Sermons on Lament
God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed
As we continue in our teaching series, Loyal-love, and following along with the Revised Common Lectionary, our text this week is from Exodus 3, Moses’s encounter with God in the “Burning Bush.”
I Find it Hard to Say by Lauryn Hill
In this message, Pastor T. C. talks about the themes of lament and formation for service in the midst of two epidemics: Covid-19 and Covid-1619 (the epidemic of anti-Black racism that has plagued the U.S. since the first slave ship arrived in 1619). The song for this week is “I Find it Hard to Say (Rebel)” by Lauryn Hill, from her “Unplugged” album. It was written after Amadou Diallo was killed by police in New York.
Breath and Fire
This sermon is about the liberating power of the Holy Spirit, who is symbolized by breath and fire. This message is also about Jesus, who was crushed by the unjust power of empire, just like George Floyd. And this message is about the alternative society of shalom God is forming among the ethnically diverse body of Christ.
Lament
Lament is a neglected aspect of Christian worship in the Western world and perhaps especially in the United States. In troubled times when it’s clear the world is not as it should be—God’s dream of shalom is disrupted—God’s people cry out to God on behalf of the vulnerable, the abused, the marginalized. Lament is an important aspect of the Lenten season, since we are invited to reflect contemplatively on the ways we and our world are caught up in sin,…