God’s Shining Face – Psalm 80

A text – Psalm 80:1-7

80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
80:2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
80:3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
80:4 O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
80:5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
80:6 You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
80:7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

A reflection:

This psalm is written/spoken as a prayer from a whole community. And that community is weary of being ignored or forgotten by God. They have been suffering in some way, probably scorned or mistreated by neighbors or enemies. But they know they have the more powerful God and that their God can save them, if only God would choose to do so.

Help does not come from within them. Help does not come from their neighbors or from their enemies. Help will come from God, for sure, if only God would do something.

In this Advent season, this one particularly, for Americans, there are plenty of events around us that can make us feel powerless, helpless to rectify anything. Crises arising from ancient hatreds and from modern greediness, the effects of climate that are larger at this moment than we have the power to prevent…all of these big problems could make us lose hope. But the source of hope is our God, just as this community psalm says.

“Give ear, O shepherd of Israel…shine forth…stir up your might and come to save us!” The refrain for Advent each year is “Stir up your power and come, Oh Lord!”

We know that God’s power is the greatest power in the universe. We know that God has come before, that God’s face has shined, and human beings have been saved. We know we have your promise of life with you. May we feel your face shining upon us this season.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your faithfulness to human beings, whom you love. Thank you for your rescues of the past, and your walking with us in the present, and your promise of a future with you forever. Come to us this Advent and let us see our hope once again in your shining face.  Amen.