For our loving Creator does not turn away from the afflicted,
And does not hide from them;
But their cries are heard, their prayers rise up to heaven.
Nan C. Merrill Psalm 22
Reflection:
As I am writing this, my husband is home with COVID. It’s been two years since he got it the first time. Luckily, the symptoms are mild and we have been avoiding each other as much as possible so I’m not down yet. I really thought that by the time I got to year B again in the psalm reflections we would be done with COVID, but instead we just keep saying, “Dear Lord, not again”, with no end in sight. But even as we are lamenting this latest bout with the plague, I know that by the time I publish this reflection, we will be healthy again.
The psalms of lament are cathartic. Releasing the icky feelings is a relief, even if nothing changes, it feels good to name what is happening. And when I read real emotions in the psalms I know that I am not alone. Generations of people have read, prayed, and found deep meaning in the psalter.
While the opening line of “My God my God, why have you forsaken me?” is one of the most familiar cries of lament it is only the beginning of the psalm; not the last word. As I spent more time with Psalm 22 I noticed that beyond the cry for help and the sadness, there is a deep and abiding sense of relationship with the divine. And even though that does not come with any promises about an easy and happy life, it means I am never as alone as I feel. Remembering that might be enough to get me through those seasons of “Dear Lord, not again”.
Everything changes. Things look good, than bad, then worse, and then okay. But through everything, God is with us.
Psalm reflections can be listened to on the Period Pastor Podcast series, Like One who Watches for the Morning. In the podcast I read both the NRSVUE and Nan C. Merrill’s Psalms for Praying in addition to the reflection you see here.
I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020 shortly after we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom. It is a practice I have continued since. Many churches use the Revised Common Lectionary (RLC) that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C). Starting in Advent 2019, Third Church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C. Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others. While we were using Psalms in year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A. In Advent of 2020 we rejoined those who use the lectionary in year B. Advent of 2021 year C. Advent of 2022 year A. Advent of 2023 year B.
I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections.
Year B Psalms
Advent – Transfiguration: 1st Sunday in Advent Psalm 80, 2nd Sunday in Advent Psalm 85, 3rd Sunday in Advent Psalm 126, 4th Sunday in Advent Psalm 89, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1st Sunday after Christmas, Psalm 148, New Year’s Day Psalm 8, Epiphany Psalm 72, 1st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 139, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 62, 4th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 111, 5th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 147, Transfiguration Sunday (Sunday before Lent) Psalm 50
Lent: Ash Wednesday Psalm 51, 1st Sunday in Lent Psalm 25, 2nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 22, 3rd Sunday in Lent Psalm 19, 4th Sunday in Lent Psalm 107, 5th Sunday in Lent Psalm 51 or Psalm 119:9-16, 6th Sunday in Lent (Palm or Passion Sunday) Psalm 118 or 31
Holy Week: Monday Psalm 36, Tuesday Psalm 71, Wednesday Psalm 70, Maundy Thursday Psalm 116, Good Friday Psalm 22, Holy Saturday Psalm 31
Easter: Easter Psalm 118 or 114, 2nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 133, 3rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 4, 4th Sunday of Easter Psalm 23, 5th Sunday of Easter Psalm 22, 6th Sunday of Easter Psalm 98, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7th Sunday of Easter Psalm 1, Day of Pentecost Psalm 104
Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time): 1st Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) Psalm 29, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 139 or Psalm 81, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 138 or Psalm 130, 4th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 20 or Psalm 92, 5th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 9or Psalm 133 or Psalm 107, 6th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 30, 7th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 48 or Psalm 123, 8th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 24 or Psalm 85, 9th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 89 or Psalm 23, 10th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 14 or Psalm 145, 11thSunday after Pentecost Psalm 51 or Psalm 78, 12th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 34, 13th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 111 or Psalm 34, 14th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 84 or Psalm 34, 15th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 45 or Psalm 15, 16th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 125 or Psalm 146, 17th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 19 or Psalm 116, 18th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 1 or Psalm 54, 19th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 124 or Psalm 19, 20th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 26 or Psalm 8, 21st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 22 or Psalm 90, 22ndSunday after Pentecost Psalm 104 or Psalm 91, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 34 or Psalm 126, 24th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 146 or 119, 25th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 127 or Psalm 146, 26th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 16, 27th Sunday after Pentecost (Christ the King) Psalm 132 or Psalm 93.
