In the midst of the resettlement of Jerusalem following a long exile, conflicts arise among people who stayed in the land, foreigners who moved in, and those who return. Who has—or hasn’t—remembered and honored God? Whose fault is it that things are so difficult?
The words of lament from today’s passage are a sputtering, frustrated, angry accusation that God is at fault (Isa. 64:5); that God has “delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.” The argument goes this way: because God “hid,” the people seem incapable of doing what is right; failure to do right incurs suffering. God is to blame!
We depend upon God’s grace for help to do what is right, but the argument breaks down after that. God’s grace is always at work—even when we are unaware of it. Therefore, we cannot blame God’s absence for our failures to love, to serve, to do what is right. Spiritual giants from Saint John of the Cross to Mother Teresa have experienced a sense of God’s absence. But their witness testifies that even in that painful experience they persevered in prayer and service. Those who have traveled through a “dark night of the soul” look back and see God’s presence inviting them into a more profound faith.
Sometimes we may need to hurl our accusations and anger at God to get those feelings out of our system. The Bible gives us permission to do just that! The Bible also reminds us that we are in the hands of a God who as Father loves us and as potter always labors to form us into our most faithful, loving shape.