Structure

Lamentations 1:17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

So often we forget the structure of our world. So much of the structure that supports our world is hidden from everyday view. We don’t see the studs behind the walls, or the electrical wiring or plumbing. They are seen only three times in the history of a house: construction, renovation, and destruction.

We travel over roads that hide sewer pipes, gas lines, drainage water culverts, electrical power lines, internet cables and the history of past civilizations. We drive along unaware of the structures we travel along. They are unseen except in construction, renovation, and destruction.

Often when we read the Scriptures we miss the structure that is there. Take the book that serves as our text today. Did you know that there are 22 verses in chapters one, two, and four and 66 verses in chapter three? That is curious!

All of us have seen the Alphabet books that small children seem to love. “A is for…” They are often fun to read and the pictures help children relate to the written language for the first time. These types of books exist in almost every language today. A few languages are too difficult for this to work. For example, there are thousands of Chinese characters that must be learned in order to master the Chinese language. No easy alphabet for them.

The reason is simple if you know Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In chapters one, two and four each of the successive verses starts with the next letter in the alphabet. In chapter three there are three “A’s” then three “B’s” and so forth.

And this structure ties the book together. The author worked hard to convey their message in a way that ensured its preservation. You can’t just change it around, or drop something out, without it showing up in a pretty obvious way.

The book is written from the perspective of someone who lived through the fall of Jerusalem in 587BC and the journey into exile in Babylon. It gives voice to the most heartbreaking emotions that we experience. And it takes those emotions into the presence of the LORD where they belong. It gives voice to what is normally unspoken when suffering happens, but those things which all of us experience during our lives.

In the first chapter, Jerusalem itself is given a voice, as that of a woman in anguish. Jerusalem speaks on behalf of all those who went through the trials of the siege and conquest, and the subsequent forced exile to Babylon.

In our verse today the longing for comfort in times of distress is spoken. One of the worst things that can happen when we go through distress is to feel alone. When there is no one on whom we can lean in these difficult times, we tend toward despair. We are created for connection.

In the time of ancient Israel, neighboring peoples would often band together against a common enemy. They would make a pact, if you protect me, then I will protect you. There is some truth to the phrase “safety in numbers.”

But during the siege of Jerusalem, there were no neighbors who could help against Babylon. Babylon was so overwhelming in their military might that no one could withstand their assault. So the voice expresses the loss of the normal support systems.

We can relate to this loss in our current situation with COVID-19. We are isolated physically. Our normal support systems, our meals together, our gatherings for worship, our hobbies and recreation, our walks in the park, have all been removed or greatly curtailed. This is especially impactful for those who are already isolated and alone.

I feel this personally with my mother. She is in a retirement community which has been entirely closed to outside visits for over two months. No visitors in or out. They have been unable to visit each other for more than a few minutes. The owners are working very hard to safeguard this community from the infection. They have succeeded so far.

But I have not been able to visit her before we depart for an extended missions assignment. I have had to deal with the reality that I might not see her again in this world. There is an outstretching of my hands in pain. But I am by no means alone.

There have been tens of thousands of funerals across this country and around the world where people’s remains were laid to rest without the opportunity for families to grieve in culturally appropriate ways. Many tears have yet to be shed.

And tears are a wonderful expression of this sense of aloneness, this longing for the other. So next time you feel this intense longing, go ahead and let it leak out of your eyes. It will feel good.