Our Righteous Lament – Nadia Bolz-Weber

Nadia Bolz-Weber, the pastor at the House for All Sinners and Saints, (and blogger at  www.sarcasticlutheran.com) has written a beautiful reflection on lament, the recent teen suicides by a number of gay youth, and the loss of covenant in our society.

There is quite a strong tradition in the Old Testament of complaining to God about injustice and suffering. It’s lamenting — and we should perhaps reclaim this part of our tradition. I have a friend who says if you’re going to have a “praise band” in your church, that’s fine, but only if you also have a “lament band.”And there are some very real things to lament about folks; we’re not talking petty complaints. Many of you this week were made aware of a horrific spate of recent teenage suicides.Billy Lucas, age 15, Seth Walsh, age 13, Asher Brown, age 13, and Tyler Clementi, age 18, have all died at their own hands in the past two weeks.  Billy, Seth, Asher, and Tyler were gay youth who ended the unendurable anti-gay violence done to them at the hands of churches, families, or peers by doing life-ending violence to their own selves.

via Our Righteous Lament – Nadia Bolz-Weber – Gods Politics Blog.