(Our church started a series in Lamentations recently, as we felt lament was something missing in the church, especially during this season of a global pandemic and racial tension. I challenged our members to write their own laments in our Sunday school books. I was planning to write one eventually, yet the pain from recent, racist events moved up the process. I needed this to process the pain.)
America has once again been exposed;
“All Lives Matter” as a cover is removed.
Brown bodies in the streets testify against her;
Body bags and closed caskets are damning witnesses.
COVID-19 is one of our pandemics;
Count the second as racism, which is highly contagious.
Death counts keep rising from both of the plagues;
Discomfort makes deniers out of professors of Christ.
Excuses fill their mouths before the blood stops flowing;
Evildoers mock as morgues are filled.
“First, he should have listened to the commands he was given.
Finally, he got what he deserved for resisting.”
Graves are being filled with the bodies of the unarmed,
Gruesome images fill social media and the news.
How long, O Lord, will my skin be a threat?
Hear the cries, O Lord, of people made in your image.
Image bearers are treated as beasts in the field
Incessantly hunted because of their skin.
“Justice” is a word foreign to our hearts;
“Jesus” is a name familiar only to our lips.
Kindness is a mask for those filled with hate;
Klansmen wore their hoods, but at least we knew!
Look, O Lord, and see their rebellion;
Listen as they justify murder as mistakes!
Mobile phones tell a different story to the masses.
Microphones capture bloodcurdling screams.
No one was around to film it back in the day.
Night won’t give to day unless exposed to the light.
Our wickedness, even then, puts the lamp under a bowl.
Our desire is for the darkness rather than the light.
Party platforms guide us religiously, instead of your word.
Politics is our discipleship, not what Jesus taught to us obey.
Quickly, O Lord, come and judge those who hate us;
Quiet the rumblings of bitterness in my soul.
Revival is our desire, but never with repentance.
Restoration assumes we were once a godly nation.
Salvation is far from us, because we deny our diseases.
Saviors are not needed for those who are healthy.
Truly we are a people who deserve your wrath.
Too many of us have hardened our hearts to your grace.
“United” is in her name, but it will never be a reality;
Unless she confesses her sins, and makes amends to the victims.
Violence is committed with our guns and with our tongues.
Voices of siblings remain silent, amplifying the pain.
Who will speak up for us? Are we falling on deaf ears?
Why do we keep crying out if no one cares to hear?
X-ray our hearts, O Lord that we may see our brokenness.
Xenophobes need a cast for their fractured worldview.
You alone, O Lord, can fix this nation.
You alone, O Lord, can bring us justice.
Zealous are you for your glory, O Lord.
Zealous are you for your name.
Kenneth L. King 