Psalm 102 Reflection: A Gaza Lament
Presented at the General Council 45 of the United Church of Canada
Introduction
I have taken the ancient words of Psalm 102, a psalm of lament and longing, and reimagined them from a Palestinian perspective. Throughout this reflection, I will be reciting the chorus from "Do You Feel It, Too?" by Common Hymnals, a Praise and Protest Band, as it captures the raw questioning we bring before God in times like these. At times, I will refer to God in my native language, in Arabic - one of the languages spoken on the first Pentecost.
This is not just a creative interpretation— this is a prayer born from the rubble of 22 months of systematic annihilation, rooted in 17 years of siege, 76 years of land theft, and 44 years of me living it, learning how to bring my context while reading scripture.
Psalm 102: A Gaza Lament
A prayer of the people of Gaza, when overwhelmed with anguish and pouring out lament before the Divine.
The Reality from the Ground
In Gaza, hunger stalks every street—deliberate starvation where people are vanishing before our eyes. Families have not eaten in days, their stomachs groaning empty songs of desperation. We are reduced to skin and bones by design, not by accident.
"But [Ya Allah] where are you today?
Have you turned your face away?
Are you crying with us? Do you feel it, too?"
Look upon the ruins of our decimated Gaza Strip—hospitals hit, schools shattered, sanctuaries smashed, bakeries bombed. A solitary bird perches on a broken rooftop where a family once lived, searching for crumbs among the concrete and rebar.
"But [Ya Allah] where are you today?
Have you turned your face away?
Are you crying with us? Do you feel it, too?"
"Palestinian" has become a derogatory word in the mouths of those who dismiss our suffering - we have no name, no voice and no agency. I wish I knew every name and story of those who sift through sand to find lentils or humus (chickpea) that fell from torn aid bags, trying to separate grain from dirt with trembling fingers; who drink water contaminated with sewage and salt it with their tears.
"But [Ya Allah] where are you today?
Have you turned your face away?
Are you crying with us? Do you feel it, too?"
We are withering like an zaatar under the deliberate crushing of our very existence.
Yet Despite Death and Isolation
12 But you, Holy One, remain present forever; your love endures through all generations. 13 You will arise and embrace Gaza with compassion, for it is time to show mercy to her; the appointed time has come.
14 Oh, how your servants love this city's rubble and weep with compassion over its dust! 15 The nations will honor the name of the Creator, all the leaders of the earth will recognize your glory.
16 For the Divine will restore what has been demolished and appear in glory. 17 The Loving One will respond to the prayer of the destitute and will not dismiss their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Creator: 19 "The Holy One looked down from the sanctuary on high, from heaven viewing the earth, 20 to hear the groans of ALL the hostages, to free those condemned to die, 21 so that the story can be told in Calgary, so praise will be sung in all the cities of Palestine and Israel, 22 when the peoples and the communities gather to honor the Sacred One."
28 All the children of your servants will live in their homeland; their descendants will be established before you."
The Final Cry
1 Hear our prayer, Creator; let our desperate pleading come to you.
This is a testimony of your Palestinian sister in faith