Songs of Lament
Stop.
Close your eyes. Breathe in and say, “Even in my struggles.” Breathe out and say, “You are with me, God.” Repeat as many times as you need.
Listen.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. – Psalm 13:1, 6
Reflect.
In 1986, the now-eminent Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann wrote an article called “The Costly Loss of Lament”. In it, he argues that a community of faith loses out when it doesn’t express lament together. When we remove the songs of lament from our worship, from lament psalms to songs of lament to expressions of grief, we distance ourselves from expectations of God’s action in our lives and the need to act for justice in our communities. When we don’t lament, we lose.
Indeed, many churches do not include psalms, hymns, or songs of lament in their worship. We offer upbeat songs, wanting people to feel good about church, thereby setting the expectation that worship is something we do to feel better about ourselves and the world. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we avoid lament, the more we create the expectation that we avoid lament.
However, worship isn’t about feeling good – it’s about telling the truth. Sometimes the truth is that life is hard, events are scary, and justice is hard to find. When we leave these realities out of our worship, we stop telling the truth. Most notably, we fail to tell the truth that God can do something about these struggles and that our suffering matters to God.
In the psalms, some of the worship songs were songs of lament. They expressed personal and community pain and frustration. These songs were worth singing, not because they made people feel good, but because they let people feel exactly what they were feeling. They claimed those feelings as a worthwhile expression of faith. These songs expressed truths about who God is, what God can do, and that we need God most of all in hard times.
Consider that all songs – even and especially the sad ones – give us a chance to raise our voices to God and claim the fullness of our lives as an opportunity to express faith.
Pray.
God, I don’t always feel happy, excited, joyful, or full of praise. Thank you for giving me space to bring these emotions and needs to you. As I join with the whole community, help me to support others in their grief, happiness, fear, or hope. Amen.
Carry On.
Read the rest of Psalm 13. How does it feel? What parts of your life connect with this psalm? Is there someone in your life this week who needs this psalm to give voice to their struggle or hurt?