Lent Guide 2023Sample

Week 2: Places I go when I suffer loss

“Mourn, my people, mourn.

Let your pain rise up in your heart and burst forth in you with sobs and cries.

Mourn for the silence that exists between you and your spouse.

Mourn for the way you were robbed of your innocence.

Mourn for the absence of a soft embrace, an intimate friendship, a life-giving sexuality.

Mourn for the abuse of your body, your mind, your heart.

Mourn for the bitterness of your children, the indifference of your friends, your colleagues’ hardness of heart.

Mourn for those whose hunger for love brought them AIDs, whose desire for freedom brought them to refugee camps, whose hunger for justice brought them to prisons.

Cry for the millions who die from lack of food, lack of care, lack of love…

Don’t think of this as normal, something to be taken for granted, something to accept… Think of it as the dark force of Evil that has penetrated every human heart, every family, every community, every nation, and keeps you imprisoned.”

Cry for freedom, for salvation, for redemption.

Cry loudly and deeply,

and trust that your tears will make your eyes see that the Kingdom is close at hand,

yes, at your fingertips!”

(Henri Nouwen: New Oxford Review, June 1992).

Sunday:

When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy! Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.

Psalm 126

In the wilderness I am confronted with dimensions of life I cannot escape. Suffering is one of these dimensions. How I deal with it is a determining factor of my life.

When I look at the life of Jesus, I see how He prepares me for life. In Him I find a prototype for living. If I want to understand something, I look at him. I see that He has also suffered. Not only physically, but also emotionally. He didn’t just lose his freedom. He also had to give up his dream: “Not my will, but Yours” (paraphrase Luke 22:42)

During his most difficult time, the disciples weren’t there for him. Through his life I see how suffering is a signpost to God. Through his life I see how I can be comforted by the Holy Spirit. Through His life I see - joy comes in the morning.

Grace:

Lord, I ask for the grace of tears, to mourn my losses.