Setting Our Hearts upon the Deep: Acknowledging Lament in Christian Life, Worship, and Thought
Ebook
In Christian churches, the "Why Lord?" and "How long Lord?" prayers of the Jewish lament tradition have fallen silent. This is astonishing given that Jesus' fidelity to the cause of God culminates in his lament cry on Calvary, which was "heard" by God (Heb 5:7), who did not hide his face (Ps 22:24) but responded by raising him up in glory. In Christ's paschal mystery, grief (lament) and joy (praise) are inextricably intertwined. So why is lament not incorporated into praise in church usage? How can we not lament as we strive to embody Christ in an unredeemed world? The book examines reasons for the neglect of lament in the New Testament and theological tradition. The pivotal section of the work situates Jesus in the tradition of the suffering righteous in which Psalm 22 stands and it proposes a theological (not juridical) interpretation of Jesus' cry, which refutes the God-abandonment thesis: Jesus' cry reveals his abandonment to God, not his abandonment by God! Because God was "for" and "with" Jesus, we know that God is "for" and "with" us in our own cries, which are joined to Jesus' cry, and we are redeemed. Redemption, then, consists in human and divine suffering coming together to transform grief and evil into joy and newness of life.
“A sequel to Passionate Deification, this new book by Henry Novello explores a rare theme in Christian theology: human and divine lament, that is, the faithful’s lament before God and God’s lament before people. Setting Our Hearts upon the Deep presents a deeply moving spirituality for our times when there is so much suffering and pain. I most strongly recommend it for meditative reading and classes on Christian spirituality.”
—Peter C. Phan, Georgetown University
“In this retrieval of a significant biblical motif, Novello shows that lament is not complaint but leads to intensification of relationship with God. The central discussion of Christ’s lament upon the cross through Psalm 22 is an original contribution to Christology in its own right. In the present situation of the church and the world, it is hard to think of a timelier theological offering than this readable and well-informed work.”
—Brendan Byrne, SJ, University of Divinity, emeritus
- Title: Setting Our Hearts upon the Deep: Acknowledging Lament in Christian Life, Worship, and Thought
- Author: Henry L. Novello
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666752939, 9781666752915, 1666752916, 9781666752922, 1666752924, 1666752932
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666752939
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-07-13T20:35:32Z
Henry L. Novello is lecturer in theology in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University. He is the author of Death as Transformation: A Contemporary Theology of Death (2011), and Passionate Deification: The Integral Role of the Emotions in Christ’s Life and Christian Life (2019).