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Going into today’s class, I was really skeptical over whether or not this class would be enjoyable and dynamic. I mean, the Book of Lamentations? Not necessarily common fodder for sermons or discussions.
Well, I am glad that I was completely wrong. I was blown away today at Dr. Leslie Allen’s class as he passionately introduced the Book of Lamentations and framed our minds around the context and use of this piece of Scripture in both the ancient Jewish culture and the it’s use today. The Book of Lamentations served as a road map for a community going through pain and loss and needed to grieve.
Dr. Allen brought up a compelling point that in Western culture, we are completely inept at being able to move through a healthy grieving process. We are either told to buck up, get over it, stay strong…or we are given hope to quickly and forcefully which doesn’t allow us to enter into the healthy state of experiencing and acknowledging a loss.
Jewish culture, Allen informed us, is fully capable of this healthy grieving process. They are able to look into the past and grieve the void that now has been created in the present as a result of a loss. They go beyond just wearing black to separate themselves from normal culture and shave their beards (which is a symbol of masculinity), they wear old jackets with torn coattails, and they sometimes even cut themselves to externally show the grieve they are experiencing inside. As they move through this state of grief, they are able to, as a community, turn to God and ask that He meet them and bring them peace and comfort as they move forward into the future. This healthy grief process holds in tension the realities that there has been a tragic loss and that there is hope from God for the future.
The discussion today really impacted me as I am going to be presiding alongside another pastor over a funeral tomorrow for a man that I mentioned in a previous post.
How can we, as pastors, friends, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, and parents create an environment where people in our lives can move through a healthy cycle of grief without feeling pressure, guilt, or ostracism for doing so?
I am looking forward to what God has to share with us about this grieving process as I turn to the Book of Lamentations for the next 10 weeks. I hope that we can all grow in our understanding of what it means to have a theology of grief…
