Psalm 22: He Has Done It!

Passion Sunday, 4/1/12           Psalm 22:  He has done it!

Psalm 22          Mark 14:32-15:47

“My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” – Jesus at his lowest, also his highest.  This was what he had come here to do, to die so that we might live.  In that moment he fulfilled all the Father had commanded.  The Aztecs believed that the destiny of the soul after death was determined by the manner of the death rather than by conduct during life.  It all comes to this one moment, yet as we live, how we have lived our life, has an impact on how we die.  It is the culmination of our life.  Today we focus on the culmination of Jesus life, his finest hour and his darkest hour.

Jesus last words in Mark’s gospel are the first line of our psalm for today, a well-known psalm as evidenced by its use in other parts of the gospel.  It was chosen for a reason.  Mark 15:29-32 equals verse 7 of the psalm; speaking of how others mocked Jesus, even those crucified with him. Matthew 27:43 “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s son,’” equals verse 8.  All four of the gospels, Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34, John 19:23-24, mention how they divided his clothes among them, casting lots for them, verse 18. 

The Psalm has two parts: the first, verses 1-21, is a hymn of despair, a lament, where the writer cries out to God in his pain and suffering; the second part, verses 22-31, is a hymn of thanksgiving and praise for deliverance.  As is typical for laments, it doesn’t end on a note of despair but one of hope and thanksgiving.  Some commentators believe that the hymn was written in two parts at different times, yet others state that it is one piece, that the hymn of praise was written either in anticipation of what God would do for the afflicted one, or reflecting back on what God had done.

The psalm starts with the anguished cry, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  His physical sufferings are made worse by his feeling of abandonment by his God.  He cries to God and God does not respond.  One definition of suffering is pain without meaning.  We can withstand a tremendous amount of pain if we know there is a reason for our pain.  Women experience pain during childbirth but they don’t suffer because they know there is a reason for the pain.  This makes the pain easier to endure. 

He goes on in verses 3-5 to state that God is holy, our fathers trusted God and God delivered, indicating that even in his suffering, he remembers who God is, that God has proven trustworthy in the past.  Even though he doesn’t feel God’s presence, he trusts.

In verses 6-8 we see further reason for his suffering, besides his physical pain people are mocking him.  Yet he remembers how God has been with him since his birth, how God has kept him safe, vs. 9-10.  He asks, “be not far from me” now that trouble is near, vs. 11.   Verses 12-17 speak of his physical complaints, which are many.  He is wasted by sickness and fever, poured out like water, bones out of joint, heart like wax (14) his strength is dried up, his mouth is so dry his tongue sticks to his jaws (15).  He is so emaciated you can see his bones (17).  His enemies encircle him, ready to pounce, much like vultures waiting to devour the carcass.  They are like bulls (12), lions with mouths open to tear (13) and dogs (16) waiting for the kill.  They don’t even wait for his death but have taken his clothes (18).

The only resource left to someone in such dire straits is prayer, and so he prays in verses 19-21.

At this point the psalm changes dramatically, the prayer has been heard, or the faith of the writer is so strong that he believes even in the face of so much suffering and tragedy that God will save – “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; and he has not hid his face from him.” (24)

Not only will the writer praise God (25), all the ends of the earth, all peoples, even all generations to come will praise God, “that he has done it.” (31)

The similarities to Jesus’ sufferings during his last hours are very clear and would have been clear to his listeners.  Just as the suffering servant songs of Isaiah came to be attributed to Jesus, so this psalm has become associated with Jesus, as a prophecy of a suffering servant Messiah, besides dealing with the real situation of the psalmist who wrote it.

