Praying for the Church
Psalm 102:2-3, 16-21. March 28, 2023 - Tuesday, 5th Week of Lent
Psalm 102 begins with a superscription inidcating that it is “a prayer of one afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD” (verse 1). The afflicted person seems to be among those exiled to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. He describes his miserable situation as being depressed, unable to sleep, and scorned by his enemies. He interprets that tragedy as the expression of God’s wrath, but he is confident that God will show mercy to Zion. Moreover, he seems to be telling the Lord that the time to show mercy has arrived (Ps 102:14).
The psalmist links his fate with the fate of Jerusalem. He does not only plea for himself but also for his beloved city. The destruction of Jerusalem was the tragedy of the entire community of Israel. And so, the rebuilding of the city would have a positive impact on the entire community. It will be a clear indication of God answering the prayers of the destitute (see Ps 102:18).
Reading this psalm from a Christian perspective, we realise that our fate is linked with the fate of the entire Church. The Church is not an institution, as it is often wrongly portrayed and understood. The Church is a living organism. Saint Paul uses a metaphor of the body to describe the mystery of the Church. Christ is its head, and we are the members. Saint John sees the Church as the bride of Christ. Finally, Saint Peter speaks of the Church as a spiritual house built of living stones which represent every Christian. We are the Church. And so, the suffering of one member affects the entire organism, and the loss of one community affects other communities.
The history of the Church includes many examples of particular churches or entire communities being destroyed. The seven churches of the book of Revelation do not exist anymore. The city of Constantinople which was once the centre of Christianity and had one of the most magnificent churches in the world known as Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) is now the capital of Turkey and Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque. And since the French Revolution, the Church in many European countries has been experiencing the process of dechristianisation.
In the New Testament, Zion and Jerusalem became synonyms for the Church. Thus, to see Church communities declining or being destroyed across the globe should pain us the way the ruins of Jerusalem pained the psalmist. Like the psalmist, we should beseech the Lord to rebuild His Church in places once ruined. Let us pray for the declining Church in the West, and the suffering and persecuted Church in other places of the world. O Lord, in the day we call answer us speedily (see Ps 102:3).