א Aleph
I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath.
He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.
Yes, he repeatedly turns his hand
against me all day long.
ב Beth
He has worn away my flesh and skin;
he has broken my bones.
He has laid siege against me,
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.
ג Gimel
He has walled me in so I cannot get out;
he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I cry out and plead for help,
he blocks out my prayer.
He has walled in my ways with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.
ד Daleth
He is a bear waiting in ambush,
a lion in hiding.
He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
he left me desolate.
He strung his bow
and set me as the target for his arrow.
ה He
He pierced my kidneys
with shafts from his quiver.
I am a laughingstock to all my people,
mocked by their songs all day long.
He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.
ו Waw
He ground my teeth with gravel
and made me cower in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
Then I thought, “My future is lost,
as well as my hope from the LORD.”
ז Zayin
Remember my affliction and my homelessness,
the wormwood and the poison.
I continually remember them
and have become depressed.
Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
ח Cheth
Because of the LORD’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!
I say, “The LORD is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in him.”
ט Teth
The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who seeks him.
It is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the LORD.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is still young.
י Yod
Let him sit alone and be silent,
for God has disciplined him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust—
perhaps there is still hope.
Let him offer his cheek
to the one who would strike him;
let him be filled with disgrace.
כ Kaph
For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
Even if he causes suffering,
he will show compassion
according to the abundance of his faithful love.
For he does not enjoy bringing affliction
or suffering on mankind.
ל Lamed
Crushing all the prisoners of the land
beneath one’s feet,
denying justice to a man
in the presence of the Most High,
or subverting a person in his lawsuit—
the Lord does not approve of these things.
מ Mem
Who is there who speaks and it happens,
unless the Lord has ordained it?
Do not both adversity and good
come from the mouth of the Most High?
Why should any living person complain,
any man, because of the punishment for his sins?
נ Nun
Let’s examine and probe our ways,
and turn back to the LORD.
Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven:
“We have sinned and rebelled;
you have not forgiven.
ס Samek
“You have covered yourself in anger and pursued us;
you have killed without compassion.
You have covered yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can get through.
You have made us disgusting filth
among the peoples.
פ Pe
“All our enemies
open their mouths against us.
We have experienced panic and pitfall,
devastation and destruction.”
My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.
ע Ayin
My eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,
until the LORD looks down
from heaven and sees.
My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.
צ Tsade
For no reason, my enemies
hunted me like a bird.
They smothered my life in a pit
and threw stones on me.
Water flooded over my head,
and I thought, “I’m going to die!”
ק Qoph
I called on your name, LORD,
from the depths of the pit.
You heard my plea:
Do not ignore my cry for relief.
You came near whenever I called you;
you said, “Do not be afraid.”
ר Resh
You championed my cause, Lord;
you redeemed my life.
LORD, you saw the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
You saw all their vengefulness,
all their plots against me.
שׂ Sin / שׁ Shin
LORD, you heard their insults,
all their plots against me.
The slander and murmuring of my opponents
attack me all day long.
When they sit and when they rise, look,
I am mocked by their songs.
ת Taw
You will pay them back what they deserve, LORD,
according to the work of their hands.
You will give them a heart filled with anguish.
May your curse be on them!
You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
under your heavens.
Click here to listen to the Scripture in ESV.
View this work of art, Reduction I, by Kondō Takahiro, connected to Sunday’s sermon passage.
As you look at this week’s piece, take a few quiet moments to notice details, colors, or emotions that stand out to you. Ask God what he might be saying through the image, and listen for his insight in your thoughts, feelings, or prayers.
Commentary:
Reduction I is one of five porcelain sculptures created by artist Kondō Takahiro based on casts of his own body, all made in response to the 2011 Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster. According to the Minneapolis Institute of Art where this sculpture resides, this particular figure represents the archetypal Japanese person in the timeless form of a Buddhist holy man, seated in meditation.
This sculpture powerfully conveys the tangible presence of grief in the face of destruction, disaster, and the loss of home and future security for an entire people. In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the residents of Japan have lived daily with the visible and invisible effects of the fallout, like the generation before them lived through the devastating bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Kondō is known for his unique technique of glazing his porcelain works with silver mist which here evokes the pervasive presence of that nuclear fallout.
Even in captivity, life went on for the Israelites, though they carried their grief and longing for home and security with them everywhere they went. While Scripture demonstrates their subjugation was a result of their sin and disobedience, a work like Reduction I offers us the opportunity to reflect on the consequences of such destruction and captivity on each individual human being.
Lamentations reminds us that it is important to make space for grief and to honor what is lost, but also reminds us our grief is not the end. As Lamentations 3:22-23 promises,
Because of the LORD’s faithful love,
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!
Art Source: Reduction I, Kondō Takahiro, 2013. The Minneapolis Institute of Art. Photo by Kelly Kruse. Used by permission.
Ask God to renew your hope in the middle of suffering and waiting.
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.