A Meeting for Worship for Lament and Hope
A Time to Lament
Lament, a practice given to us by our faith tradition through the ages.
As Sarah lamented barrenness,
As Hagar lamented being cast out,
As Moses lamented his people’s oppression,
As Amos lamented the fall of his people from God’s covenant,
As Jesus lamented over broken systems of religion and government,
We too cry, as we experience communal trauma
and share in our sorrow for God’s people and all of creation.
Lament, a practice given to us by examples of those working for equity and justice.
As Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta lamented the treatment of their fellow Mexican American farm worker,
As Bayard Rustin lamented the need for a group of angelic troublemakers,
As Audre Lorde lamented the ways in which silences do not protect the marginalized,
As Grace Lee Boggs lamented the inclusion of her people in the shaping of the society in which she lived,
Lament, a practice given to us by our own ancestors, family, and friends.
Today, we too lament.
A Moment to Center Down and Silence our Hearts
Psalm of Lament - Psalm 38:9-16 (MSG)
9-16 Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight,
my groans an old story to you.
My heart’s about to break;
I’m a burned-out case.
Cataracts blind me to God and good;
old friends avoid me like the plague.
My cousins never visit,
my neighbors stab me in the back.
My competitors blacken my name,
devoutly they pray for my ruin.
But I’m deaf and mute to it all,
ears shut, mouth shut.
I don’t hear a word they say,
don’t speak a word in response.
What I do, God, is wait for you,
wait for my Lord, my God—you will answer!
I wait and pray so they won’t laugh me off,
won’t smugly strut off when I stumble.
A Prayer of Lament for the Role of Women (Adapted from Psalm 13)
Oh Lord, how long will you allow women and girls to be unseen and forgotten?
How long shall they be left with deep sorrow, anguish, and travail?
Oh Lord, how long will women and girls be viewed as second-class citizens?
How long before women and girls will be able to make decisions
for their own health and wellness as well as for their families?
Oh Lord, how long shall they be persecuted by those who have tormented them and taken away their dignity?
How long will they continue to be exploited by those who do not share in their burdens,
nor carry the weight of their collective pain?
Oh Lord, help all to remember that everyone is created in the image of God.
Help all humankind to know that we are of equal value in your eyes.
Dear Lord, we long for the day when reason, not power,
when love, not indifference will lead us to create a more equitable society.
A Time of Silent Reflection for Prayer and Listening
A Prayer of Lament for Our Divisions
Lord our God, our world is flooded with hatred, division, distrust. Arguments tear apart families; communities split along political lines; violence feels far from the last resort. We live in fear and suspicion of others who look or think or act differently. We are weary of conflict and hostility, but peace and harmony seem out of reach.
God, have mercy on your troubled world. Drive away false assumptions with your truth. Reconcile enemies through your transforming grace. Heal the hurts of slander and violence with your patient love. Amen.
A Time of Silent Reflection for Prayer and Listening
A Prayer of Lament for the Hungry
God of abundant riches, many in our world have plenty, and many have far from enough. Children go to bed with empty bellies, and drought makes food scarce. Yet at times the controlling and corrupt disrupt relief efforts, and in other places spoiling food is thrown away because there is too much to eat. Father, our world is broken; we need your love and justice. Why must crops fail? How long must people made in your image starve and wither away?
Give us hope that this is not the way things have to be. Restrain greed, waste, and selfishness. Feed the hungry and provide for the needy. Produce abundant harvests of food in our lands and rich harvests of generous compassion in human hearts. Bless those who use their power and resources to bless others for your kingdom. Amen.
A Time of Silent Reflection for Prayer and Listening
A Prayer of Lament for those Abused
God, we take refuge under the shelter of your wings. Why must any person you have created suffer through abuse? How long must those you love live in fear? Hear the cries of spouses beaten and bruised by those who have pledged to love them. Look upon children belittled and neglected by trusted caretakers. Come to the aid of those who are sexually abused and violated. Show your love to those who have been threatened into silence. We lament, too, that women and girls are especially targeted by such evils.
Defender of the weak, break the power of abusers so they cannot harm anymore. Protect the survivors of abuse; bring them safety and healing. Don’t let anyone turn a blind eye or deaf ear to their pain. Restore their sense of dignity and worth through your unfailing love. We pray to God who has compassion for the harassed and helpless. Amen.
A Time of Silent Reflection for Prayer and Listening
A Prayer of Lament for Refuges
Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. We cry out to you on behalf of all those who have had to flee their homes. How long must your people suffer the destruction and devastation of war and violence? Why must oppressive governments and brutal cartels deprive those you care for of safety?
Look with mercy upon those who endure persecution, those who seek to escape the carnage of natural disasters, those who do not have a place or nation to call home. Be their rock of refuge, to which they can always go. Bring them to a place where they can settle. God, hear our cry for peace, Amen.
A Time of Silent Reflection for Prayer and Listening
A Prayer of Lament for the Forgotten, Overlooked and Dismissed
God who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs, why do you sometimes feel so far away? Where are you when people made in your image are told that we are worthless, a mistake, a waste of time? How long will you allow human beings to be forgotten, overlooked, and dismissed—even by those closest to them?
We cry out to you on behalf of those who have been made to feel that their lives don’t matter, that their voices don’t count, that they have nothing to contribute. Let your face shine on us when we suffer rejection, when we’re told we can’t do anything right, when we think everyone would be better off without us. Show us your favor and love. We look to you because of Jesus, who was born in humility and weakness just like us, who welcomed ALL people, and who calls us His friends. May we live his example in our world, today. Amen.
A Time of Silent Reflection for Prayer and Listening
Prayers of Lament were written by Brian Hoffman or the General Commission on the Status of Women (UMC)