Worse than any physical pain or humiliation, is the experience of feeling abandoned by God.  This truly is a dark night experience, this loss of the sense of God’s presence.  What greater loneliness is there than this?  Once you have it, how much more painful to lose it.  Mother Theresa, after an intense three month period of feeling God’s presence, spent the rest of her life in that dark night because that intense presence was gone.  Hard to miss that which we never had.  Most of us are lucky to get glimpses, brief moments of heightened awareness of God’s presence. For someone who had become accustomed to this, the loss must have been terribly painful.  How much more so for Jesus who had such a close relationship with the Father that he said he and the Father were one.  What a terrible loneliness at the time of your greatest need to feel abandoned, yet he remained faithful.  Those hearing his words would also have known the rest of the words.  How they were not ultimately words of despair but words of faith during a time of great trial. 

Jesus in his humanity experienced all that it is to be human, even to the point of feeling abandoned by his God.  Yet he remained faithful.  Jesus knows what it is to suffer the pain of loneliness.  No matter how well loved we are, no matter how close we might feel to our loved ones, they can’t understand us entirely.  There are limits to our understanding of each other.  Our souls are encased in physical bodies that limit and provide boundaries.  No one understands us like our God does for there are no limits on God’s understanding of us, but we are limited in our understanding of God.  Ultimately we all stand alone before our God at the time of our death and so must prepare for this now, while alive.

In being fully human, Jesus experienced all that we experience.  As long as he felt God’s presence, Jesus knew there was a reason for what he was enduring, but when in doubt, in the garden where he steeled his will to align it with the Father’s will, at this final moment, he suffered.  Was this all vain?  Was all this suffering for nothing?  Was it truly God’s will and if so, would it really make a difference or would people remain in their sin?  Was all of his life’s work for nothing?  Hard questions.

Those questions remain to this day, a challenge to each of us.  Those who knew Psalm 22 knew it did not end in despair, rather it ended in triumph with all generations to come praising our God, saying “he has done it!”  And so death is not the end.  It wasn’t the end for Jesus, and is not the end for us.  The questions behind Jesus’ suffering remain for each generation to answer.  His death has meaning in that so many have changed their lives because he lived and yet we have our part to play in providing meaning, in the continuing unfolding of salvation.  It’s up to us to live our lives so that at the hour of our death it will be our greatest moment, our homecoming to God.  It’s up to us to ask ourselves today and every day, is my life different because of Jesus’ death and if so, how?  How do we respond to his great gift of love? 

Robertson Copyright March 2012  

Psalm 18A vs. 1-30 A Shelter in a Time of Storm

March 18, 2012           Psalm 18A vs. 1-30  A Shelter in a Time of Storm

Numbers 21:4-9          Psalm 18:1-30             Eph. 2:1-10                 John 3:14-21

“Don’t tell God how big your storm is, tell the storm how big your God is,” Marcy Keefe-Slager

Storm season is upon us early this year, making this statement appropriate as we are already experiencing thunderstorms and the threat of tornados.  Also appropriate for today’s psalm.  This is a long psalm, two psalms joined together, verses 1-30 is an individual thanksgiving hymn, verses 31-50 royal psalm of a king who has won victory in battle.  Because of this I will be separating the two and doing first one, 18A, today, 18B at a later time.

Our psalm starts out with words of praise of God, “I love you, Lord, my strength, Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. . . I have been delivered from my enemies.” (1-3)  God is seen as the “rock” – strong, reliable, a natural symbol of strength and safety.   He praises God for delivering him from his enemies.

He goes on to talk about his troubles in vs. 4-6, how he called upon God and God heard – death surged around him; menacing floods terrified him; cords of Sheol tightened around him.  He was in the throws of death and God heard and saved him.

Verses 7-15 recount God’s response in the form of a theophany - God’s great power in nature.  They provide a powerful description of God’s majesty, grandeur and power through the image of a storm, earthquake, thunder, lightning, hail.  In the midst of this storm, God reaches down and saves the writer as we hear in vs. 16-17, God brought him to a safe place.

Vs. 20-24 state how God rewarded him because of his righteousness.

