Tuesday, Day 3 of Advent

Micah 7:1-7 (CEB)
I don't know if we know how to lament properly. We have lots of examples of it in the Bible, but it is almost as if we ignore the art of lamenting in our daily life. Sometimes, its just good to let it out, before we run out of rose colored glasses and slip into full on despair. For instance, I can't watch the news these days because it makes me so sad. And sometimes I feel trapped into thinking I have no outlet for that sadness. I am so saddened that this Black Friday broke the record of every previous Black Friday. I am so sad to see people participating in Cyber Monday, a fictitious thing to dupe people into spending more money. I am so sad that friends of mine camped out and went to Wal-Mart, which is the prime example of our country worshiping bigness that is sucking the soul of our smallness. I am sad that our country packed stores to buy things we don't need at the expense of the environment and the poor who truly need our help.
But, like Micah, my lament only starts that way. in 7:1 of the Common English Bible it reads, "I am doomed." It feels that way. That the entire world is falling in and crushing us, and we don't know our escape. And in our sadness, we realize our own complicity in the damage that is being done! But remember, we are lamenting here. Its good to see and say these things. Because in our lament, we finally get to verse 7:7 (CEB) "But me! I will keep watch for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me." When we stare into the darkness of our lament, we are more readily able to see the light shine through. Patagonia does a campaign that says, "Do not buy this jacket." People sit out. We are making our own Christmas gifts, and are finding joy in it.
Lamenting doesn't mean we walk around sad all the time. Lamenting means that we are honest. And if we are also honest about our faith; lament can produce a powerful change of heart.