Lament on a day of joy

Jan. 20, 2009: The inaguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, Washington, D.C.

Jan. 19-21, 2009: ELCA Preaching conference on lament, Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Good thing I'm Lutheran and can hold two opposites in tension. While for some, this day may be a day of sadness (McCain supporters, Republicans, etc) for me this was a day of joy, hope and pride in our nation. I'm gathered in this Oregon beach town with 100 or so Lutheran pastors to discuss how to preach in times of lament and sadness (a theme picked a year ago for this conference). I'm glad the speakers at least acknowledged the irony, as many of us are very happy to see this day come.

We watched the inaguration and Obama's speech together on a big screen in our conference room. I've never seen Lutheran pastors sit still for so long. People nodded and said "Amen" as Obama spoke. I wept. We clapped and stood when it was over. We clapped some more for the poet and the preacher who followed Obama.

Then, instead of delving back into Jeremiah and the Psalms of sadness, we talked about how joy and sorow, lament and praise often go together. Our Psalms do suggest this: most lament psalms have at least a few verses of praise, usually at the end. We know it's true in our own lives. Sometimes we curse and thank God in the same breath. We find ways to be joyful even on dark days.

So we passed a microphone around and talked about where we saw joy and lament collide this day.

One person noted that Obama listed our nation's lament. He acknowledged the pain in our nation: people losing jobs, fighting two wars, those who have lost their homes. Someone else pointed out that the opening and closing prayers had aspects of repentence and confession, which are lament-like but lead to new life and new hope.

Another pastor acknowledged that while many people in our congregations feel like an 8-year lament is over, others strongly feel a period of sadness is beginning. How do we stay at the table and honor their words of lament over a change of power in the administration? Someone else also mentioned the grief and lament that George Bush must be feeling.

One thought I'm left with: my generation (X) and the one after it (Y) have little experience with corporate lament or corporate joy. We felt this first at 9/11 when we mourned together. I think many of us feel the shared joy now at this promise of new hope in our country's leadership. Perhaps the best part is that we feel it together. May this national pride lead to unity of purpose and maybe, just maybe, a small step away from our tendancy toward so-called "rugged individualism."