Psalm 22
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
The opening words of this psalm are the same ones uttered by Jesus as he hung near death on the cross. They are etched across the collective memory of millions who trace his footsteps to Golgotha. Who could blame him for such an outburst? He had been betrayed, arrested, and handed over to the authorities to be tortured. We can be sure that with these folk there was no mincing debates about water boarding. This guy was tortured. No question about it. On top of that he had to carry the instrument of his death on his own back while the fickle crowds jeered and cheered. It's no wonder that he felt "forsaken."
Yet somehow even as these words escaped his lips one wonders if he had the rest of the psalm in mind. Forsaken? Sure. But there's more to it, isn't there? In spite of the spectacular collapse of his ministry there is the flinty and unquenchable faith that will not surrender, even to the agonies of an unspeakable death.
"All the ends of the earth shall remember ... and turn to the Lord...." Left, it seems, by pretty much everyone, the enormity of what is taking place at this moment has to be rooted in the conviction that "dominion belongs to the Lord," and in the foreknowledge that even those who "sleep in the earth" "shall live for him."
For those who live through their own crucifixions in this life, such foreknowledge can offer incredible hope. In the excruciating process of divorce, it can help to know that somewhere in the months or years to come, healing and new life will be available. In the searing grief of loss when a spouse or parent dies, it is good to know that there will be a day when pain subsides. And in those times when it seems like everyone has abandoned us and there are enemies all around, there can be comfort in the truth that our Savior and our Lord has walked this way himself and bids us follow on to a brighter day.
New life is, after all, the promise. So it would indeed seem that even as these words escaped Jesus' lips, he had the rest of this psalm in mind.
Yet somehow even as these words escaped his lips one wonders if he had the rest of the psalm in mind. Forsaken? Sure. But there's more to it, isn't there? In spite of the spectacular collapse of his ministry there is the flinty and unquenchable faith that will not surrender, even to the agonies of an unspeakable death.
"All the ends of the earth shall remember ... and turn to the Lord...." Left, it seems, by pretty much everyone, the enormity of what is taking place at this moment has to be rooted in the conviction that "dominion belongs to the Lord," and in the foreknowledge that even those who "sleep in the earth" "shall live for him."
For those who live through their own crucifixions in this life, such foreknowledge can offer incredible hope. In the excruciating process of divorce, it can help to know that somewhere in the months or years to come, healing and new life will be available. In the searing grief of loss when a spouse or parent dies, it is good to know that there will be a day when pain subsides. And in those times when it seems like everyone has abandoned us and there are enemies all around, there can be comfort in the truth that our Savior and our Lord has walked this way himself and bids us follow on to a brighter day.
New life is, after all, the promise. So it would indeed seem that even as these words escaped Jesus' lips, he had the rest of this psalm in mind.
