First Reading:  Isaiah 63:16-17, 19,; 64:2-7

Lament Song

How long, O Lord, how long?

We all have good times. And we all have bad times. 2001 was my bad time. Between the shooting at Santana High School (Santee, CA) my son witnessed, to the funerals my wife and I attended, to 9/11, the year seemed to be one long grieving period. A year with death in the air. A time to be endured.

Bad times like that give us a hint at the despair and desperation found in this reading. Several generations had passed from the return of the exiles in Babylon. Jerusalem and its Temple were being rebuild. A sense of normal living had returned. Yet, the people were forlorn. Life was hard. And God seemed to be far away.

The author of these passages (the so-called "Third Isaiah") spoke the prayer of the people. How long before the people returned to glory? How long before God's presence shone before the nations? Note the prayer for divine intervention was mixed with self-examination. The loss of stature was not necessarily God's fault [64:5b-7]. Yet, also note the sense of hope. The petitioner called upon God as Father and asked for his return [63:16-17].

Like those who lamented in Jerusalem, we, too, may have times we feel cut off from God and his blessing. Yet, there is always hope. For the Lord is coming. Soon!

When did you experience "bad times?" How did God give you hope?