Vs. 25-30 then point to how God deals with others:  how God is loyal to those who are loyal to him, blameless with the blameless, pure with the pure, crooked with the crooked.  (Or forward with the forward - King James Version.  Froward means from-ward, as opposed to toward, however God is never from-ward with his people, always “toward”, moving towards us, his people.)  This is a way of invoking “karma” – what goes around comes around, or as you measure out, so shall you be measured as Jesus said (Luke 6:30, Mk. 4:24).  Writer goes on to say God delivers a humble people, but brings down the haughty – a common theme in Scripture (vs. 27).  Vs. 28 – God lights my darkness, in contrast to the darkness of God in vs. 9.  With God all things are possible, the weak are strong, with God “I can leap over a wall,”  “I can crush a troop.”  The psalm concludes with statement that God’s ways are perfect, God’s promises true – he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

Whatever peril the writer was facing, it was perceived as huge on his part, life-threatening, thereby requiring a mighty act of salvation on the part of God who appears in all of his power and majesty.

With all of the natural disasters that occur in the world, earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, tsunamis, hurricanes and most recently tornados, this is an apt and timely description of God.  Storms can be terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time, reminding us of God’s awesome power.  In our psalm God rescues the just from the storm.  There is clearly a problem with this, though, for we know that natural disasters strike the just and the unjust.  There is no guarantee of safety amidst a storm. Natural disasters are not God’s punishment for sins, though there were those who believed this in Old Testament times and even today.  They just happen.  So what is this psalm saying to us today?

Reading from Numbers we hear the last of the murmuring stories.  The people in the desert were constantly complaining.  They complained that they were hungry and God provided manna and quail.  They complained of thirst and God gave them water from a rock.  In today’s reading they were complaining because they didn’t like the food God had given them, not so unlike us today.  Always something we can complain about.  God’s punishment is to send serpents with a fiery sting.  When the people repent God instructs Moses to put a bronze serpent on a rod where it can be lifted up for all to see.  Those who looked upon the serpent were healed. 

In some ways a troubling passage, would seem like Moses had made a false image for the Hebrews to worship.  There were cults at the time that worship images of serpents.  It was also troublesome because the serpent was an image of the devil.  King Hezekiah later had the bronzed servant destroyed in his efforts to abolish idolatry (2 Kings 18:4).  And yet, Jesus chose to use this image as a sign of his saving power, as we see in our gospel today.  Reminder that God’s ways not our ways; God will use anything and everything to reach his people.  A serpent can be a sign of the devil, or a sign of the healing power of a physician, as it has come to be.

In Numbers, God sends the scourge and then removes the scourge, a seeming contradiction, yet with a contrary people, perhaps God needed to be contrary to get their attention.  As we see in our psalm, sometimes God returns to us what we give to God, not out of contrariness on God’s part but because it may be the only way to reach us.

In Ephesians, Paul says that “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” but now through Jesus, we all have life.  Like the psalmist who counted himself as among the dead and was rescued, so we, too, are rescued from our sins.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.  Jesus was lifted up on the cross so that all who look upon him might be saved, a sign of God’s everlasting love.

What are some of the storms in your life?  Perhaps you are dealing with the storm of cancer or another life-threatening illness for yourself or a loved one.  Perhaps a financial storm brought on by losses in the stock market, or sudden, unexpected job loss that can leave one bereft of financial security and the identity that a job provided.   Just this past week had news of a friend who suddenly lost a position she had held for a quarter of a century.  Perhaps you have loved ones dealing with the aftermath of a physical storm such as the tornados that tore up areas of our country recently.

Perhaps you are dealing with a spiritual storm or darkness.  Psalm speaks of how God made darkness his secret hiding place (vs. 11).  If so, perhaps God has called us to this place to speak to us.  What we call darkness may very well be the overwhelming light of God that appears as darkness to us with limited vision.  Perhaps you are overwhelmed with grief and thus called into the darkness of grief where God may be waiting to whisper to you.

