Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity. - Lamentations 2:21

Today's Scripture Reading (September 20, 2026): Lamentations 2

Despair can be overwhelming. We are not designed to live in despair, at least not for long. When we experience despair for too long, our behavior begins to change in an extremely negative way, and sometimes we don't even know it. We can no longer function on some of the very basic levels of life. In fact, the task of living is often too much for us to bear. And the strain is not just on us; it is on all those close to us. If the time of despair lasts too long, our relationships with the people around us can be irreparably damaged.

Jeremiah describes a time of despair. The prophet describes a time when despair is so great that people's normal behavior patterns have drastically changed. Rich men and women who would normally have lain down on silk sheets with fat pillows find themselves lying shamelessly on the street. Young men and women who would normally have been starting to plan out what it is that lies in their futures, instead lie dead from sword wounds. Nothing is as it should be. Distress has gripped the entire nation.

For this reason, and for the depth of this despair, the prophet weeps. He has nothing else to do. He blames God, but what deepens his despair is his belief that it didn't have to be this way. Another path could have been chosen. Instead, the people turned away from the hope of God toward a path that could only lead them into hopelessness. Their willing choice of that path only deepened the national gloom.

Every spring, the Christian Church moves through its annual time of despair. The time is called Lent. It is our time to remember the desolation Jesus willingly endured, so we wouldn't have to. Jesus chose his path of despair, in many ways mirroring the despair of the nation that he was born into, a nation that seemed to suffer through cycles of hopelessness. But in Jesus, God sought to end those cycles. God wanted to give us hope once and for all. That is why Pope John Paul II reminded us that we cannot abandon ourselves to despair, because Jesus died to end that cycle. Pope John Paul II stressed that "We are the Easter people, and hallelujah is our song." We are the Easter people, not just in the spring of our calendars, but every month of the year, including the fall as we wait for the snow to fly. We are continually challenged to be the Easter people every day, week, and month of the year. And hallelujah will always be our song.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Lamentations 3