The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Lamentations 3:19-22, NLT
Jeremiah was in Jerusalem when the Babylonian army marched into town. He had been warning his people, so this was no surprise. Still, surprised or not, to see an enemy army invade your hometown, loot, rape, capture, and destroy is not easily witnessed nor consoled.
Jeremiah wrote a whole book that sounds like a journal of grief and mourning. Lamentations or “Tears” is what it is called, and it is an apt description of what happens when one witnesses a slow-motion human train wreck. A child going down the road of addiction. A mass-killing in a local school. A family member joining a gang and sabotaging his/her future. A capable loved one living far below their ability and gifts.
It’s like that. And it’s what caused Jeremiah’s tears. Seeing his people needlessly lose their lives and culture.
Mourning is a barometer of compassion and care for others. It, no doubt, is what caused the famous Chef Andres to create his World Central Kitchen which goes to places where there is war, starvation, and natural disasters to cook food for the people. He would not have undertaken such compassionate acts had he not mourned over their suffering.
Mourning of the sort Jesus talks about knows that the ultimate corrective is God’s comfort. Sometimes it comes quickly with the loving support and care of compassionate people. At other times it is delayed by the gross paralysis of the world, waiting on the final and ultimate comfort God will bring to us.
Even though Jeremiah could see no comfort in the devastation of Jerusalem, he could still say, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.”
Prayer:
O God, we are burdened with grief for Gaza, Ukraine, those trapped under the rule of ruthless dictators, and in places like Darfur. These places look hopeless when viewed in human time, but we know that your rescue and comfort is coming as you promised. Be with those who are full of mourning. In Jesus’ name. Amen.