Haggai 1:15b - 2:9
This Sunday we explored the ancient concept of lament. Lament is a cry of utter helplessness to God, where we name the misery of our current circumstances. As individuals and a church there is much that we would say is not what we want it to be. Too often we want to hide from the harshness of our present reality. But lament is the very opposite of denial. It involves naming our presnet reality and giving ourselves the permission to grieve. We don't do this well in our western society. We want to maintain a stiff upper lip, and pretend that everything is alright, but things are not always right for us and for others.
Lament though is not about wallowing in misery. The upside of lament is that we also name the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Through him we have an assurance that things will be restored, that what is broken will be restored, and that the best is always yet to come.
It has been said that many of the personal grievances we reflect upon, are simply the outcome of the “hand” we’ve been dealt in life, generally from birth. We cannot choose our parents or the circumstances into which we are born, or the attributes of our physical and intellectual make up. And what stems from many of these things may cause us to lament “our lot” in later life. Of course there are many resourceful people who are able to “dig deep”, with a preparedness to do whatever it takes to rise above their lot and the hand they’ve been dealt.
ReplyDeleteA young lad of 14 years began an electrical apprenticeship many years ago. He struggled through long days of difficult, dirty and thankless tasks as each year passed. In the beginning the foremen and other tradesmen “used” him as they did then, like a source of “cheap labour”, to clean motor parts and sweep the bare wooden floors of the workshop. At the end of his apprenticeship, he was a qualified electrician, but not quite, for his “preparation” by those who were responsible for his training, fell far short of the skills he truly required.
To his dismay, he was to observe in later life, bright young engineering graduates who had attended university placed in good, clean sanitized offices and handed design work he could only ever dream about and paid salaries, he would never see in his life time. It’s a stark example of the journey many people are called upon to endure, through the so called “school of hard knocks”. At the end of the day, when the journey is over, many such people can see the missed opportunities and the glaring inequalities, which can make such a difference between success and failure. The “outcome” of the hand we’ve been dealt.
Where does faith, belief or devotion to Jesus Christ make a difference to all of that? I can accept that lament doesn’t necessarily cause us to go into denial as such, but it can and it could result in any number of maladies, not least of which can be depression. What is often annoying is that we applaud success and laud those who stand head and shoulders above others, why? The point I’m making is that Christ looks upon the “heart” and those who are weary and heavy laden. Does worldly “success” matter to Christ? I’m not so sure about that.
There is a great deal to lament, in this crazy mixed up world of billionaires, wealthy entertainers and “professionals”, who by their life styles and blatant show of success, make a nonsense of the hard, honest work of everyday ordinary people, labourers and tradies and such like. The upside of lament needs to result in much more than “hope”. If we can truly “feel” and harness the positive power that a “tool” like lament can generate, our prayers could have far reaching effects for those who are fed up and near exhaustion. Too many people are weighed down by thoughts that they never made the grade, or that the blessings we speak of in the community of faith have never materialised, which can make faith a sham.
Regards
Mal L.