Lamenting

Prayer of Hope:

All-knowing God,
Your wisdom is great. You created the world and all that is in it. You created human beings and blessed us with many gifts. We want to trust in your wisdom, but sometimes we are weighed down with grief and despair. Sometimes the difficulties of life feel like too much for us. Help us to find you in those times, and to know that you are ready to hear our lament as well as our praise. Amen

Reading: Lamentations 5:15-22
1The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our hearts are sick,
because of these things our eyes have grown dim:
because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate;
jackals prowl over it.

But you, O Lord, reign for ever;
your throne endures to all generations.
Why have you forgotten us completely?
Why have you forsaken us these many days?
Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored;
renew our days as of old—
unless you have utterly rejected us,
and are angry with us beyond measure.

Meditation: Go ahead and cry

The book of Lamentations is ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah; its full title in Greek and English is “The Lamentations of Jeremiah.” Tradition allows that Jeremiah withdrew to a cave after the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and carried off its king and many of its subjects. There he wrote this series of poems, which lament God’s forsaking of God’s people, which has resulted in their terrible fortunes. The prophet knows the people are to blame for this misfortune—he tells them that repeatedly in both the book of Jeremiah, and in Lamentations.
It doesn’t matter whether this book was actually written by Jeremiah. It doesn’t matter when it was written. What is important to us, as “consumers” of the Holy Word, is that scripture allows for wailing and gnashing of teeth. A whole book is devoted to a people feeling bad about what has happened to them, and describing their ordeals in great juicy detail.
There are lamentations throughout scripture. Many of the Psalms are songs of lament. Jesus laments twice. The first is a mini-lament—in the Garden of Gethsemane, he lets God know that it would be okay if the cup of his destiny passed from his hands. On the cross he offers a full blown lament: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Paul laments his work, his suffering, the time he has to spend in jail.
God’s Word gives us permission to complain. We’re often told that we shouldn’t complain. It’s true that we shouldn’t complain all the time. It’s equally true that we shouldn’t complain about minor inconveniences. But when lousy things happen to us, scripture has taught us that we are allowed to wail, to moan, to cry, and to complain. Bitterly even. Right to God, who is listening to all that we say, even the things which start “Hey God, I don’t like…”

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of Light,
I give you thanks for being with me in my joy and in my sadness. Thank you for the gift of lamentation, for allowing your people to come to you with our deepest pain, and to cry out to you when we feel despair. We know that you are with us in the light and in the darkness, and we promise to turn to you in both. Amen