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Hello St. John’s Family,
On Sunday, September 7, I began my message with this quote:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…
With each passing day, I see more and more wisdom in those opening lines of Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities. One moment, my mind flashes to last Saturday, and the amazing 41st St. John’s Chicken BBQ. A beautiful day with so many people across all ages working, laughing, taking in the aroma of BBQ, enjoying amazing home-baked goodies, and greeting our community with hospitality and love. It was a great day – offering the best of fellowship and togetherness to our community. I want to thank everyone who came together to make this day a great success.
Then I walk into the parsonage early Wednesday evening and learn of another horrific shooting. Three police officers killed and two others clinging to life in a shooting that occurred 15 miles from my childhood home. I grew up there… enjoyed many days canoeing on Lake Marburg (including senior skip day!), driving to and from on the winding country roads through North Codorus Township and taking in the beauty. In a scenic – dare I say idyllic – area that resembles central Bucks County, some of the worst violence we humans can perpetrate against each other happens yet again.
I sat down, exhausted and sickened by this news, closed my eyes and whispered: “I’m done. How long will we keep doing this to each other? I can’t… I’m done.” And I was. I was done with everything.
We all have moments when we’re done. Lately, they seem to be happening way too frequently… yet we all have them. We have them individually and collectively. And I firmly believe we need to name them. We need to name the fact that things are not how they should be – they’re far, far from it – and that is hurting us deeply. We don’t understand, and we need God to hear that. In other words, we need to lament.
Lament, as pastor Rich Villodas has written, “is not just feeling sad. Lament is not simply grieving. Lament is choosing to bring our pain, our questions, our anger, and our sorrow before God. Lament says: Lord, we can’t carry this by ourselves.” In lament, we name exactly what we’re facing and exactly how we feel, then turn to God while opening ourselves to God’s perspective. In lament, we honestly express our hurt, then open ourselves to be reminded that God hears our cries. That God hasn’t abandoned us.
The book of Lamentations contains prayerful poems that capture the depth of the hurt, pain, isolation, and questions that exiled Hebrew survivors expressed after being defeated by Babylon. They are honest, raw… and ultimately, hopeful: So I say, “Gone is my glory and all that I had hoped for from the Lord.”
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:18, 22-24)
If personal difficulties or illness, ongoing violence, fractured partisanship, injustice in our society and world, or one of a multitude of other aspects of the brokenness of this age is weighting you down, I encourage you to lament to God by praying those verses. Tell God you’re hurting, your hope is waning, and then ask God to open your heart to God’s love each new day. In my experience, lament helps us to lift up our heads and begin to walk again. It reminds us how good things are around us, and how we can “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). It reminds us that, after a rough Wednesday, we can come together, share a good meal, fellowship, and a fun movie on Friday night (dinner starts at 6pm – don’t be late!). Lament opens the door to hope.
This Sunday we’ll gather to worship and praise Christ our Lord. We’ll continue our exploration of hope, seeing that while striving and ambition often deplete us, there are tangible, life-giving ways to cultivate and nourish hope in our lives. At our 10:30 service, we’ll be blessed to celebrate a Baptism... it will be a meaningful morning of worship! Check out John 3:1-9 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15 then join me in worship on Sunday!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Brad
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