J. TODD BILLINGS Rejoicing in Lament
AS THE PROFESSOR ASCENDED THE PODIUM, his students expected another lecture on theology; instead, he was about to make theology come alive. This forty-year-old teacher was about to tell his students that he had recently been diagnosed with a rare, incurable cancer.
The professor was J. Todd Billings, research professor of Reformed theology at Western Theological Seminary. During the time he had left on earth, Billings wanted to educate his students—and the church—on what it meant to live out the theology of suffering he had taught for so long. So in 2015, he published a book titled Rejoicing in Lament.
The hope of Christ enables us to rejoice in lament
How do we rejoice in lament? The book of Jeremiah gives us a hint. At its core is God’s promise that he would one day establish a “new covenant” with his people, in which he would write his laws “on their hearts” (31:31-34). He would be their God, and they would be his people—enjoying sweet, unbroken fellowship with him forever. Centuries later, Jesus Christ instituted that new covenant through the shedding of his blood on the cross, making it possible for broken humanity to be reconciled with their Maker. Because of this, we can look forward with eager anticipation to the renewal of all creation, including our bodies—the same bodies that now suffer from rare, incurable cancers. In the meantime, we have the presence of Christ and his indwelling Spirit, which gives us a sustaining hope. That hope, in turn, empowers us to rejoice in the midst of lament. For we know that God, when he makes all things new, “will not forget the blind and lame,” nor anyone else who suffers (31:8). Instead, “the young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration,” and God himself “will turn their mourning into joy” (31:13).
As the title of Billings’s book suggests, rejoicing in the midst of lament is made possible in the context of a vibrant, living relationship with Jesus Christ. For Billings, there will come a day when he will no longer be behind the lectern. Instead, he will be behind the curtain (Heb 9:3), under the altar (Rev 6:9-10), awaiting the blessed hope (Titus 2:13)—and he will lament no more. There will only be rejoicing.