Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have all seen her naked; she herself groans and turns away. – Lamentations 1:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 23, 2020): Lamentations 1

On June 1, 2020, the Washington D.C. federal police officers, supported by the American military, violently cleared away peaceful protestors from Lafayette Square, a green space north of the Whitehouse, so that the President of the United States could walk to Saint John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op. The next morning, the Canadian Prime Minister was asked what he thought of the incident, and if the Prime Minister did not want to comment, what he believed his silence said to the world. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, stood and stared silently into the camera for twenty-one seconds, seemingly at a loss for words. You could almost see the gears turning as he tried to figure a way to answer the question without commenting on the situation taking place inside the territory of his southern neighbor.

But finally, Trudeau did answer. And once again, he carefully avoided mentioning President Trump as he talked about racism in Canada. Essentially, Trudeau argued that racism in Canada is not dead, even though many of us wish that it were. And before we speak about the actions of President of the United States and the race problems in that country, Canadians needed to look inside of themselves and confront their own racial inequalities. The reality is that Canada can do nothing about racism in the United States, but Canadians can choose to do something about racism in Canada if the people have the political and ethical will to make the change.

Sometimes we get so used to the condemnations of the biblical Prophets that their message loses some of its impact. But as the walls of Jerusalem fall, Jeremiah begins his lament with tears over the loss of the city. And, as far as Jeremiah was concerned, the loss of Jerusalem was unnecessary. The city was supposed to be a light in the darkness. But instead, she became part of the night. Jeremiah knew that he couldn’t comment on the darkness in other places without pointing a finger at the city that he loved. Jerusalem had failed. She had allowed the darkness to overtake her and steal her light.

Justin Trudeau continued his message in front of the Canadian parliament less than an hour after his twenty-one seconds of silence. He said that “When it comes to being an ally, I have made serious mistakes in the past. I am not perfect, but not being perfect cannot be an excuse for not doing better.” None of us are perfect, and we can do better. But that begins, not with pointing out the failings of others, but rather with recognizing the problems inside of us.

In our contemporary society, we need to recover the practice of lament, especially when it concerns our own behavior. We can do better, and we must do better. We need to be the light to the nations that we can be. But the change never begins somewhere else; it starts inside of me.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Lamentations 2