What does it mean for individuals to lament before God? You will examine this crucial question by tracing individuals’ journeys from encountering hardship to crying out to God in faith. To do so, you will explore the psalms of lament. First, you will meditate on Psalm 22, a psalm of lament, using the lectio divina spiritual practice. Then you will explore two artistic interpretations of Psalm 22, one performed by dancer Paiter van Yperen and another performed by priest and theologian Ellen Davis. Finally, you will reflect on how your engagement with Psalm 22 has affected your interpretation of psalms of lament.

What do you do when your pain or suffering remains unresolved? You will examine this crucial question by diving deeper into the psalms of lament, tracing the ways that individuals with unresolved or ongoing suffering bring their pain to their communities. To do so, you will meditate on Psalm 88, a lament psalm that resists easy resolution. Then, you will explore two artistic interpretations of Psalm 88, performed by musician Charles Pettee and watercolor artist Julia Hendrickson, respectively. Finally, you will listen to commentary on the psalm from Rabbi Dorothy Richman and reflect on the role of psalms of lament within worshiping communities.

What does it mean for communities to lament before God? We now turn to examining how worshiping communities themselves encounter pain and sing their cries to God in love. Put another way, we will ask: What is the theological witness to communal lament? First, you will meditate on Psalm 137, a communal psalm of lament written during Israel’s exile in Babylon. Then you will explore a musical interpretation of the psalm performed by Joey Weisenberg and the Hadar Ensemble, followed by commentary by Rabbi Richman. Finally, you will reflect on the role and purpose of the psalms of lament in your own worshiping community.

What does it mean for communities to praise God? In our final session in this course, we examine this crucial question by tracing how worshiping communities encountering joy and pain can sing praise to God in hope. To do so, you will first explore a painting based on Psalm 46 by artist and theologian Makoto Fujimura. Then you will engage with Psalm 46 in two ways: 1) meditating on the psalm using the lectio divina spiritual practice, and 2) viewing commentary on the psalm by Makoto Fujimura. Finally, you will reflect on the role and purpose of psalms of praise for worshiping communities, and reflect on what you have learned in this course.