What happens when we come to congregational worship after losing someone we love? Or when we are diagnosed with a terminal disease? Or families are ripped apart by tragedy? Or we realize that located in our midst is sin and it threatens to tear the church apart? Or that natural disasters or financial disasters fall upon our congregation or in the city next to us? Or when we see what is happening across the world where someone is murdered for their race? When a Christian is murdered in their neighbourhood?
How welcoming is our worship when the conventional songs of praise or celebration services put on a bright outlook and façade to a person facing such a predicament? Is there room or a safe place for someone to express their hurts, pains, anger, fear and more? Scriptures certainly says so with a huge chunk of it being honest expression of our realities to God. Do our services move someone from despair to hope in God?
These are questions we must be honest about. Are we as a worshipping community hospitable to expressions of grief, frustrations, brokenness and more even in situations which we may not be directly related to or affected by or even to be blamed for? Biblical worship and authenticity demand that our worship demonstrates not only what is pleasing, but it demonstrates God’s hospitality and desire for our honesty in worship.
In these times where the nakedness of sin is so stark and the anger over injustice is raging over the earth, we the priesthood of believers offer up ourselves to stand in the gap. To love our neighbour as we are called to, letting the Narrative of God be the central not only in good times but also in bad times so that God can transform all the energy of these expressions into transformative action for His kingdom.
Perhaps losing the ability to lament in worship has made us lose part of what it means to be truly human. Even more, perhaps we have not reflected the worship God desires, one that welcomes the least. So FBC, lamenting together is not a niche or novel thing we are trying to do. We are rediscovering who we are meant to be and there is no better time than this.
Using the structure of a Lament from the Psalms. John Witvliet the director of the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship proposes that this could become our basic core in bringing us from the journey from lament to hope. In every culture and church, the style of this will be unique and personal such like a jazz song. It takes on a different embellished outlook but remains in essence, the same in form. Adapted and summarized, the structure in its core is as follows:
- Invocation – We call to God, cry out for Help and ask for Him to come to our aid. We declare that we need him in our times of great need.
- Remembrance of God – We pray and directly address God in the very revelations He has revealed himself to be and call for the demonstration of Who He is.
- Lament – we freely and boldly address our struggles sincerely to God
- Petition – we pray specifically for God to intervene.
- Hope – we express hope, confidence, and trust in God however much it might be a struggle in the present moment.
- Praise – We anticipate Praise although the fulfillment is yet to be seen.
Even as God calls us into a season of lament, let us prepare ourselves to journey together as one body. Prepare your spirit, hearts, mind, soul and strength through the meditation of a lament like Psalm 42. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to know how to respond in this season. We pray that you will join us in the coming service as we journey together to honour God through our worshipful lament.
If you want to share your struggles or needs, reach out to us via TALK-2-US or contact our pastors or even join us in our prayer meetings. We want to be with you, pray with you and cry out to our Father in heaven with you for nothing is too much for Him. Nothing is too small for us to carry to Him who loves us and will always be there for us.