doxology “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

But how do we proclaim Hallelujah in a broken world? In a world where it doesn’t feel like hallelujahs are always appropriate or justified. In a world of mass shootings on the 4th of July, it is difficult to say Hallelujah. In a world in which a black man suffers at least 60 wounds as he runs from the police. 60! That’s not a time for Hallelujah. As a global pandemic continues to ebb and flow and just makes us tired thinking about it, we are not ready for a Hallelujah.  As our loved ones get sick or die, it doesn’t feel like Hallelujah.

We don’t want to use Hallelujah to paper over all the difficulties. All the pain. All the loss. Life is not one big Hallelujah. We don’t want to ignore or deny the struggles. The Psalms know this truth. That’s why the whole book of Psalms contains many types of prayers and songs to God. If you have had a chance to read some of the Psalms this week, you have found a whole range of topics and emotions. It is one of the delights and treasures of the Psalms that they are able to capture the full range of the spiritual life.

Because sometimes a Hallelujah is completely appropriate and necessary. And sometimes not. It’s a matter of perspective and balance, I’m sure. Because I also attended this week a 1-year-old birthday party and watched him reach out and grab a chunk out of his birthday cake and put that sugary floury food in his mouth. Hallelujah! I watched this spring as my newly planted tulips shot forth from the ground and I watch now as my crape myrtle tree blooms. Hallelujah!

And I’m learning that we can allow evil and the bad to overwhelm us. We can focus on the daily news of violence and division, or political fighting and controversy. Or we can also bring ourselves into our current reality, into our present moment of gratitude.

We can allow ourselves to be surprised by grace, startled by goodness, and astounded by joy at this moment.

There should be a word for that.

Perhaps the word we need in these difficult trying days is Hallelujah! Praise God. Perhaps we should attune ourselves to these moments of praise.

Friends, let everything that has breath sing a song of Hallelujah! Amen.

Coming in August

In August, we will be exploring together the four Revised Common Lectionary passages from Isaiah and Jeremiah.

If you are preaching, plan to focus on:

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 (August 7)
Isaiah 5:1-7 (August 14)
Jeremiah 1:4-10 (August 21)
Jeremiah 2:4-13 (August 28)

If you aren't a preacher, plan to join us on our prophetic journey.

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