Friday 23 May 2014
- Bible Book:
- Jeremiah
“Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us!” (v. 9b)
Background
These verses from Jeremiah form part of a liturgy of lament.Here the words describe the drought that the people areexperiencing, with verses 2-6 providing a vivid picture of theirdistress and mourning.
There is no reference to who is speaking, nor to who is beingaddressed. In the desolation it appears that even the deity isabsent, the parched landscape indicating an absent god. The peopleask why God will not act: whether God cannot or is unwilling. Godis referred to as a stranger or a traveller who stops overnight andthen moves on, and yet God's presence is acknowledged in the midstof the community. God is recognised as Israel's hope and saviour.It is to God that the people belong.
To Ponder
- In times of lament people cry out to God: declaring theirsuffering, questioning their situation, and appealing to God toact. Consider how often lament is part of public worship, andwhether there is a place for it today?
- How do you respond before God in times of suffering andstruggle?
- During those times when it feels as if God is absent, whathelps to remind you that God is in our midst?