This week in the email newsletter from Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation, they listed this testimony:
I was once invited by a visiting professor at Boston College to write my own psalm of lament. It was an amazing experience as I was going through a very difficult time in my personal life. I often suggest trying it to others who are struggling. The basic structure is to cry out to God, complain, ask for help, express trust, and end with praise and thanksgiving. It can bring great peace.
—Eileen M.
Yes! This is my whole reason for writing this Laments for Lent blog series and my Praying with the Psalmists book and website, prayingwiththepsalmists.com. Praying your own lament, writing your own psalms – those things do your heart so much good! I use the same basic structure she gives, but put it into an acrostic to make it easy to remember:
- Address to God
- Complaint
- Confession of Trust
- Entreaty
- Sureness of Help
- Subsequent Praise
Each week of Lent, we’ve looked at one of the parts of the Lament.
Today is Palm Sunday, the day we celebrate the start of Holy Week – the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowds shouted “Hosanna!” It’s the perfect time to discuss the sixth part of a Lament – Subsequent Praise. Because in so many ways the joy and the cries of “Hosanna!” are looking forward to the day when Christ will indeed be the Ruler of All and make all things right.
This part, I admit, I struggled to make fit the acronym. My Psalms professor’s name for it was “Vow to Praise.” The lovely thing about it is that at the end of most Laments in Psalms, the psalmist takes a moment to talk about how they’re going to praise the Lord after God comes through.
Here are some examples:
Psalm 54:6—
I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
Psalm 61:8—
Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
and fulfill my vows day after day.
Psalm 13:6—
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 79:13—
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
I love this part of writing a lament, because it nudges me to turn toward hope. Taking a moment to visualize how much joy I’ll have when God answers my prayer puts a shot of joy into a tough situation.
Each week I’m also writing an example lament to show you how easy it is to use the form to pray your own lament. This week, I’ll be praying for my best friend Kathe who lost her husband Joe to a heart attack this week.
A Lament for my Friend
Father, I come before you for Kathe and her kids,
holding my friend in your light.
She and Joe married so young –
she was 18, he was 20 –
they’ve shared their whole lives together.
Theirs wasn’t a perfect marriage;
they had their bumpy spots and their annoyances with each other –
but it was a committed marriage –
they stuck it out –
and were there for each other for 44 years.
Looking at the pictures of Joe
as they grew and changed over the years –
I realize how much I’m going to miss him, too.
He saw the funny side of everything,
that came from keen insight.
He pointed out things to think about,
always with humor.
And he was kind.
He cared about people.
A steady presence in my friend’s life
who always made me smile.
Even moments before his last heart attack,
he phoned Kathe that he’d be fine,
that the store personnel called 911 just as a precaution,
and she shouldn’t worry about him.
But for Kathe and their young adult kids
there’s going to be a tremendous gap in their lives.
But Father, you spared Joe’s life many times;
His first heart attack happened decades before.
We’re so thankful for the many years they had together
helping and nurturing their kids to adulthood.
And we are sure Joe is now in heaven with you,
making the angels laugh.
On earth we’ll miss him,
but thank you for the way he brightened the world
while he was here.
Now I ask you to hold Kathe and their kids
close to your heart.
Gently lead them like a shepherd.
Comfort and sustain them
through the valley of the shadow of death.
May they know
you are with them.
And Glory of the Heavens,
there will be a time of unimaginable joy
when Kathe and Joe are reunited
and the best parts of their souls,
the parts that reflect you most,
are what will remain and endure
for an eternity of joy.
***
As every other week, let me urge you to try writing a lament, too.
[Who will be the first in this series to paste their own example into the comments to let me know somebody’s trying it out? You won’t be the very first reader psalm in the comments, but the first in this series. Try it!]