Holy Week Devotions: Final Footnote - Psalm 22:1

Bible Passage: Psalm 22:1-5

Key Verse:      My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?                      Psalm 22:1

Every year our church has an actual sunrise service at a beautiful private school campus in our town. On a good morning, you can see for miles and the Great Smoky Mountains are perfectly silhouetted on the horizon. A couple of weeks before the service takes place, I go to the US Navy website to get the actual time of sunrise, so that I can let our people know when to gather at the school’s flagpole.

When I looked at the time this year, I got a terrible shock: Easter sunrise is at 6:10AM. I thought that this was a bit early, but the US Navy has never steered me wrong, so I accepted the time and let everyone know when to gather at the school. I pictured us all arriving with tired unwashed faces, unkempt hair, and yawning all the way through the singing, prayers, and gospel readings.

Fortunately, our church choir director re-checked the timetable and noticed the footnote at the bottom: Add one hour for daylight time, if and when in use.

The actual time of Easter sunrise is 7:10AM! As Bugs Bunny would say: what a maroon!

Because I didn’t read the footnote, I got the time wrong. Coincidentally, the same thing happens with Psalm 22. When we read those first words being spoken by Jesus from the Cross, we think that God has abandoned Him and that Jesus is painfully separated from God. To be forsaken by a parent is a great emotional loss to anyone, and so we interpret Christ’s use of this scripture as a way of expressing His complete despair and sadness of being isolated from God.

But we haven’t read the footnote, which comes in the last verse of this psalm: ‘They will proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn-- for He has done it.’ – Psalm 22:31

Jesus is not bewailing the fact that He has been abandoned by God; He is actually singing a song of salvation where God delivers His people for all time! It’s not about being forsaken and isolated; the Cross is about being saved and restored to God.

Question for personal reflection

How has Christ’s death become a blessing for me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You won the battle of good versus evil, life versus death, and sin versus obedience when You died on the Cross. You sacrificed Yourself for us; You obeyed God perfectly and completely. You knew that His plan of salvation for humanity succeeded. We will be eternally grateful to You for this Supreme Sacrifice which eternally restores us to God. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving our souls and bringing us back into God’s gracious Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. if you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest Good Friday drawing of Christ being crucified. It’s called “Outside a City Wall.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7027482543_2af1a2c5f8_b.jpg

Lent Devotions: Forsaken, but not forgotten

Psalm 22:1      My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

There was a time in my life when I actually felt forsaken by God. It happened when I was a teenager. My Mom had just had another schizophrenic meltdown and the paramedics came to take her away in an ambulance. As usual, she was violently cursing and out of her mind. Our neighbors were at their windows – some praying inwardly while others were shaking their heads. I felt so embarrassed, angry, and saddened all at the same time. I feel to my knees and started to weep in front of my Dad and siblings.

“Why is this happening to us?” I wailed. “Why doesn’t God do something to stop it?” It was the lowest point in my teenage life and that despair set me off on a self-destructive course of alcoholism and addiction.

Decades later, I can still feel that pain but I also know that God was there in the midst of all my family’s distress. He heard the cry of my heart and I feel that because of the suffering our family endured, I can help people better in the middle of their own crises.

Perhaps you are going through some trouble today, or you feel isolated and vulnerable, or there is some pain in your life that is deeply affecting your relationships with others and God. From my experience, I believe that God is at the heart of your trouble, walking with you and willing to help you get through this.

We all can feel forsaken at times, just like Jesus on the Cross when He quoted these words, but we are never hopelessly abandoned by God. He is with us always, planning what lies ahead and preparing for better times.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You knew the depths of despair on the Cross at Calvary. The suffering and shame that You endured connected You to the painfulness, weakness, and fearfulness of humanity. We look to You to help us carry our crosses and bear our burdens. We need You to walk beside us and embrace us with love, patience, healing, and compassion. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.