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

REMEMBER

“O you tears, O you tears,
I am thankful that you run.
Though you trickle in the darkness,
You shall glitter in the sun.
The rainbow cannot shine if the rain refuse to fall;
And the eyes that cannot weep are the saddest eyes of all.”
—Charles Mackay
“Tears” (updated)

One morning when I was a little boy in Chennai, India, the Dhobi brought laundry that had been washed, pressed and neatly wrapped in old newspaper. He sat on the floor as was customary, given the caste hierarchy. I vividly remember my mother insisting that he sit on the chair. She then served him tea and biscuits.

Mom was a social worker who pioneered non-formal education among women in the slums of Chennai. She died in January 2020. I have great memories of her kindness and generosity of spirit, but most importantly, I remember her agency to correct wrongs in society. Mom had a rough life with challenges, but she never lost a sense of who she was and the difference she could make as a child of God. Her sufferings helped hone her capacity for empathy as an educator.

Jesus suffered. All of us suffer in small and large ways. Yet some of us become empathetic while others of us become bitter. Jesus modeled how to re-member us. We can become agents who help create slivers of paradise here and now.
How can I help re-member my community?
—Prince Singh

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.