Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put
to shame.
But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the
people.
All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
"Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver —
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!"
Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother's breast.
On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been
my God.
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
(Psalm 22: 1-11)
I confess that too many Holy Weeks these words have simply washed over me
--- and I haven't really paused to live in them. In our Lutheran
tradition, these words are often read as the altar is being stripped of
paraments and candles, altar cloths and offering plates. For 22 years I
have been one of those handing items off to the altar guild to be put away
until the congregation's worship space is decked out in all its finery for
Easter Worship. The stripping of the altar of all of its symbols of
Christ is meant to represent the utter abandonment of Christ by his
disciples. The words of Psalm 22 were among those spoken by Christ on the
cross. And so they come alive for us in a very real way in Holy Week.
Only, of course, Jesus didn't say them first. They were part of the
ancient prayer book of the people of Israel. They were not written first
for God's own Son who on a Friday would die a shameful death on a cross.
They were first spoken, most likely, by one suffering a serious illness.
And that rings true, doesn't it?
Regardless of the depth of one's faith, anyone who has loved this life and
sees it coming to an end can surely resonate with the words of the
suffering one here. The cry to God of despair. The groaning. The wish to
sleep when sleep will not come. The bones that are out of joint, the
fever, the loss of strength. Again and again, the one who is ill may well
cry out in frustration and hurt and anger to God.
However, if you read the whole Psalm, you will discover that it moves back
and forth from despair to hope to despair to hope again. In the part
reprinted above, we hear that after crying out in his abandonment, the
writer is soon comparing God to a loving Father… the one who first placed
him as an infant on his mother's breast.
Not sick, but suffering still, these are the words that exploded from
Jesus' lips on the cross. Not mortally ill, but soon to die anyway, Jesus
spoke these words of despair as he breathed his last. It is only those
first words that are recorded. And yet, we are to understand that while
apparently only the first lines were spoken --- that even if the beginning
was all that could be uttered, the entire psalm was what was resonating in
Jesus' heart. And it is what others would have heard as they filled in
where he left off: Words of despair and abandonment, to be sure. But also
words of hope and praise.
To be sure, these words were part of Jesus' repertoire: engraved on his
heart in better times, but coming to mind, oh so true, on this day of
days. As Jesus cries these words, he is united with all those who have so
suffered. All who have questioned the presence and the care of God. All
those who have been derided by others. And all those whose whole beings
also yearn to simply praise God again. All of us.
There are many reasons to stand still in the events of Holy Week. To hear
Jesus' command to love one another and witness the foot washing on Maundy
Thursday. To watch the stripping of the altar. To gather again on Good
Friday and listen and watch and sing as the church slowly darkens with
each passing scripture detailing Jesus' suffering and death. There are
many reasons to stand still in the events of Holy Week. But perhaps the
one that makes it all such a gift is that in and through it, we experience
Jesus' humanity and his unity with all of us: especially in times of hurt
and suffering. Especially then.
May this Holy Week be a blessing to you. And may the joy of the
Resurrection be yours in a powerful way as the week comes to an end.
Pastor Janet
Coming Up this Week at Salem:
We gather for worship this week:
Thursday, April 1st at 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service with Representative
Footwashing
Friday, April 2nd at 7 p.m. Good Friday Tenebrae Service
Saturday, April 3rd 5 p.m. Easter Vigil Worship
Sunday, April 4th:
6:30 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service at Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore (Bring
your lawn chair!)
7 a.m. Coffee at Phil and Jenny Ruff's
8 a.m. Easter Festival Worship at Salem
9:15 a.m. Easter Breakfast at Salem
10:30 a.m. Easter Festival Worship at Salem
Salem Youth have collected almost 1800 pair of shoes to date for Share
Your Soles! They will be dedicated at Maundy Thursday 7 p.m. worship so
you still have a few days to contribute gently used shoes of any kind and
size.
In honor of our 140th anniversary we are compiling 140 health kits to be
shared around the world through Lutheran Disaster and World Relief. Still
needed are dark colored hand towels, nail clippers, large-tooth combs, and
toothbrushes? Your gift would be so appreciated and can be brought in
through Easter. The Health Kits will be dedicated Sunday, April 11th.
We're preparing for a large crowd on Easter, particularly at 10:30
worship. Please be on the lookout for guests and greet them with a smile!
(If you see someone looking for a place to sit, consider giving up your
space and moving to the back or to the balcony.)
No comments:
Post a Comment