February 28, 2024
Rev. Mary Erickson
Hope Lutheran Church
Psalm 137:1-6
The Willow Tree
Good evening, friendly humans. It’s a privilege to be with you here this evening. I thank you for the honor to be a part of your Lenten worship series. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Willow Tree.
This Lent you’re considering trees that are mentioned in the Bible. We willows don’t come up as much as other trees. Our biggest appearance is in the psalm you heard tonight:
By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
As I considered what to share with you, I realized that many of the attributes we willows have shed light on important spiritual manners. So, if I may, I’d like to share these associations with you.
First of all, we’ve picked up a nickname. You know us as weeping willows. It has to do with our supple branches. They hang down so we look as though we’re sad, like we’re crying.
That’s why we were the perfect tree to be mentioned in tonight’s psalm. It’s a psalm of lament. It might surprise you to know that there are more lament psalms than any other genre of psalm. Laments were Israel’s way of expressing their sorrows and woes.
Laments take an honest look at your situation and your emotions. It’s mighty tempting to sweep those negative feelings under the rug as if they weren’t there; or to sweep them aside and just ignore them. But take it from we willow trees, those options just aren’t very healthy. Those feelings of anger or grief or agony don’t just go away. It’s better to claim them and recognize that they’re part of your reality.
In this psalm, Israel had been defeated by the Babylonians. After sacking Jerusalem, they transported the Israelites into exile in Babylon. Once there, Israel’s captors rubbed salt in the wound and taunted them.
Their sorrows were more than they could bear. And what they did was write a song about it. It’s kind of like the blues. Sing about the things that trouble you. It’s better to get these feelings out than let them set inside and fester.
So the first point I’d like to make tonight is that there is a place for lament, there’s a place for weeping.
A second attribute about we willows is also salient. We’re associated with the characteristics of resilience and flexibility. Because our branches are so flexible, you humans like to use us for weaving baskets and our boughs for making bent wood furniture.
Flexibility and resilience. Our ability to bend with the wind has saved we willows through many a violent storm. I think we mistakenly associate strength with other trees, like oaks. But during violent storms, I'll tell you, we willows fare much better than oaks! Being too stoic and rigid can be detrimental for your health. Willows know that!
Hear me, when your griefs and sorrows become too great, don’t be afraid to share them with God. Take them to the Lord in prayer. That’s what lament is all about!
It’s something the Shakers knew about. In their song “Simple Gifts” they sing “to bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.” Letting go and expressing our lament is good.
Jesus knew this, too. When his friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept with Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary. They leaned on each other. And somehow, their shared grief brought them closer together.
Another interesting characteristic about we willows: we possess a pain killing chemical within us. You humans have long known about the nature of our bark. It turns out that this chemical within us is very similar to your aspirin.
Lament has a way of relieving your pain. Friends, I want you to know that there is no sorrow or concern too big or too ugly that God isn’t ready to hear! Maybe you’ve bent your friend’s ear about a persistent frustration so many times you’re afraid to bring it up with them again. Well, God doesn’t keep count. Go ahead and share your anger and rage. Vent your frustrations and confusions. God is all too ready to hear. And after you do, the load you bear will somehow feel a bit lighter. Prayer will ease your pain.
Typically, we willows enjoy growing next to rivers and creeks. And what we do is, we sink our roots deep down along that watercourse. It turns out to be a mutually beneficial thing! In times of floods, our roots help to stabilize the banks of the rivers. We enjoy the plenteous water source, and we also help to protect it from raging floods.
One thing about laments: they’re not helpful only to individuals. Floods carry us all away. Tragedy can affect a whole family or even a city. Golly, there are things that shake an entire nation, like the way the events of September 11 did to you.
When the raging floods surge and threaten to sweep you away, group lament helps to strengthen your shores. That’s what the Israelites did there along the banks of the Euphrates River. They lamented together.
I don’t want you to think that lament is only about sorrow. It’s not! Israel’s laments began in sorrow, but they ended in expressions of hope.
I told you, we willows enjoy growing by water. And in that sense, although we’re not mentioned specifically by name, I think we might very well be the tree mentioned in Psalm One! The psalm mentions how blessed are people when they’re connected to God’s word:
They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.
My friends, when we bring our concerns to God in lament, we stay rooted right by the streams of living water that flow from God’s throne. In that we have hope, and God’s hope does not disappoint us!
