Oh my God, I cry by day but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” [Psalm 22]
For many of us, in this one line the psalmist captures our experiences of 2020. This has been a year of loss. We have lost over 280,000 of our family, friends, and neighbors to Covid-19. Many millions have lost jobs, a stable income, and housing. 2020 has also awakened our nation in new ways to the social justice needs among us. We have witnessed social and racial inequities play out in our streets, in our schools, and in our hospitals. This has been a year of isolation; socially, politically, and physically. In addition to the uniqueness of 2020, we have also lost loved ones to other illnesses and age, just as we do year to year. Some have retired. Others may have moved away from loved ones or sent loved ones off to college. In these and other ways we are led to lament. Yearly, as we travel through the season of Advent and our days grow shorter, we pause in anticipation of our Hope, our Light, and our Promise of Jesus’ return.
In that pausing and reflection of Advent, it is important to honor our grief and the grief of others. This year, Church of the Nativity will hold a Service of Lament on Sunday, December 20, at 5 pm. This will be a time to remember and lament our losses and to reflect upon the ways in which we have been challenged over the course of 2020. But this is also a service to lift up our laments to God with an understanding that God does hear our cries. As the psalmist concludes, “God does not hide from me. When I cry to God, God hears me.” [Psalm 22] We invite you to join us for this service. All are welcome. Remember, no grief is too large or too small for God to hear. God will not hide from our pain, nor will God ignore the cries of God’s people. It is in that promise of God’s hearing that we move forward through Advent and into the blessing of Christmas.
-Phillip Bass