The rain raineth on the just and the unjust alike.  None of us get through this life without encountering some storms, but for those of us who believe, there is salvation, there is safety, shelter in the times of storm.  The shape of that salvation may not take the form of worldly goods, health or wealth.  It is better than that.  It is life everlasting with Jesus in heaven.

So whatever storms might be blowing about in your life, don’t tell God.  God already knows.  Instead, tell the storm how big your God is.  God is master of the storm, he rides the winds of the storms, he controls the seas and the depths of the earth, and he will rescue all who call upon him.  He truly is a shelter in a time of storm.

Robertson Copyright March 2012 

Psalm 17: Keep Me as the Apple of the Eye

March 4, 2012             Psalm 17:  Keep Me as the Apple of the Eye – Believe in the Promise

Gen. 17:1-7, 15-16                  Psalm 17          Romans 4:13-25          Mark 8:31-38

“Keep me as the apple of the eye,” our psalm asks today.  It is a beautiful prayer for protection, calling upon God to save the writer from evil, slanderous men who had brought charges against him in court.  The writer had taken refuge in the temple and called upon God to protect him.  It is an individual lament.  The writer makes an appeal, states his case, makes his request then ends on a note of trust and confidence in God.

The writer is a righteous man, falsely accused.  First he appeals to God, vs. 1-2.  He insists on his righteousness, saying that if you visited him in the middle of the night, when all is silent and free from distraction, when the soul is most open to scrutiny, you would find nothing to charge him with- he is clearly innocent, vs. 3.  He goes through a list of possible transgressions: he never achieved material gain by breaking a divine rule (4); has never been violent (4); and has kept to the straight and narrow without budging (5).  He is a righteous man and was not afraid to say so.  His mouth has not transgressed God by false witness, oath or worship.  He has control of his tongue, quite an accomplishment as we have seen from our study of Psalm 12 and the difficulty of controlling the human tongue.  He has control of his mind, hence of his tongue.  He truly is a worthy man, by his own account.  May sound like boasting, yet in the face of being charged falsely, nothing wrong with defending yourself.

After his statement of his innocence, he renews his appeal with confidence to God, vs 6-7.

Vs. 8-9 put his request in poetic terms – keep me as the apple of the eye.  The apple of the eye in common parlance has come to mean that which is most precious to us.  For early Hebrews it referred to the pupil, the most vulnerable part of the eye, which needed protection.  Apple of the eye was the pupil of the eye, in Hebrew, “the little man of the eye.” It was the reflection of one looking into the eye, in other words the psalmist is asking God to keep me as a reflection of you, as almost a part of yourself. (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 4, p. 89)  Keep me so close to you that I am a reflection of you; protect me as you would that which is most precious to you.  He goes on to say, hide me in the shadow of thy wings, protect me under your wings the way a mother bird protects her young, for his enemies are surround him.

As to the nature of these enemies, KJV offers a poetic image, “they are enclosed in their own fat,” as opposed to RSV, “they close their heart to pity.”  In this day and age where obesity has become an epidemic, this is a timely image.  It brings to mind the image of Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars movies, so fat that he can hardly move, he waddles, devouring all who get in his way, to his own detriment as he is destroying himself with gluttony.  They are a people unreceptive to any positive influences because they are encased in their own fat, in their own greed and selfishness.  Fat is their way of life, keeping them from feeling any concern or pity for anyone else.  Like a lion, they are eager to tear, they lurk in ambush, both openly attacking and waiting in hiding.

His prayer for vengeance takes an interesting turn.  He prays for a violent overthrow.  Using a traditional blessing formula, he twists it into a curse.  He prays that these men whose portion in life is of the world, whose bellies are full of that which they have chosen, may have their fill until they burst, “May their belly be filled with what thou has stored up for them.”  Let the portion they have chosen be their portion – to their own detriment, is one interpretation.  Or let their belly be filled with what you have in store for them, assuming that is punishment, is another interpretation.  It isn’t enough that they be punished, but future generations, their children and their children’s children as well, for they are sharing the benefit of their ill-gotten gain and so are to share the punishment.  NAB version, “their children are satisfied too, for they share what is left with their young.” (14b)

After venting, the psalmist ends with a beautiful passage of serenity and trust – “As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.” (15)

The poet’s conscience is at rest, he trusts completely in God’s righteousness, gives it all over to God.

