A Modern Lament
We tend to think of something like Lamentations as having taken place years, probably even centuries, ago. But people still lament today. There are often situations that cause us to cry out for justice when things go terribly wrong.
In 1983, the Irish rock band U2 released the song “Sunday Bloody Sunday” on their album War. The song is a response to the reality that there are far too many situations around the world where people are needlessly killed for incomprehensible reasons.
There are two events in world history that are referred to as “Bloody Sunday.” One took place in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905, and the other occurred in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1972. Both incidents involved unnecessary bloodshed and the death of many innocent victims.
In St. Petersburg, it is estimated that around 1,000 people, who were involved in an otherwise peaceful demonstration, were killed or wounded by the Russian military or trampled during the resulting panic. In Derry, twenty-six unarmed protesters and bystanders were shot by the British army. Several of them were shot in the back, and two were injured when they were run down by army vehicles.
It was such acts of violence that compelled U2 to produce their song of protest and lament. When they were challenged about making such a political song, the drummer, Larry Mullen, responded in this way:
“We’re into the politics of people, we’re not into politics. … You know people are dying every single day through bitterness and hate, and we’re saying why? What’s the point? And you can move that into places like El Salvador and other similar situations—people dying. Let’s forget the politics; let’s stop shooting each other and sit around the table and talk about it. … The real battle is people dying, that’s the real battle.”
When I saw U2 perform this song live, I sat there thinking that if Jeremiah were around today, his words would sound something like this. These are the issues that should stir us to action. This is the voice of a modern lament.
U2 – “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Maybe this kind of outcry can give us a greater understanding of all that was being faced and considered in the book of Lamentations.