QUOTE : A Stoic would consider a lament inappropriate: too emotional, too aggressive. The Israelites lamented because they longed for a better world, the way the world is supposed to be. They believed in a covenant-keeping God, one who keeps his word. That’s what makes laments so passionate, so in-your-face. When you lament, you live simultaneously in the past, present, and future. A lament connects God’s past promise with my present chaos, hoping for a better future. So on the cross Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). He connects the utter chaos of his life with the love of his Father. That connection is nuclear. Jesus’ lament of God-forsakenness is answered with the Resurrection. His Father acts on his prayer and raises him from the dead, creating a new, deathless body for Jesus, a foretaste of the coming new creation that will utterly transform all of us who believe in him. Laments work. Jesus is not a Stoic, gritting his teeth until the Resurrection; nor is he a determinist, saying, “I know God is going to raise me from the dead. I just have to get through this.” He is fully alive to both his situation and his Father’s love for him.