This extreme is almost comical, to go from harsh words of vengeance to complete trust – yet they are truthful and so human.  After asking God for what he wants, venting his anger against his enemy, he releases it all into God’s hands, trusting God to do what God will do, and so does not sin.  Sometimes we need to vent our anger before we can release it.  The writer ends with confident belief in God.. 

Is God worthy of this trust?  Does God keep God’s promises?

In our first reading from Genesis, God makes a promise to Abram, changing his name to Abraham, as well as changing his wife Sarai’s name to Sarah.  The promise was that he would be the father of a great nation, that Sarah, who was considered barren and past the age for baring children would have a son.  The promise was so incredible that Abraham laughed, as did Sarah when she heard about it, but a year later she gave birth to a son.  Abraham believed.  And then when asked to sacrifice this son, Abraham still had faith, faith that was willing to do what he believed God was asking even when in flew in the face of what God had promised.  God’s promise remained true.  Through Isaac, Abraham was the father of a great nation, the Hebrew nation.  As Paul tells us in Romans, “he believed, hoping against hope,” and so is a model of belief.  Abraham was justified in his belief, justified by faith.

In our gospel, Peter one minute shines, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the next shows how little he truly understands when he rebukes Jesus for predicting his suffering.  Peter shows himself to be very human.  He thinks in human terms, not in God’s terms.  He thinks the Messiah is meant to be a worldly leader not a suffering servant.  The middle portion of Mark’s gospel, 8:22 – 10:52, begins and ends with the healing of blind men.  In this they go from blindness, to half sight, to seeing clearly.  “After they have thrown off the mantle of ignorance through a full encounter with the Lord, they are able to follow him in the way which is his.” (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, p. 33)  Peter is still in half sight.  He doesn’t understand.  He wants to follow Jesus, but he wants it to be under his terms, how he thinks it should be.  He doesn’t understand the cross.  Jesus’ rebuke doesn’t cast him out, just tells him to get in line.  Don’t try to lead, get behind me where you belong.  As disciples we are called to follow God, even when we don’t understand.  Abraham followed God, even when he didn’t understand. 

We all have our own ideas about who God is and how we expect God to be in this world, ideas that are colored by our experience and limited sight.  The writer of our psalm saw himself as a righteous man.  As a righteous man he asks God for vengeance, his form of vengeance.  Like Peter he was mistaken in his thinking.  Just because we don’t understand God’s ways, doesn’t make God’s promises any less real.  Abraham believed in God’s promise even when he thought he was to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Peter needed to learn to believe in God’s promise even when it didn’t come in the form that he expected, even when it meant suffering and the cross before getting to the resurrection.  God is always true to his promises; they just don’t always take the form that we expect.  This doesn’t make them any less true.

And what does God promise?  He doesn’t promise that life will be easy, in fact the reverse.  He does promise that someday we shall be happy with him in heaven where we shall see him face to face.

The psalmist writes, “keep me as the apple of the eye.”  We are God’s precious ones, the pupil that reflects the soul, wherein we see the inner person.  Keep us as a reflection of you, O God.   Keep us so close to you that we are reflections of you; protect us as you would that which is most precious to you.  Hide us in the shadow of your wings as a mother bird protects her young.  Truly we are precious in God’s sight.  This doesn’t mean we will not have challenges in this world.  This doesn’t mean that God will spare us our own particular cross.  It does mean that God’s promises are true, to be believed.  If we put our trust in our God then we can say with the psalmist, “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.”  We, too, shall see God face to face. 

Robertson, copyright March 2012