Lamentation During a Pandemic

We lament the loss of communal worship events such as weekly chapel in the atrium, which now sits empty. (Image: kingsu.ca)

Our ministry team meeting this past week was unusual. Instead of meeting in person as usual, we met over Zoom. We are realizing that the space where we usually meet might be too confined, and that we cannot do things the way we’ve always done them. The format of the meeting was not the only reason it was unusual. What began as a simple question—“What are you lamenting in this time?”—led to almost an entire meeting devoted to discussing how this pandemic has changed things for all of us, and what we miss most. We all feel torn between trying to do the right thing and trying to connect in more normal ways. The discussion about what and how we lament feels very important right now, when we are tired of isolation and stressed about the future. Rather than brushing off the pain, lamentation encourages us to face it head on.

As our ministry group discussed what we are currently lamenting, similar themes kept coming up. We lament that we cannot gather with family without feeling guilty about possibly infecting them. We lament that we are feeling disconnected from Christian community, and have mixed feelings about if we should even be going to church. We lament that the events that we were once able to run without thinking about it, such as the Refresh worship night, are now much more complicated and have to be limited in attendance. We lament that our opportunities for community are restricted in this season of our lives, which for so many people is defined by the friendships made and the opportunities to socialize.

 The next question we discussed was “What is God teaching you through this time?” For many of us, that is a hard question to answer. It feels like we were on the right track, with a large group of the student body eager to grow in faith together, and then we all got sidelined. There are lessons to be learned, though. For some of us, like me, the lack of community is emphasizing the need to be personally committed to our faith journeys. The pandemic is giving us time and space to invest in our relationships with God, and we are learning to push ourselves when there is no one to do the pushing.

(Image: kingsu.ca)

Lament is a Christian discipline that has deep roots. With the psalmists, we lament from a place of faith and trust in God.

Another thing a lot of us are learning is that we need face-to-face connection. There is a temptation to continually be on our devices, but this pandemic has shown us that there is no way to replace the in-person connection we get when we put those devices down and see real people. There is also an opportunity like never before to love our neighbours as ourselves, as we practice hygiene, wear masks, and isolate to protect those around us. We are having to come up with new and creative ways to serve others. One team member put it very nicely, saying “I feel like everything is going well for me personally right now. But I am not content, because I am struggling to know how to serve the Lord in this time.”

None of us has all the answers, but we were encouraged through our time of lamenting and discussion together. Lamenting does not have to mean griping about everything that is going wrong in our lives, but being sad in the context of faith for what we have lost. It is crying out to God when things are not the way they are supposed to be, and really, when life does not fit with the promises God has made us in Scripture. Lament is a Christian discipline that has deep roots. With the psalmists, we lament from a place of faith and trust in God. If you have time, take a look at a psalm of lament this week; Psalm 13 is particularly powerful. Notice how after the psalmist is done crying out to God, accusing God, he returns back to the truth he knows in his bones: “But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation.”   

In this time, we hope to encourage the community to lament when it is called for, knowing that this can be honouring to God in the same way as rejoicing. So, what are you lamenting right now? What do you hear God teaching you through this time?