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

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”
—Ephesians 4:26

My daughter came home from kindergarten one day crying because she wasn’t white. She had picked up that white is better. “Why can’t I be white?”
This brought back memories of my childhood growing up in the first integrated class in my school, and it made me angry.

I was angry that I couldn’t protect my daughters from a culture where Black is perceived as bad. But mostly I was angry because no matter what I did, I could never give my daughters the opportunities and wealth that their white counterparts receive simply because of history. Society would penalize and blame them for the disparity. As Marvin Gaye said, the situation “makes me wanna holler and throw up my hands” in defeat and frustration. I wanted to just give in to anger and vent on the world. But I had to stop. The still small voice in my spirit reminded me that being angry was ok, but how was I using it?

When it comes to race, how many times have we given up, stopped trying or refused to forgive? In this season of Lent, let us repent of anger that leads to hate, stereotyping and social or relational laziness. Let us embrace an anger that leads to justice, radical engagement and truth-telling inside a fierce relationality. We can’t give up on each other because Christ did not give up on us.
—Willie Bennett

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.