Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Jesus Creed

Home
Evangelical
Basset Hounds, Lament, and Easter (by Glenn Pemberton)

Basset Hounds, Lament, and Easter (by Glenn Pemberton)

Last updated on: April 15, 2015 at 5:50 am by Scot McKnight

Basset Hounds, Lament, and Easter (by Glenn Pemberton) 2015-04-15T05:50:57-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Basset Hounds, Lament, and Easter, by Glenn Pemberton — OT prof at Abilene Christian and of the man I am a fan! [Image]

Bailey Hobart Pemberton came into my life at the age two; that’s fourteen in canine years. He was a soft-eyed, low-set, tri-color basset hound with a personality to match: gentle, playful, and eager to love. When Bailey arrived, however, he came with baggage. To be blunt, he needed therapy. When Bailey had been just a young pup tripping over his ears, his backyard was in the path of the F-5 tornado that rolled through Norman and Moore, just south of Oklahoma City (May 5, 1999). The tornado veered north, leaving a massive debris trail that stretched for miles and lasted a lifetime for those in its path.

Bailey joined Beauregard Horatio (another Basset) in the task of protecting the Pemberton family residence. Birds and butterflies were public enemy number one; strangers were always welcome. And of course, Bailey became our weather alert system. If he could sense a storm he would set off the siren and continue to bay at full volume until someone let him inside. Should a drop of rain land on his head the alarm would escalate to digging at the door – anything to call attention to the fact the apocalypse was coming.

A few months later, in the wake of a hot dry summer and strong wind, even by Oklahoma standards (where the “where the wind comes sweeping down the plain”), a wild fire jumped a row of houses, a city street, and landed in our crispy dry grass; I got out of the house in time to see the cedars on the south side of the house explode into giant fireballs. Neighbors appeared from every direction, cars stopped, and sirens blared as chaos broke loose. After a few minutes it dawned on me that the backyard was also burning… with a stack of firewood, and the bassets. A neighbor and I ran back through the house one last time and we found Bailey and Beauregard huddled together at the back door. We each grabbed a hound, and ran.

The insurance company considered the house a total loss… and while we were blessed in more ways that I could ever recount, the daily rhythm of life was disrupted with new and seemingly irrational fears, nothing felt right – and I was not alone with my feelings. A few hectic days after the fire, Bailey and Beauregard came home to the apartment we had leased for the interim. Bailey was quite diplomatic. He came in, looked around, found my bedroom, jumped up on the bed, sniffed until he found my pillow, and then proceeded to pee.

My veterinarian translated Bailey’s canine communication. Obviously, he felt a need to make a few things absolutely clear. One, he respected my leadership in his family (thus his selection of my pillow). Two, he was not running away because life was out of sorts; we were still his family and he was here to stay. But Three, he needed me to know that his world was out of control and he didn’t like it. He already had neurosis from dodging an F-5 tornado and the night of the fire he had been carried around like a 50 pound bag of dog chow, tossed from one strange backyard to another by people he didn’t even know. And he could not hold it inside any longer. In a manner that was both fully under control and fully expressive of his feelings, he sent the clearest memo I’ve ever received.

Those who have thought deeply about human life describe times of upheaval and change with the terms liminal or liminality. In a liminal state, we are caught by circumstances in an in-between time or space of ambiguity and as a result we feel displaced, confused, frustrated, or even angry. Walter Brueggemann builds on the idea of liminality to describe the seasons of life: seasons of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. He explains that sometimes life consists of well-being that evokes gratitude, and so the believer sings songs of praise for God’s constancy and reliability. But as we all learn, human life doesn’t consist only of seasons of well being, but also “anguished seasons of hurt, alienation, suffering, and death” (The Message of the Psalms, 19).

Then what we need is the presence of a spiritual family who will walk alongside us (2 Cor 1:3-7, Heb 10:24-25, Gal 6:2). But even more, we need God with us. We need an authentic faith language that will enable us to stay in relationship with God by speaking the truth of our chaotic, crushed lives to God and, at the same time, providing appropriate controls so we may pray as Jesus did – “with reverent submission” (Heb 5:7). In the psalms of lament (the majority of Psalms in the book of Psalms) we find both: a vocabulary to express the realities of our brokenness and a grammar that helps us control the vocabulary. In brief, what we really need we find in the psalms of lament: a way to live through times of disorientation with God instead of without God.

So this past week as I celebrated the joys of Easter, my heart was torn by the realities of my life and the pain I saw all around me. I could not rest until I spoke (and wrote, as is my custom) my own lament inextricably tied to Easter realities.

Oh Lord, Easter Morning reminds me,

that light still overcomes darkness;

Three days after the Enemy brings night,

dawn will still break after the fight.

Those brutally murdered in Christ’s name,

will live again, robed in victor’s white.

Those who mourn the love of their life,

lost without them at their side, or

Those, oh God, who weep for a child,

inconsolable now, will know joy again.

Those who live the silent agony of abuse,

will one day be whole, be free with you.

Those who live with disability every day,

will dance free of braces, straps, and crutches.

Those who give their lives caring for another,

will find new life with the one they love.

Those who spend this Easter in unrelenting pain,

will stand, and walk, leap, and laugh in relief.

Those who are all alone, forgotten, left behind,

will find new family, surrounded by community.

Oh Lord, Easter Morning reminds me, proclaims:

that for all the tragedy reported this week,

There will be another day, another time,

when the grave breaks open and you refuse

To hold back the power of three days then light,

but let it loose to break every power and

every dominion, and every kingdom,

that stands against Your Life.

Your Light.

Come soon Lord Jesus.

*“*Of Basset Hounds and Laments” is a condensed extract from my book, Hurting with God: Learning to Lament with the Psalms (ACU Press, 2012), while the prayer comes from the Facebook page on which I post my prayers https://www.facebook.com/HurtingWithGod

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 15, 2015

Making the Invisible Visible: The Test Question for Your Church

Next Post

April 15, 2015 Boko Haram, Garrisa U, and Charlie Hebdo

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was an omer's capacity? (Biblical Measurement)

Select your answer to see how you score.

1 quart 4 quarts 2 quarts 3 quarts