Thursday, March 5

Psalm 22

It opens with a cry of despair that may sound familiar: the gospel writers Mark and Matthew place these words into Jesus' mouth as he is dying on the cross. With this literary allusion the gospels connect the passion of Jesus with what would have been a well-known scripture to the Jews of Jesus' time. The first several verses of this psalm alternate cries of abandonment and pain with reflections that God has always been with the speaker and his people. When the gospel writers reference the psalm to Jesus' suffering, they remind the listener that God is constant through history and time despite our sufferings, even the most extreme.

The second half of the psalm is a hymn of praise. It's as if the speaker determinedly chooses to focus on God. The speaker moves beyond despair and bargaining to proclaim the righteousness of God who has always been and always will be with “those who fear Yahweh”.

The times in which we live hold many challenges for us, individually and as communities. We are reminded by psalms such as this one that we can choose our response to trouble. As does the speaker of Psalm 22, we can acknowledge our pain and then choose to turn once again towards God.