Reality, Grief, Hope: Three Urgent Prophetic Tasks

by Walter Brueggemann

This, I submit, is exactly what is found in the exilic laments of Israel, the haunting, wonder, and courage to go deep into the reality of divine infidelity and disregard. In its lament Israel dares to go to the null point of despair and linger in the abyss of abandonment. In its usual practice, the church, with its unwitting preference for James’s “healthy souls,” does not want to go there. Consequently, it does not want to entertain the reality that our ancient ancestors in displacement also did not want to go. Unlike these ancient ancestors in faith, the contemporary church prefers James’s “healthy souls” who want to live bravely “without consolation.” Thus the church avoids laments.