Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Our first reading today comes from the book of Lamentations - a very appropriate book for us to read at this time. The word “lament” means to “cry out loud because of great sadness.” I believe that we, right now, are in a time of lamenting - a time of mourning and grief. We may each be lamenting for different reasons - loss of a loved one, loss of our normal way of life, processing the sin of racism, broken relationships with loved ones, loss of income or work. But I think it is safe to say that each of us has something we are currently or have recently been lamenting. The author writes, “worn out from weeping are my eyes.” (Lamentations 2:11) How many of us have felt like this over the past few months and weeks? Worn out from the challenges that this year has presented, one after another.
But I don’t think that this needs to be where the story ends. The Israelites, in the book of Lamentations, were in a time of great challenge - Jerusalem was destroyed, their people were sick and hungry and they were in a deep sadness. They had turned away from God and were feeling remorse and sadness over their decision. They were asking that God not abandon them in their mourning. The author writes, “Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones.” (Lamentations 2:18) We are reminded - in this time of hardship and challenge - do not turn away from the Lord. Rather, pour out your heart to the Lord - lift up your hands to him. Return to the Lord, with all that is in you. Do not simply wallow in your sorrow and your challenges, but bring your lamenting before the Lord.
And the Lord will respond. It is in our Gospel that we see another prophecy of our Lord fulfilled. We see Jesus healing those who are sick and curing people from demons. This was done to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah, “He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17) These words, spoken to us in our gospel acclamation and in our Gospel reading, harken back to the words of the prophet Isaiah. And yet, they may be just the words we need to hear today. Christ will take away our infirmities and bear our diseases. As we are in the midst of a global pandemic, these are comforting words. These words do not say that Christ will take away our disease and heal us from all illness. Rather they assure us that Christ will be with us, bearing the challenge, anxiety, hardship, illness and struggles of disease with us. He will take away our weaknesses and fill us with His strength, the strength to endure.
My prayer for all of us today is that we may bring our lamenting, our sorrows, our challenges to the Lord. Rather than turning from Christ’s heart, I pray that instead we each use this time to pour our heart - with all of its brokenness, sorrow, anxiety, regret and pain - into Christ’s. It is when we unite our suffering with Christ’s that we allow him the opportunity to take away our infirmities and to bear our diseases. Amen.
- A.J. Grimm