This morning as we consider what healing we need – individually and communally – I wonder what we can learn from our readings that might help us see the gift of lamenting pain, hearing promise and receiving healing. The Book of Lamentations is five poems that over and over describe the state of Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion and subsequent forceful exile of many Israelites.
But what of those who remained – who weren’t 
exiled. Conditions were terrible – indiscriminate killings and bodies left in the streets. Rampant hunger, especially of children and babies. No food, no homes and no Temple for it had been destroyed. Where is God in this?
And, what of the exiles – those in Babylon – no Temple, false gods and prophets – where is God in this? Those left in Judah and Jerusalem and those taken to Babylon. The pain is real, the grief is raw, the fear is everywhere. The authors of Lamentations and the prophet Jeremiah give voice to all of this – pain, grief, fear – but they also voice hope and promise for a future that is steeped in the love and faithfulness of God.
Their God, our God who did not leave them and has not left us. Our God who calls us to name our pain, our grief, our fear, our need for healing and then who gives us hope and promise to be made whole. Plant, build, multiply, pray for the welfare of the city you find yourselves in, because your future depends on its welfare. Come to me, pray to me, search for me – I will be here and I will end your captivity. I will end this pain and grief and fear with the promise of hope and a better future.
What pain, grief, fear, anger do you wish to lament today? That you wish healing for, knowing that healing is defined as a way of being brought into a state of well-being through the power of the Holy Spirit even as we name physical, emotional and spiritual pain. That journey of healing can lead us into a state of wholeness which takes us into an ever-deepening state of well-being.
This has been a hard week for many of us individually, as a communally and as a nation. Alligator Alcatraz, where government officials laugh at the thought of often illegally detained immigrants being eaten by alligators. A bill that passed and government representatives dancing while millions across the country stand in danger of going hungry and losing health insurance, among many other awful things.
Yet hear these words from Jeremiah again: I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. And, from Lamentations: Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!
That is the lament of pain and the promise of God’s faithfulness to heal that pain. God’s love and compassion is not through. God’s mercy and grace are still ours to claim. Joy and hope are ours to claim because we know God is present to us.
This morning, we are inviting you to lament your pain by writing on the piece of paper provided, something you desire healing for – it can be a physical, emotional or spiritual need for healing – either something you need individually or that you feel we need as a community of faith or the nation.
During our communion and anointing time, as you come up, you are invited to place that paper into the Baptismal waters. The waters that are a sign and seal of God’s grace. The waters that bring each of us into community. The waters that reconcile and forgive us. The waters that assure us of God’s love and our commitment to claiming Jesus as our healer. If you are unable to come to the font, we will take your piece of paper and put it in for you as we come to serve you communion and anoint you with oil praying a blessing of healing for you.
Those of you who are online, email us your need and we will make sure it gets placed into the waters. So take a few minutes now to write down your lament – your need for healing. Then we will stand for our Litany of Healing.