On Lament and Lamentations (pt. 4)

Lament has been called a "lost art" and it seems to be a spiritual practice we have largely neglected in modern Western Christianity. For the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the key spiritual truths that the book of Lamentations has to teach us. They are lessons and truths that we might otherwise miss if we try our own shortcuts past suffering.

Lamentations is a book about wrestling. It wrestles with the pain of judgment. It wrestles with all that has been lost. It wrestles with the God who has sent the suffering. 

While turning to God as the only source of relief, the author of Lamentations never turns against God. 

Lamentations still portrays God as good, even if it doesn't feel that way. Look how the book ends:

You, Lord, reign forever;

    your throne endures from generation to generation.

20 

Why do you always forget us?

    Why do you forsake us so long?

21 

Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;

    renew our days as of old

22 

unless you have utterly rejected us

    and are angry with us beyond measure.

(5:19-22)

God is still in control, he is still the one to make this right. He is still good...but the results are up to him. Lamentations reveals a genuine faith - a complete commitment to letting God be God. Ending it ambiguously, "unless you have utterly rejected us...", leaves us with the tension of waiting on God. And that's ok. 

God would step by step bring the restoration this book is so hungry for. They are restored back to their land under Ezra and Nehemiah. They are delivered in the inter-testamental period from their Greek aggressors. And finally, some five centuries later, Jesus arrives. The promised Messiah appears to restore the people to their God and inaugurate his Kingdom.

The story of Lamentations leaves things open-ended in the short-term because it leads us to Christ in the long-term.  God is still on the throne; he is still good and will make good on his promises to his people.

On Lament and Lamentations (pt.3)

Lament has been called a "lost art" and it seems to be a spiritual practice we have largely neglected in modern Western Christianity. For the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the key spiritual truths that the book of Lamentations has to teach us. They are lessons and truths that we might otherwise miss if we try our own shortcuts past suffering.

If there’s any passage you know from Lamentations, it is the verses of 3:22-24:

22 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.

23 

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

24 

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

    therefore I will wait for him.”

These lie at the center of the book in chapter 3 and I don't think that is an accident. The pivot point for lament is this core truth about God. Lament could turn into bitterness if we didn't have this as our hope. 

In the previous post, we noted how God harshly judges sin. He's the ultimate cause of their suffering as they have forced him to punish their sin because they've refused to repent and loved their rebellion. So as chapter three is added to the equation, Lamentations confronts us with this paradox:

While God is the source of our pain, he’s our only hope of relief.

Later on in the chapter – 3:55-57

I called on your name, Lord,

    from the depths of the pit.

56 

You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears

    to my cry for relief.”

57 

You came near when I called you,

    and you said, “Do not fear.”

They have endured God's wrath, but they know they can still turn to their God.

And this isn't just limited to this part of Scripture. If you go to other places in the Bible with laments, you’ll see this same pattern. Google “Lament Psalms” almost every single one will end with an expression of trust and hope in God.

Even if answers aren’t apparent…

Even if relief isn’t on the horizon...

...We can still trust God. He's our only hope of relief.

On Lament and Lamentations (pt.2)

Lament has been called a "lost art" and it seems to be a spiritual practice we have largely neglected in modern Western Christianity. For the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the key spiritual truths that the book of Lamentations has to teach us. They are lessons and truths that we might otherwise miss if we try our own shortcuts past suffering.

Last week we worked through how Lamentations shows us that it is ok to complain to God in our misery. Another general theme emerges when we read through the book of Lamentations:

God is a strict judge of unrepentant sinners.

We are given the freedom to complain to God, but make no mistake - Lamentations does not try to excuse the predicament they are in. Lamentations does not deny that they deserved punishment. It accepts this punishment as just: 

“The Lord is righteous,

    yet I rebelled against his command.

Listen, all you peoples;

    look on my suffering.

My young men and young women

    have gone into exile. (1:18)

It still hurts of course. Their reality was still disastrous and no less horrifying.

Lamentations 3:42-48:

“We have sinned and rebelled 

and you have not forgiven.

43 

“You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;

    you have slain without pity.

44 

You have covered yourself with a cloud

    

so that no prayer can get through.

45 

You have made us scum and refuse

    among the nations.

When we work through this book we would do well to remember that God is not a wrathful God at his core. God is not, by nature, one who takes pleasure in punishment. It is something he does when his hand is forced. Something he does, not the core of who he is.

But Lamentations records the aftermath of events at a time when his hand was forced. Over decades and even centuries, Judah was unfaithful to their covenant. Over and over again they refused to follow what God wanted. Instead they pursued other false religions and the false promises of political alliances to try to achieve their own ends.

And finally, God had to strictly judge them. It was fair and deserved, but it was also harsh and painful. 

