Sunday, November 4, 2012

Psalm 22 - Why Have You Forsaken Me?

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (vs 1 NIV)

If you've got plans to skip reading this chapter, please, don't! This Psalm is so filled with passion it is indescribable. At Zion, this Psalm is read every Maundy Thursday during the stripping of the altar.  A haunting echo, the passion of Jesus' resolve to give his life for ours is heard in the lament.  Yes, resolve, but at the same time the sorrowful loneliness, as Jesus prepares, in his final hours, to give his life for the us, to die for the world.

And, if you're one to skip the Maundy Thursday Service simply because you'll be there on Easter Sunday, don't!  There is no Easter without the suffering and sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  So, please don't be skipping the next Maundy Thursday Service, or Ash Wednesday, or Good Friday.  There is no Easter without the suffering and death of Jesus.  There is no life, without his death.

There is no way to fully explain this chapter in a little blog.  Read it and read it aloud. Listen to the words.  Listen to the pain and the suffering.  Listen to the hope.

"May your hearts live forever." (vs 26)

God's Peace - Pr. J

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