King David lamented,
“How long O Lord”
We lament still today. He came once and we still await his return.
And while we wait, we lament.
We lament and we rejoice, simultaneously.
Lament and rejoicing go together, for to lament is heavy, hard and heart rending. To end lament with rejoice is to infuse hope into a situation where we do not see any.
As I hear the Christmas hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, I hear lament. I hear the story of longing for a redeemer. We are still longing.
As I read Isaiah 64, I also hear lament, right from the first verse:
Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
2 As fire causes wood to burn
and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!
3 When you came down long ago,
you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.
And oh, how the mountains quaked!
4 For since the world began,
no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
5 You welcome those who gladly do good,
who follow godly ways.
But you have been very angry with us,
for we are not godly.
We are constant sinners;
how can people like us be saved?
6 We are all infected and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds,
they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
7 Yet no one calls on your name
or pleads with you for mercy.
Therefore, you have turned away from us
and turned us over to our sins.8 And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.
9 Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.
Please don’t remember our sins forever.
Look at us, we pray,
and see that we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities are destroyed.
Zion is a wilderness;
yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.
11 The holy and beautiful Temple
where our ancestors praised you
has been burned down,
and all the things of beauty are destroyed.
12 After all this, Lord, must you still refuse to help us?
Will you continue to be silent and punish us?
O God, our help in ancient past … our hope for years to come,
You are our God, the only wise God, who does what must be done for your whole of Creation … us as well.
We come to you with expectancy of your return, of your righting all that you created, all that you love.
May we continue to seek you as we wait with groans and yearnings.
Amen
*nascetur pro te, Israel – be born for you, Israel
itsawonderfilledlife 