When we relate to our Creator, we should not conceive of him as a displeased authority just waiting to strike us down at our first misstep. But we also should not imagine him as a cuddly teddy bear Santa Claus who only ever nice. He will judge when rebellion and wickedness call for it. But the one who is Judge is also our hope...and that will be where we camp out next year.

 

On Lament and Lamentations

For thousands of years, the people of God utilized the spiritual practice of lament to express their struggles and draw closer to the Lord. 

Apart from liturgical worship, lament has fallen out of favor with modern-day Christians. I don't have any hard data on it, but my theory is that we prefer cheap confession and quick restoration, choosing whatever path of least resistance will allow us to fear better about ourselves as quickly as possible. 

We don't like to sit with our pain and grief. We don't like to wrestle with the shame of our own mistakes and that is why lament is often neglected. Raw and honest lamentations won't write many best selling books or create very many hit songs for Christian radio. 

When we survey our holy Scripture, we'll discover lament all over the place: Job, Psalms, the Prophets, and Jesus himself offers up laments. And what those examples reveal to us is that God uses lament as part of our healing process. God meets us in our lament and uses it to draw us back to himself.

Mark Vroegop, a pastor who did actually write a book on lament, defines it as "a prayer in pain that leads to trust." I also like Jacob Wright's description that lament grieves "a past of violence, a present moment of suffering and torment, and a future that does not have certain answers." (h/t Scott McKnight).

We prefer our quick-fixes and black-and-white answers. Lament offers none of that. But what it does offer is better. Because until we can come to grips with how truly awful the bad side of life is, we won't be able to fully appreciate how beautiful the good news of Jesus is.

So for the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the key spiritual truths that the book of Lamentations specifically has to teach us. They are lessons and truths that we might otherwise miss if we try our own shortcuts past suffering.

The first is a self-evident truth, that it is ok to complain to God in our misery. 

The fact that Lamentations is included in God's Word establishes this truth. This book - along with the plethora of other instances - reveals that we have the freedom to express our pain honestly to God. 

It is a collection of poems written after the Babylonian exile of 587/6 BC. 587 was the culmination of Babylon's domination of Judah. It is forever etched in Israel's history because these conquering forces destroyed two locations once thought to be 'invincible' - the Temple and Jerusalem. Jerusalem as a capital and the Temple specifically were seen as symbols of God's abiding presence and protection. Two places that would never be touched by heathen armies. Judah had seen their northern counterparts succumb to invading armies. But that was different. The southern Kingdom had the proper Temple and the true throne of David.

Things didn't work out for Judah though. Their sins and rebellion went unchecked and they turned to political alliances time and time again rather than seek spiritual reform.

Lamentations expresses the raw emotion of desperation and horror after the atrocities of these events took place. 

Lamentations is upfront about the 'cause' of all of this too. It recognizes that the people's sin brought this on themselves (1:18, 3:42-48). These were self-inflicted wounds and yet still they lament. 

God didn't ignore their pleas. He didn't mock their prayers as 'too little, too late'. He heard them. He included them in Scripture and eventually he did bring them redemption - punishing their punishers and ultimately bringing Jesus the Messiah. 

But don't miss the fact that Lamentations gives us permission to complain to God in our misery. He invites and encourages it. He meets us in all of it. 

When you feel like you're drowning in your troubles, don't hold back and don't try to hold it in. Take it to God. He's a good confidant and a patient listener. And he'll answer our cries with his presence...and there will be nothing else that will compare.

Wednesday Wisdom (that could have been a Music Monday)

I can't find the original tweet, but a few weeks ago someone I follow posted a short thread about what they considered to be the best Disney song ever. 

I grew up in a classic age of Disney animated films with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and others coming out seemingly in rapid succession. All have well-loved music that was written for those films. More recent classics like Frozen, Moana, Encanto, and Coco have continued that Disney musical film legacy. 

But this tweet didn't identify any of the songs from any of those movies as the best ever. Instead, they called back to a movie from 1973 and the animated Robin Hood movie. But even then, this individual didn't select some of the memorable upbeat tunes like "Oo-de-lally" or "The Phony King of England". Instead, they chose this:

Once I saw this was their pick, I immediately understood. This song stands out. It stood out to me even as a young kid when I watched this movie. I had these lyrics stuck in my head still as an adult. The song matches the film's mood perfectly. And it sits in lament. It lets even a younger viewer grapple with the stakes of what is going on. The song allows the movie to not cheapen the comeback of Robin Hood and his crew with a quick resolution. It wallows in the darkness.

And while it's not my favorite Disney song ever, it has my enduring respect because of the uniqueness of it's tone and subject matter. 

On top of this, that scene also is spiritually instructive too. I used it as a sermon illustration a couple weeks ago because it matches well the instruction in 1 Peter about how God's people should respond to suffering. What do those characters do during the song? They care for each other, help feed and care for other sufferers. And the capper of the Friar and his assistant ringing the church bell "because it might bring those poor people some comfort. And we must do what we can to keep their hopes alive." 

