The Lament of God
by Tim Lien
There is no dividing the indivisible.1
Do we cut out the left ventricle of a heart,
and command it to never miss a beat?2
When parents give sentried shifts alongside
a hospital bed, big hand over little hand —
healthy blood coursing over leukemic,
two widths of skin between them,
do we ask who is hurting more?3
When it comes time to dress the burn wounds,
why are the parents forced to leave?
What strange howling carves a cave,
Empty, aching, pleading that meets no help?
We do not parse the pain,
We do not grade the participants
according to their trauma.
Tell me, Son, would you rate your pain a 9?
And you, Mary, are you at an 8?4
Now, with a dead body on your hands,
would you say you feel a definite 10?
We do not enumerate numbed penumbra.5
The lament of the Father:
My beloved son.6
Was not:
I'm doing this because I love you.
Those words reserved more
for the wayward, confused, and doubting.
It was:
my Beloved— purest delighting joy
I am so much very well pleased.
You could ask me for anything,
And I would give it to you.7
What strange howling carves a cave
when Help does not?8
The lament of the Spirit:
Does the unseen breathe out grief?9
After hovering, playing,
speaking out galaxies, adorning—10
the Companion is always present11
with God and man noticing.12
How close a Presence to feed for 40 days?13
The mighty wind riding lightly on a dove—
nothing but favor14
But the Companion now leaves.15
What strange inarticulate groaning16
beyond cloud, fire, wind and dove17
that moans and says it better than words?18
The lament of the Son:
Seven thoughts from Valley's shadow.19
One.
Father, forgive them;
they don't know what they are doing.20
Is there criminality in not knowing?
I know you know Me, and I you.
Un-know Me, Father and know them.21
Two.
You're with me He tells the thief.22
At once,
villainy combined with flinty faith23
composes a righteous congregation.
Three.
Dear woman, here is your son24
to the disciple Here is your mother.
Eyes upon Me means that
you have new eyes for each other.25
Four.
My God. My God.
Why have you forsaken Me?26
The possessive still employed when lost.
My keys. My wallet. My wife. My God.
Five.
I'm thirsty.27
God, self-limited now, forever.28
Dependent on fluids.29
But you will never thirst again; drink Me up.30
Six.
It is finished.31
My end is your truest beginning.32
The work is done before you ever start.33
Seven.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.34
All of Me unto You. Your will, not Mine.
What strange howling from a cross
Un-craven carving life from loss?35
And then darkness.36
Rocks shifting and grumbling;37
Bedrock suddenly missing Bedrock.
Surely, this was the Son of God?38
What strange mo(u)rning from carved cave?39
There is no dividing the indivisible.40
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1 Doctrine of Trinity: One God, three persons. The Great Shema: Dt. 6:4-9; Numbers 15:37-41
2 Separating the pain of Christ in the Passion from the pain of the Father and Holy Spirit is an incomplete and inaccurate understanding of the pain attached to the Crucifixion.
3 Parents know the distinct, poignant pain of watching a child suffer. How much greater the Father’s anguish in witnessing His Son’s passion?
4 Mary is an understandable stand-in for the Father’s pain. Experiencing pain or watching without aid, similar to the questions posed in Silence (S. Endo)
5 Who can calculate or quantify the various ways of pain/suffering? Human metrics reach human limitations.
6 At Jesus’s baptism, the voice of the Father. Mt. 3:17; Mt. 17:5; Mk. 1:11; Mk.9:7; 2 Peter 1:17
7 Psalm 2 – God the Father tells the Son that He can ask for anything. The Son essentially says: I’ll take it all (all of creation).
8 God the Father stands by with no aid only because the Son has voluntarily submitted himself to the Plan. (Phil. 2:4-11)
9 The Spirit as the breath of God: Gen 2:7; Jn. 20:22
10 The Spirit’s role in creation: Gen. 1:1-2; Jn. 1:1-3; Ps. 33:6-7; Job 26:13; Luke 1:35
11 The Spirit occupies God’s people: Jn. 14:17; I Cor. 6:19-20
12 Jesus grew in favor with God and man: Luke 2:52
13 Jesus goes into the wilderness with only the Spirit as his succor: Luke 4:1-13
14 The pleasure of the Father: Matt.3:16-17
15 Father and Spirit leave and forsake: Matt. 27:34-35; Ps. 22:1; Ps. 42:9
16 Romans 8:26-27
17 Visible markers of God’s presence: Heb. 12:29; Ex.3:2; Ex.14:19; Mt.3:11
18 Romans 8:26-27
19 Psalm 23
20 Luke 23:34
21 High priestly prayer in Gethsemane: John 17
22 Luke 23:39-43
23 Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness: Gen 15:6; Romans 4
24 John 19:26-27
25 A new family, Body, priesthood: Luke 14:25-27; I Peter2:5-9; I Cor. 12
26 Matt. 27:34-53; Mk. 15:23-38; Luke 23:27-49; Jn. 19:16ff
27 From the Cross: Jn. 19:28-29; Ps. 69:21
28 Jesus’s eternal humanity: Mk 2: I John 4:2-3; Phil. 2:5-11
29 Jesus eats after Resurrection: Luke 24:42-43; II Jn. 7
30 Samaritan woman at the well: Jn. 4
31 Jn. 19:30
32 “Those who believe in Me will never die…”: Jn. 11:25-26
33 “He who began a good work in you…”: Phil. 1:6
34 Psalm 31:5 and Luke 23:46
35 “Unless a seed dies…”: Jn. 12:24; I Ptr. 2:22-23; Luke 17:33
36 A three hour darkness covers Jerusalem: Mt. 27:45-46
37 Earthquake(s); temple veil torn: Mat. 27:51-53
38 Words of the centurion: Mt. 27:54
39 Morning arrival of women: Mt. 28:1-10
40 Doctrine of Trinity: One God, three persons. The Great Shema: Dt. 6:4-9; Numbers 15:37-41; Ps. 16:10; Acts 13:35. There was no way an indivisible God would have allowed the Son to stay rejected dead, apart, isolated from the Trinity. God’s character and promises demanded a reclaimed and vibrant union.