When Tragedy Strikes
It's horrible to think about the recent wildfires on the island of Maui. When we think about the tremendous loss of life and all that was destroyed, there are no good words to say to those who have been affected — other than I'm sorry. I know the tragedy is still ongoing with so many still missing and people's lives in shambles. At times like this, I think about the biblical practice of lament, although I think lament is appropriate anytime we experience deep pain or sorrow in our lives, not just large-scale tragedies. In hopes we might become more familiar with the practice of lament, the following is an excerpt of an article by June Dickie that I thought might be helpful.
Lament was an important part of Israel’s history, and the Hebrew Bible includes individual and communal laments as an integral part of the relationship with God. It is a way for a person or group experiencing some deep pain or sorrow to move towards God, even if God may seem to be the cause of the suffering. Essentially, lament is the means that God has provided to allow those in covenant with God to maintain and deepen that relationship when experience does not match belief…In the Old Testament, God was seen as the one who could remove suffering, and thus it was normal to bring pain to God. Similarly, when the community experienced a crisis, they united their sorrow in communal laments, which were passed on from one generation to the next…There was an ongoing expression of pain to God as people tried to understand how their covenant God could allow certain things to happen. The Book of Psalms has many laments, both personal and communal. Indeed, one-third of the psalms are laments, being more in number than psalms of praise. Apart from psalms, there are many other laments in the Bible.
In the New Testament, Jesus’ lament on the cross is a marvelous example of the need to lament, even with the knowledge of eventual victory. He accepted lament as the language of suffering, and granted it both validity and dignity. Moreover, Jesus’ cry on the cross, ‘My God, why have your forsaken me?’ is actually a declaration of the coming of God’s Kingdom. Lament recognizes that things are not as they should be, voices this in protest and thereby helps to bring God’s Kingdom to earth.
This was just a portion of the article but I thought it might be helpful to know lament is a way that God invites us to bring our pain and sorrow before Him. He accepts honest expression of His children's cries and suffering in order to draw us deeper into relationship with Him.
Pastor Darren