I mean, read 1 Peter 4:7-11 and tell me that isn't exactly the point of Peter's letter.

So tip of the cap to Roger Miller, who wrote the music and lyrics. And shoutout to Mumford and Sons for their apparent love for the song as well. 

And if you are going through some struggles, let me encourage you to find some grace in an overlooked classic Disney song and God's Word to his people in the letter of 1 Peter.

Lament

Yesterday saw another mass shooting, this time in an elementary school. Within the last two weeks, we've seen elderly people of color gunned down in supermarkets and Asian-Americans attacked in their place of worship. Yesterday was kids and teachers in a school.

We grieve, as we should. 

We get angry, as we should. 

We search for answers, as we should. 

But something is missing. 

We do not truly lament as we should. 

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This past weekend saw the Southern Baptist Convention release it's third-party report on it's failures to properly address abuse over the past several decades. 

This past weekend saw another pastor admit to egregious immorality. This time it was in my hometown.

We grieve, as we should. 

We get angry, as we should.

We search for answers, as we should. But something is missing. 

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Lament, as I see it in the Scriptures, is an inner and outer wrestling with the reality of injustice, pain, sin, and suffering. Not necessarily all of those at once, but allowing one or more of those things to set in your spirit, languishing with the trauma and not brushing it aside or pretending it doesn't exist. 

Lament involves grief and anger and answers, but it is more than that. 

Lament is facing the consequences of idolatry head on (see Lamentations).

Lament is part of repentance and healing. And I would argue it is such a vital component of each that you cannot repent or heal without true lament. 

Lament is the choice to confront your broken condition and broken circumstances and ultimately turn to Jesus - not for an explanation or answers but for his presence. It holds back no questions and lets out all emotions. It doesn't worry if it is "proper" to vent, it just does. 

Lament is Jesus' groan of anger and sadness at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:33,38).

Lament is Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem as he approaches it before His Passion Week (Luke 19:41-44).

We in the West have trouble lamenting like this. Those families and communities affected will lament, they have no real choice. But lament should be the response of the rest of us too. 

Instead we try to move on quickly. We find excuses why we should and why things should remain the same. It is easier to pretend the problems don't exist. It is easier to pretend it is enough to address the symptoms rather than the disease. It is easier to believe that since no specific solution will prevent all of these tragedies that we have to give up trying to do anything to prevent some of these tragedies from repeating themselves in the future. 

We need to Lament. 

Lament will bring healing, repentance, and change. It will lead us to Jesus.

I use this blog to often feature music I appreciate and enjoy. Here's a song of lament that I happened to revisit last weekend, I think it can be instructive in its own way. 

Music Mondays/Sermon Snippets

So I went the entire month of July without posting here. In retrospect, I'll call it an unintentional blogging sabbatical. 

This month has been filled with hot weather, family get-togethers, church events, yard work, our denomination's national conference, a mini-vacation...and now we are getting into August all of the sudden.

As I've traditionally done in the past, this summer I switched to a sermon series that lends itself to people's summer schedule (ie, traveling-vacation-inconsistent church attendance). I picked "The Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew 5-7 and am in the middle of the Beatitudes. 

Yesterday brought us to, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" in Matt. 5:4. Like many of these other sayings, Jesus doesn't seem to make worldly sense with this assertion. I had some extra time to prepare leading up to this and providentially I kept finding myself personally confronted with lamentable situations.

I'm convinced more and more that mourning/lament are the most ignored part of Christian discipleship in our modern times. Read Scripture with an eye for this and you'll find it everywhere. Whether it's mourning over the death of faithful saints (Gen. 50), the deplorable condition of God's city (Nehemiah 1ff), the depraved condition of God's people (Lamentations 1, all the Prophets), or simply suffering injustice (Ps. 22, 86), lament is an integral part of what it means to walk with God. It's not just about being sad. It is about seeing how the world is not as it should be - but still trusting in God to make it all right.

This brings me to our music for today. A Facebook memories reminder pointed me in this direction. Of all the modern CCM artists out there, I find Jars of Clay to have utilized this lament genre as much as anyone. Here are a couple examples I find notable and meaningful. 

If you find yourself in a time of lament, grief, or mourning - may you find God's comfort and consolation. And may we all learn to patiently protest the present while confident of God's future reconciliation.

Music Mondays

I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I would be skipping a Music Monday as we studied a Lament Psalm - Ps. 13 - yesterday. 

Finding a family-friendly music selection seemed unlikely. Nothing on Christian radio (or pop radio for that matter) would fit the category of "Lament". After all, who wants to listen to music that reminds you of funerals, famines, or frustrations?


Well, thanks to this blog post, I discovered there are some options available. One in particular stands out to me - probably due to the fact that I think I have heard it on Christian radio. And it turns out, lots of people wanted to listen to music that was lamenting.

So here is Gungor, with "Beautiful Things":