This morning I returned to the little storefront church to hear my friend preach. You could tell he was a bit nervous, this being his first time, but I think he did a good job. Much better than I would in the same situation. I was expecting him to preach on Acts, since that was where I left them two weeks ago, but for some reason he chose the third chapter of the Book of Lamentations.
Now, Lamentations, like Job, is not an "easy" book. If you are looking for "Chicken Soup" you will not find it here. Basically, Lamentations are a series of poems traditionally said to be written by the prophet Jeremiah that describe the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and they're pretty graphic. All you need to do is take a look at the images of a ruined and struggling Japan and you get the picture. Now, according to the Bible all this happened because the people didn't heed the prophets' call to repentance. I have some problems with this kind of thinking which I won't go into now.
My friend said there are times when bad things happen because God is trying to send a message/punish and then there are times when bad things happen randomly. Nevertheless God is in control.? and when the bad times come that means we must turn to Him. We must wait on Him no matter how long it takes. He reminded the congregation that the saying God helps those who help themselves is not in the Bible. Ralph used to say that too in the fellowship I attended. Well, it may not be in the Bible, but I never heard of anyone improving their position in life by just sitting back and waiting on the Lord. Not to be blasphemous here, but it seems like the Lord has different priorities and you can wait a long long time for help that may or may not come. And (if I understood him correctly) if you are not a Christian you might as well not waste your time, because God will not listen. But as verses 31-33 say, God is a loving God who really doesn't want to do all this bad stuff but He has to for our own good. I have a little problem with that, too.
But there was one part that I had absolutely no problem understanding, and that was verses 61-63. "You have heard them insult me, O Lord, you know all their plots. All day long they talk about me and make their plans. From morning to night they make fun of me." We on the spectrum know about this all too well. It doesn't matter if you are religious or not, in a public school or a faith-based one, this is our reality. EVERY SINGLE DAY. "Wait upon the Lord." Yeah, right. It was not the Lord who delivered me, it was time. No matter how hard I prayed, it did not stop. No one stepped in. None.
Apparently the author had also experienced that, for he ends his poem with this wish:
"Punish them for what they have done, O Lord. Curse them and fill them with despair. Hunt them down and wipe them off the earth!" How many of us could nod our heads in agreement with that prayer? How many of us have prayed a version of that down in the dark night of our souls, underneath the wave of despair (as one person on this forum so eloquently put it)? Only those who have been there know what it is like. Which is why we have a hard time relating to "Chicken Soup" platitudes. Lamentations is for all of us, not just Christians or Jews. We've been there and we know.
Now, Lamentations, like Job, is not an "easy" book. If you are looking for "Chicken Soup" you will not find it here. Basically, Lamentations are a series of poems traditionally said to be written by the prophet Jeremiah that describe the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and they're pretty graphic. All you need to do is take a look at the images of a ruined and struggling Japan and you get the picture. Now, according to the Bible all this happened because the people didn't heed the prophets' call to repentance. I have some problems with this kind of thinking which I won't go into now.
My friend said there are times when bad things happen because God is trying to send a message/punish and then there are times when bad things happen randomly. Nevertheless God is in control.? and when the bad times come that means we must turn to Him. We must wait on Him no matter how long it takes. He reminded the congregation that the saying God helps those who help themselves is not in the Bible. Ralph used to say that too in the fellowship I attended. Well, it may not be in the Bible, but I never heard of anyone improving their position in life by just sitting back and waiting on the Lord. Not to be blasphemous here, but it seems like the Lord has different priorities and you can wait a long long time for help that may or may not come. And (if I understood him correctly) if you are not a Christian you might as well not waste your time, because God will not listen. But as verses 31-33 say, God is a loving God who really doesn't want to do all this bad stuff but He has to for our own good. I have a little problem with that, too.
But there was one part that I had absolutely no problem understanding, and that was verses 61-63. "You have heard them insult me, O Lord, you know all their plots. All day long they talk about me and make their plans. From morning to night they make fun of me." We on the spectrum know about this all too well. It doesn't matter if you are religious or not, in a public school or a faith-based one, this is our reality. EVERY SINGLE DAY. "Wait upon the Lord." Yeah, right. It was not the Lord who delivered me, it was time. No matter how hard I prayed, it did not stop. No one stepped in. None.
Apparently the author had also experienced that, for he ends his poem with this wish:
"Punish them for what they have done, O Lord. Curse them and fill them with despair. Hunt them down and wipe them off the earth!" How many of us could nod our heads in agreement with that prayer? How many of us have prayed a version of that down in the dark night of our souls, underneath the wave of despair (as one person on this forum so eloquently put it)? Only those who have been there know what it is like. Which is why we have a hard time relating to "Chicken Soup" platitudes. Lamentations is for all of us, not just Christians or Jews. We've been there and we know.
