Psalm 22 begins with God gone missing “My God, My God why
have you forsaken me?” but concludes with hope as the one who cries out is
confident that the Lord not hidden has listened to the cry for help. It is the
absolute honesty of the lament psalms that allows them to end on a note of
praise. In a way they are liturgical venting, the psalmist’s heart poured out
in questioning and complaint. It does not mean the condition that prompts the
cry of dereliction is resolved only that by voicing the complaint as an act of
faith the strength that is sapped is restored and the confidence that is shaken
is reset on solid ground. That is true for the laments of our lives as well which is
why the psalms are the place we go when trouble surrounds us and deliverance
seems far off. While the witnesses of the crucifixion only heard the first
verse, “My God, my God…” Jesus remembered that the psalm ends with rejoicing and
trusted that the cross was the prelude to resurrection. The laments in Orlando
echo Jesus’ cry and while their sorrow may last a long time one hopes that in the
same way that Jesus overcame pain and sorrow and suffering and the darkness of death
so too all our laments will ultimately end in praise.
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