An Angel's Lament — A Funny Kind of Obedience

Mar 6

Mar 6 An Angel's Lament

lament

verb

to mourn aloud, to express sorrow, wail, complaint, to regret strongly

The Christian tradition of Lent is often a time of mourning and self examination. By and large, I do not think Americans take time to grieve. I am writing some thoughts on grief and taking time to lament.

Of all the cultures, I think the Irish get it the best with grieving and lament. Of course, we see it in all sorts of tribes, too. My family and I lived for a few years in Uganda. The tribe we lived among did not grieve out loud, they were silent. My husband worked in the local hospital and there were some people visiting from up north. When their loved one passed on, they WAILED. It was quite a contrast and there was no doubt of their pain. As an American, I am familiar with Irish lament through song and movie themes. There is something about a violin or cello that awaken our senses to another world and that all is not well here. It makes my heart ache to hear an Appalachian lament or an Irish lament. Keening is their verb. It is poetic imagination as typically, a woman would compose the keen with intense passion and emotion upon the first wave of grief or act of death. Did you know, animals keen, too? I heard that term recently with elephants, that they were keening after the loss of a little one during a drought.

I was challenged by the idea of angels experiencing sorrow or grief once when my friend's dad made a sculpture of Gabriel in Golgotha. It’s at the death of Jesus and it is so profound that I am moved every time I see it.

So, how can angels grieve? Angels sit in the presence of God and they see the whole picture. There is a mystery of the Holy grieving. Perfect beings can mourn. We see Jesus crying at the death of his friend Lazarus right before he raised him from the dead. It is a mystery to me how he can weep when he KNEW he was going to raise him from the dead.

So, I wondered how would an angel lament. This is my attempt.

To our people, our fellow citizens of the earth who bear the weight of wait for Jesus to return. Remember when John wrote in Revelation what we showed him, “and the dragon stood on the shore of the sea and he makes war against you.” To the Lamb who was slain who stands in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. To Him who sends the seven spirits out into ALL the earth.

A Lament of Angels

to mourn aloud

Daughters of Eve and Sons of Adam, why are you so blind, where is your faith? Is there in any of your kind that can see past and see Truth? We long to comfort you, but you will not be comforted. We long to guide you, but you will not be led. We long to help you, but you will not see us or ask for us. We wait, we wait, we wait for a time and time and time again. We mourn your blindness, we mourn your stubbornness, we mourn your self worship and sufficiency. Our heart aches for you, royalty, to know your place.

Yet, we remember.