As I sat in the garden last
month, with the trees in blossom , the birds singing and the sky an
uninterrupted blue, I had the thought that this does not look like a global
pandemic is supposed to look. Many have noted the strange contrast between
Spring arriving in all its beauty in a world of sorrow and fear, and it almost
seems wrong.
I have often written about the hope
that the rhthym of the seasons brings, but that is not to deny or whitewash
over the struggle and pain this virus has brought to many, in all sorts of
different ways. By the time this is read, all being well, we may have moved to
a new level and our lives may be a little more free, which will be a cause for
celebration but we do also need to create a space to lament.
Lamenting is not popular in our
society today, but we have a lot to learn from it. In a book I recently read,
“Raging with compassion” by J Swinton, the author describes lament as a prayer
that” takes the brokenness of human experience into the heart of God and demand
that God answer.” It is a way of asking God the question why? Why did this happen to our world, why did
this happen to the ones I love, why is this happening to me? Many people have
been finding the Psalms a real help in the past few months, putting into words
the things they felt and wanted to say, for the Psalmists do not choose their
words carefully, there is no political correctness, but an outpouring of the heart
of man.
“My heart is in anguish within
me;
The terrors of death have
fallen upon me .
Fear and trembling have beset
me :
Horror has overwhelmed me .”
Psalm 55 vs 4-6
For all that however they are
deeply hopeful. The Psalmists cry out in present suffering, but have hope and
faith that things will not always be this way, that God loves us and will keep
his promises.
As our community begins to move
on from this, it will be important not to deny what has happened and how we
have felt. Real healing will begin when we can look at our suffering, at the
sorrow of this world yet not let it overwhelm us, real peace will begin when we
can move on in hope for better things,
but recognising that even amidst the
pain of this world, we are loved by God.
The psalmist finishes Psalm 55
with the words:
“Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;”
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