I’ll be continuing my Jeremiah series this Sunday with Jeremiah 8:18-9:1. It is a brief passage. But the expression of grief is extreme; it should be more than enough. In this intense passage, the words of God, the prophet and the people mingle and merge. At least one way to identify the voices is:
v. 8:18 – Expressions of grief from the prophet/God
v. 8:19a, b – The lament of the people
v. 8:19c – God’s question of indictment
v. 8:20 – The lament of the people
vs. 8:21 – 9:1 – Expressions of grief from the prophet/God
(This structure is called a chiasm; the passage has the pattern A,B,C,B`,A`)
As heartbreaking as this passage is, everyone – God, Jeremiah, the people – is being entirely transparent and honest with themselves and with each other. And perhaps we might say that those are the hallmarks of the most authentic prayers.
This notion was suggested by Cary Gibson during a conversation we had with members of a class at Vanderbilt Divinity School on worship and the arts called Beauty and Belief. Cary, Sarah Jordan and I were invited by Dr. Dave Perkins to come and talk about the large, cumulative sanctuary installation that we undertook prior to and during Pentecost. Cary speculated that participating in the construction of that piece moved us toward a more honest emotional expression than we might be typically comfortable with.
Since then I’ve been wondering about what a completely honest and transparent expression – a prayer that is absolutely true – might be. Could it be something unambiguous and irrefutable, like a prime number or the speed of light? Might it be something that, because of languages’ limitations, can’t possibly be expressed with words? Could color or shape, rhythm or melody, texture or weight be prayerful? Do we use everything available to us – our minds, our bodies, our spirits, our full emotional palette – to express all that is in us that yearns to find resonance in the divine heart and mind?
I’m not sure I’m going to be able to respond to every question I just posed in my remarks on Sunday. But I hope they are questions worth exploring.
This Sunday is also BenBaz 2016 – our annual benevolence bazaar. After worship you’ll have opportunity to meet representatives from many of the organizations DPC supports with its money and time. You can read more about that below – along with all the other great things we have going on!
See you Sunday!
Grace and peace,
Mike