For October 3, 2010
Lamentations is a seldom read book of the bible as it seems so filled with hopelessness and sadness. Many of the Psalms are classed as Laments because of their focus on woes and despair. But as we look more closely at biblical laments we might find them to be a vehicle for voicing our heartfelt reaction to times of tragedy to an ever-present God. We begin with some background about Lamentations:
During (587 BCE) and after Babylon’s terrible destruction of Jerusalem, the writer (traditionally and probably correctly identified as the prophet Jeremiah); laments the tragic fall of the city he loved. Lamentations is unique in the Scriptures for its mood of almost unremitting gloom. The author has witnessed such terrible suffering—famine, murder, rape, cannibalism, and other unspeakable horrors—that the only appropriate response is to give voice to this suffering by raising a cry of woe. Whereas the book of Job deals with the problem of undeserved suffering at the personal level, Lamentations struggles with the issues raised by a community that is suffering exactly what it deserves—God has judged Jerusalem for its sins, to the loss and lamentation of all its citizens. In his anguish and distress, the poet wants to know: What is the meaning of all this suffering? The Literary Study Bible
Our first scripture gives us a taste of the poet’s lament. You may want to have a piece of paper and pencil available as we will work on a personal lament.
Lamentations 1:3 After years of pain and hard labor, Judah has gone into exile. She camps out among the nations, never feels at home. Hunted by all, she's stuck between a rock and a hard place.
4 Zion's roads weep, empty of pilgrims headed to the feasts. All her city gates are deserted, her priests in despair. Her virgins are sad. How bitter her fate.
5 Her enemies have become her masters. Her foes are living it up because God laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions. Her children, prisoners of the enemy, trudge into exile.
• What is your sense of the writer’s emotional state in this lament? What jumps out as his primary concerns?
• Think of some contemporary disasters and tragedies have been visited on a significant group of people; floods, earthquakes, wars, genocide or famine. Pick one with which you have some familiarity and write down some of the words or thoughts that those affected might include in their lament.
• Think of a tragedy in your life. What would you include in a lament that expresses your feelings and thoughts? What were your feelings as you wrote down the words?
• The poet concludes: God laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions. Do some affected by tragedy conclude that bad things are God’s punishment for misdeeds? How have you incorporated the presence of the God of your faith in tragedies? Are there thoughts that need to be part of your notes?
Lamentations 3:19-21 I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope
• How do the words sorrow and depression resonate with you as you reflect on your personal experience with tragedy? Does it inspire anything that you would include in your lament? How do you feel as you write down these words?
• What does he hold with a tight grip? Did you ever develop a sense of hope as you dealt with tragedy? What happened to bring about this feeling into the situation? Was it easy to find? Make sure that you include these thoughts in your notes.
Lamentations 3:22-24 God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left.
25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.
• In laying out his lament the poet concludes that what is happening to his community is punishment from God. What conclusion has he come to as he continues to write about the tragedy?
• What steps has he taken and what does he recommend as we search for God’s presence in tragedy? Did you find a growing sense of God’s presence in your tragedy? What nurtured the growth in your case? How would you express it in your personal written lament?
• Have you found examining tragedy in your life helpful? If so in what way? Did you in any way confront God with questions or doubts?
28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst.
• What is the poet’s advice for dealing with the hard times?
• What worked for you and how would you express it in your lament?
• What role has your congregation had in dealing with individual tragedy? What else might we do to help members deal with all aspects of tragedy, particularly the spiritual?
Take some time to develop your own lament from the notes made above. It may take on many forms and should fit with your relationship with God. One format for constructing a lament in the traditional format of the Psalms comes from comes from the Seasons of the Spirit Adult Curriculum for Pentecost 2, 2010:
First read Psalms 6, 13, 42, 79 reflecting on the reasons that the writer has cried out to God then:
1. Introductory address: (O God, I need your help…)
2. Description of the situation causing pain, sorrow, or fear: (I’ve just about had it because…)
3. Prayer for help and deliverance: (Save me from…)
4. Statement of why you think God would help: (In the past you remembered…)
5. Vow to offer praise when the prayer is answered: (I will tell of your great name…)
6. Praise for God as if the prayer has already been answered: (I will give thanks to you forever..)
Closing Prayer
O God, you invite us to be open and honest about our feelings. May we not be protective of the hurt in our hearts. Trusting in your steadfast love and unconditional acceptance, we place our lives into your caring hands. Amen
Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, Psalm 66:1-12, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19
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