Sometimes, all we can do is Lament and Trust

One thing you can say for sure about the Old Testament is that it is filled with human anguish and feelings with which we can identify. The Jewish people were honest with their God and easily expressed a variety of feelings when speaking to him. They praised Him when things went well, and expressed their joy, they complained when things got tough and shared with him their confusion and despair, and they called on him in their every need in a very human way. The Book of Lamentations is a book in the Old Testament we rarely hear read in church or one we turn to in prayer. On Holy Saturday, when the liturgical service of Tenebrae is celebrated, many readings are taken from that book to express our desolation about the death of the Lord. There are also a few sections of it that may be chosen for a funeral Mass. But, for the most part, however, the complaining and sadness of God’s people is usually kept in the background as truths not to be expressed.

This week, I read a short essay in Time Magazine written by N.T. Wright, a well-known Protestant professor of the New Testament, which reminded me of the fact that, sometimes, in our relationship with God, lamenting is all we can offer. It’s “our truth” at times. It seems to be the world’s truth right now. In this time of pandemic, there is much to be said for lamenting. Here is what Dr. Wright wrote recently:

“No doubt some will tell us why God is doing this. A punishment? A warning? Perhaps the biblical tradition we really need to turn to is to lament. Lament is what happens when people ask: ‘Why?’ and don’t get an answer. It’s where we get to when we move beyond our self-centered worry about our failings and look at the suffering of the world. In the Bible, God also laments. The Spirit groans. Jesus weeps. God grieves for his world. It is no part of the Christian vocation to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain – and to lament instead. As the Spirit laments within us, so we become small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell. And out of that can emerge new possibilities, new acts of kindness, new scientific understanding…and new hope.”