Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Psalm 22:19-28


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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