(EIGHT MORE RHYMES)
The other day, I tried to write the word “brokenness”, and my computer auto-corrected to “broken mess”. I thought, what an appropriate title for a blog. We often find ourselves in the middle of a mess, and we are all broken people. Two realities that coexist in life.
I don’t know about you, but in this season of Lent, I feel a bit downtrodden and sad. How about you? In the span of a few weeks, a good friend of mine lost her mother; another good friend lost his mother, a longtime friend received a life-changing diagnosis; another friend had radical surgery; a friend had a life-giving transplant; and another friend had some deep hurtful things happen to her young son. The weight of these things is heavy as I pray for each one. I can’t know what they are going through; I can only acknowledge that I will sit in the sadness and grief with them for as long as it takes; be a shoulder to cry on or a voice to listen to their fears and discouragement; or rejoice with signs of physical or emotional healing. I’m reminded almost daily as I read the Psalms that life was hard then as it is now. Listen to some of the lament of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.” These are the heartfelt cries of David as he fled the arrows of betrayal from friends and family. “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.” No wonder we don’t want to face the harsh realities and painful situations of life! Some days, I’d rather just stay under the covers.
The purpose of Lent is to guide us to our only Source of hope for this weary world. Author Anne Lamott affectionately calls GOD the “Gift Of Desperation”! The Psalms remind me that He longs to come into the places of suffering because, as Richard Rohr expresses in his book, Breathing Under Water, “Jesus was made to order for the transformative problems of addiction and human suffering. From the cross, He draws all suffering people to Himself.” Rohr goes on to write, “The suffering creatures of this world have a divine Being who does not judge or condemn them, or in any way stand aloof from their plight, but instead, a Being who hangs with them and flows through them, and even toward them, in their despair….What else could save the world? What else would the human heart love and desire? Further, this God wants to love and to be loved rather than be served (John 15:15). How wonderful is that?! It turns the history of religion on its head.” (pp.118,119) Our broken messes speak to the brokenness of this world.
I started with a portion of Psalm 22, and I will end with a promise of God’s presence in the suffering, which is, quite honestly the Absurd Hope (YAHWEH: Yes, Absurd Hope Which Encourages Hearts) to which we cling: “”For He has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
Anne Lamott has written a wonderful book entitled Help, Thanks, Wow. These three words are all appropriate stand-alone prayers. During this season of Lent, which reminds us of our fragility, may these words and the words of Psalm 22, bring comfort and hope.
The purpose of Lent
you can always depend
on the rod and the staff of His comfort
The purpose of Lent
points out areas we are reticent
to accept God’s offer of forgiveness
The purpose of Lent
is the season to lament
over pride and injustice and greed
The purpose of Lent
tender road to becoming penitent
in the wrestling of hips that wobble and limp
The purpose of Lent
it leads to descent
and the darkness of the cave that you fear
The purpose of Lent
is to purge discontent
that hardens the heart in despair
The purpose of Lent
it’s not by accident
that God will surprise you with new growth
The purpose of Lent
is to draw out consent
for the will of the Father to shine.
Photo by Thomas Jarrand on Unsplash
