Lament remained a largely personal practice for several years. But, I slowly began to notice the importance of communal lament. Some losses are personal. Other losses are communal and need to be lamented as such. This became even clearer when the pandemic hit in 2020. Many religious leaders lacked the basic vocabulary needed to speak to the fear and pain being experienced by the body of believers.
I have a growing conviction that the Reformed emphasis on right theology has us living far too much in our heads and not enough in our bodies. As a result we miss out on many of the good gifts God surrounds us with daily, brushing blindly past them, distracted and absorbed with the thoughts in our heads.
Mary’s posture of treasuring and pondering is the most appropriate one we can take in the midst of this Advent season. Therefore, it is important for us to pause in the middle of the hustle and bustle, and to join Mary in treasuring and pondering.
