This Lent, we invite you to take some time to lament that which you and others have lost. In her essay, “Four Steps of Lament,” Heidi Weaver invites us to:
• Rest, to take sabbath time to simply be present to our current situation;
• Reflect on that which has been lost;
• Repent for the sufferings and loss we have caused or overlooked; and
• Make Restitution and be Restored to God and to one another.

This year for our Lenten Meditations we have invited ten writers to share reflections on each of these four steps of lament. These writers are all leaders in The Episcopal Church and represent a diversity of perspectives, ministries and backgrounds. As a result, we are blessed to have a unique and rich tapestry of viewpoints on the universal experience of lament, loss and new life. Many of the authors share deeply personal and painful experiences related to a variety of issues including disease, violence, racial injustice and poverty.

Readers, come to these meditations with an open heart. What you read may challenge you and give rise to unexpected or uncomfortable feelings. We encourage you to engage the “Four Steps of Lament,” by resting, reflecting, repenting and ultimately being restored to God and to one another. Finally our wish for you is that God brings you rest this Lent so that you may reflect on your own loss and be transformed in the process. May God then restore your soul and bring you into the bright new life that is our Easter promise. And may you continue to know that you are loved now and always.
Amen.
Robert W. Radtke
President & CEO
Episcopal Relief & Development

REPENT

“What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts.
—Isaiah 3:15

As part of an effort to help New York’s significant homeless population self-isolate amidst the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, homeless families with children were moved from overcrowded shelters into hotels across New York City. I happen to live by one such hotel and was not prepared for many of my neighbors’ responses.

Instead of compassion for some of the most vulnerable members of society, several of my neighbors reverted to fear, anger and self-protection. People publicly complained that they didn’t pay such high rents to be living beside the homeless. Others took the more subtle position of wishing this laudable solution wasn’t happening right next door. Then there were those of us—myself included—who should have advocated more forcefully in the
name of compassion and basic human decency.

During confession, we ask God forgiveness for those things done and left undone. These days, I’m struck by how often it is the most vulnerable who are the victims of our statements and silence, our actions and inaction. In the Book of Isaiah, God asks, “What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” What do we mean by this indeed? How can we turn from such actions toward a different way of being?
—Miguel Angel Escobar

Source: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Lent-2021-English-BlackWhite.pdf; © 2021 Episcopal Relief & Development. All rights reserved. Printed in partnership with Forward Movement.