Laments

In an article, published in Time, Tom Wright wrote about the Covid-19 Crisis, that it was wrong for Christians to seek either an explanation or a ‘sigh of relief’. Rather we should recover “the biblical tradition of lament. Lament is what happens when people ask, ‘Why?’ and don’t get an answer.” He suggests that the important thing is not to find reasons – or ways out – but simply to express our grief, in the knowledge that God also laments with us. “As the Spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell.”

This is helpful. Many people are feeling deep grief at this time – either because of an immediate loss – of family or friends who have died, or other personal losses and anxieties - or because of an awareness of how much pain and sorrow we are surrounded by. Christians find themselves unsure how to respond, how to articulate these feelings – partly because the prevailing culture in most churches is to make worship lively, and full of praise. But more are re-discovering the value of lament. CMS has set up Lamentspace (https://churchmissionsociety.org/lamentspace/) – “where we share our grief with God and each other.”

The Psalter has a remarkable number of examples of lament, as even a brief glance will show. So it is unfortunate that few churches use Psalms in their liturgy. We lack this model of how our prayers and liturgy can express our sorrows and fears.

Walter Bruegemann in The Psalms and the Life of Faith (published in 1995) explores in some detail how significant the lament form is. He reminds us that one of the most distinctive features of the Psalms is that most of them are personal, addressed to the Lord, often with emphatic us of the word ‘You.’ There is a confidence in God’s love, which brings freedom of access that enables the speaker to be honest and open. In some cases, complaints are directed at God – “How long, O Lord, how long?” (Psalm 6:3); “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?” (Ps 10:1), and, of course “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Ps 22:1.) In others, the fault lies with some ‘enemy’, but God is confronted – “Why have you rejected me?” (Ps 43:1) -as he is understood to share some responsibility.

The significant point, surely, is that the Lord invites us to be honest in our prayer. The God of Israel doesn’t have to be flattered or treated obsequiously. Before him, we can weep, we can complain, we can confront, we can shout – and he still listens. We have a safe, covenant relationship with him, and can rely upon his faithfulness. To complain and lament in prayer is both natural and acceptable, because God is involved, and he loves us - and he is able to help. We can bring him our pain, and our petitions and are not rejected or abandoned - even if it sometimes feels like that. Indeed, in most of the Lament psalms, there is petition: “Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint” (Ps 64:1) – “save me,” “protect me.” In a number of cases, the psalmist reminds the Lord who he is, and what he has promised – “Remember the people you purchased of old” (Ps 74:2.) Not all these psalms come to a hopeful or positive conclusion (Pss 88 and 89 are obvious example); but in most cases there is a final statement of trust or thanksgiving.

The danger is that if we forget to lament, and allow only words of praise and worship to pass our lips, we diminish God. We make an idol of him, and we lose sight of the reality, that in many ways things are not as they should be, that suffering, injustice and unfairness are too prevalent. We may then end up accepting things that should not be accepted. By giving voice to our complaints and our pain, we are asserting our God-given value as men and women made in his image, and reminding ourselves – and God! - that change is needed. We also express a hope that change does happen: “you will restore my life again” (Ps 71:20.)

The change may need to come from us. In some laments there are expressions of penitence – “Help us, O God our Saviour …deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake” (Ps 79:9). And indeed, we have allowed wrong things to happen, and we need to turn back to the Lord. There needs to be a re-orientation of our lives, and our community’s values. We give thanks for all God has done before, and turn to him, seeking not a return to the old ways, but looking forward to a change – we sing a new song to the Lord! Disillusionment can be positive – it means abandoning illusions! So perhaps we are being forced today to recognise that we are not in control of everything, and also that human choices and actions affect others. Above all, we are called to recognize our need - to put our hope in the God of love, and to trust in his covenanted relationship with us. In the end all prayer is relational – we pray not primarily to obtain what we ask for, but to renew our faith and draw closer to the one we can trust even now, the one who does not forget us, or let go of us.