Prophetic Lament

Below are two prayers, the first one contemporary, the second ancient.

And yet, they are the same prayer for justice, because all Soong-Chan Rah has really done in this first prayer is to change the names and places from the second prayer, which is from Lamentations 5 in the Bible. Read them today and lament.

Pray them in hope, in protest, in anger, in relief.

Remember, Lord, what happened to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, 
          and George Floyd;
          look and see the disgraceful way their bodies were treated.
Our inheritance of the image of God in every human being
          has been co-opted and denied by others.
The family of Ahmaud, Breonna, and George Floyd has lost their loved ones,
          widowed mothers once again grieve their dead children.
We must scrap for our basic human rights (even to sit peacefully in our homes);
          our basic needs (even the need to breathe) have a great price.
Corrupt officers pursue us with their knees on our necks;
          we are weary and we find no rest.
We submit to uncaring government officials 
          and to big business to get enough bread.
Our ancestors sinned the great sin of instituting slavery;
          they are no more — but we bear their shame.
The system of slavery and institutionalized racism ruled over us,
          and there is no one to free us from their hands.
We get bread (or jog in our neighborhoods) at the risk of our lives
          because of the guns on the streets.
George Floyd is down on the street, his body crying out for air.
Black women have been violated throughout our nation's history;
          Breonna Taylor gunned down in her own home.
Noble black men have been hung, lynched, and gunned down.
          elders and spokesmen are shown no respect.
Young men can't find work because of unjustly applied laws.
          Unjustly incarcerated because of staggering negative expectations.
The elder statesmen and civil rights leaders have been assassinated;
          young people who speak out their protest through music are silenced.
Trust in our ultimate triumph has diminished;
          our triumphant proclamation of victory has turned to a funeral dirge.
Our sense of exceptionalism has been exposed.
          Woe to us, for we have sinned.
Because of this our hearts are faint,
          because of these things our eyes grow dim
For our cities lie desolate with predatory lenders 
         and gentrifiers prowling over them.
You, LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us for so long?
Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
         renew as that we may find a new way forward
         unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Excerpted and reworked (again) from Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times, Soong-Chan Rah

Lamentations 5

1 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.
3 We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.
4 We must buy the water we drink;
    our wood can be had only at a price.
5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary and find no rest.
6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
    to get enough bread.
7 Our ancestors sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.
8 Slaves rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.
11 Women have been violated in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders are shown no respect.
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our hearts are faint,
    because of these things our eyes grow dim
18 for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
    with jackals prowling over it.
19 You, Lord, reign forever;
    your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why do you always forget us?
    Why do you forsake us so long?
21 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
    renew our days as of old
22 unless you have utterly rejected us
    and are angry with us beyond measure.