By Arden Ratcliff
Daily Lectionary Text:
PSALM 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, and not human;
scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 'Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver---
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!'
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother's breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me,
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD.
May your hears life for ever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
____________________________________________________
PSALM 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, and not human;
scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 'Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver---
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!'
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother's breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me,
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD.
May your hears life for ever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
____________________________________________________
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?" The famous last words of Jesus on the cross in the gospels of
Matthew and Mark were originally uttered here, as the opening verse of Psalm
22. As far as last words go, they don't really paint a picture of a Jesus
who has willingly given up his life for our sake. Indeed, he comes across
as someone who is having second thoughts, as someone who doubting God's plan,
as someone who is suffering and wonders if God is there at all. The
parallel accounts in Luke and John portray a slightly more heroic death for Jesus;
in Luke his final words are "Father, into your hands I commend my
spirit," while in John they are "It is finished."
But what if, as has been suggested by some
scholars, instead of questioning God's presence at the moment of his death,
Jesus is actually attempting to reference this psalm? What if Jesus said,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" the same way we would say
"amazing grace" to reference the full text of that hymn? What
does this psalm as a whole have to say to us in this context?
When taken as a whole, the psalm is not one of
unmitigated suffering and pain. While the psalmist cries out to God
during her time of distress, by verse 22 she has turned her pain into praise.
Even in the midst of distress, there is cause for hope; even in the midst
of affliction, there is cause to praise God. The movement of the psalm from
disorentiation and anguish to reorientation toward the glory of God can serve
as a model for us during this season of Lent. Though we may focus on the
suffering and sorrow of the crucifixion (and on our own sins and
transgressions) now, we are steadily moving toward that moment of utmost
praise--- Easter morning.
One final thought: as I read over the Psalm again
and again, the verse that kept sticking out in my mind is verse 11: "Do
not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help." Often
we can feel that in our times of tribulation, there is no one who can help.
What if we took this verse to heart, and in those moments of trouble,
prayed for God to not be far. Sometimes the best prayers are the ones
that are so simple. As I continue into this Lenten season, that verse is
going to become my daily prayer, and I invite you to do the same.
Oh God,
do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
No one but you, my God.
Alleluia.
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