Sources and notes:
“Psalm 22, perhaps more than any other psalm, serves as a link to the story of Jesus’ passion, the core of the Gospels. Ot the thirteen references to the Old Testament in the passion stories, eight come from the book of Psalms, and five of those are from Psalm 22. All three psalms that provide material for the passion (Psalms 22; 31; 69) are laments spoken by an individual (or “prayers for help by an individual”). The Gospel writers seem to have identified this as an appropriate genre for the crucifixion account. The church in turn has read these laments in light of Jesus’ suffering and death.” Creach p. 86
“… to view Psalm 22 as prophecy only in the strict sense of prediction denies the suffering of those many who prayed th psalm before Jesus. Jesus, in fact, stands in their tradition and in solidarity with them.” Creach p. 87
“… the Gospel writers understood Psalm 22, not so much as prediction, but as a lens through which to view the death of Jesus.” Creach p. 87
“The psalm is composed by using the device of repetition or doubling. There is a twiceness in the arrangement from the opening vocative to the total structure itself. The whole is compose of a prayer for help (vv. 1-21) and a song of praise for help (vv. 22-31). These two types and the acts they express are distinct, as would be expected from the different situations that give rise to them. But here the two are joined in a city as though the two acts of prayer and praise and the two situations of affliction and salvation must be comprehended in one arc of meaning to express what is happening.” Mays p. 107
“What happens in this psalm is, in its basic plot, a case of the experience though which the believing Israelite passed in praying in tribulation, using prayers for help and then later, when delivered, praising God with a company of friends. Here the two are joined, intensified, and magnified in a scenario that identifies the combination as the way in which God manifests and discloses his universal eternal reign.” Mays p. 108
“The alternation in the psalm between description of trouble and statements about God’s way expresses the contradiction that rends the soul when the unity of faith and experience is broken.” Mays p. 109
“The communal dimension of Psalm 22 is particularly worthy of note. It is present from almost the beginning of the psalm (vv. 3-5), even when it seems to be a meager source of comfort and hope. But immediately upon being answered by God (v. 21b), the psalmist turns to the congregation, praising God and inviting their participation (vv. 22-23). Then the psalmist gathers a table-sharing community consisting of “the afflicted” (v. 24) and “the poor” (v 26), who will “be satisfied” and join in the chorus of praise–indeed, who will experience life in allies fullness (v. 26). Even more remarkable, this community of afflicted ones will be the stimulus for the formation of a community that knowns no bounds, consisting of people from all nations–living, dead, and yet unborn! God’s reign will be universally acclaimed.” NIB p. 363
“By telling the story of Jesus using Psalm 22, the Gospel writers affirm that in Jesus’ faithful suffering, as in the psalmist’s faithful suffering, God was present. God’s presence with the afflicted and dying opens up new possibilities for understanding and living human life, as well as for understanding and accepting death. Because of these new possibilities, the Gospel writers saw in Psalm 22 a source for articulating the meaning of both the cross and the resurrection. Thus Jesus’ cry from the cross (Matt 26:46; Mark 15:34; cf. Ps 22:1) is not simply a cry of dereliction; it is an affirmation of faith in God, who as the psalmist comes to understand and articulate, shares human affliction and enables even the dead to praise God.” NIB pp. 363-364
“In short, Jesus lived, like the psalmist, as one of the afflicted, but in the knowledge that God does not despise the afflicted (Ps 22:24). Rather, God loves the afflicted, and God shares in their suffering. So Jesus, like the psalmist, gathered around himself a community of the afflicted, the poor, the outcast. He sat at table with them, and he still invites to his table those who profess to live in humble dependence upon God rather than self. In essence, Gospel writers recognized that Psalm 22 affirms what the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus affirm. Suffering and glory are inseparable, both for the people of God and for God’s own self!” NIB p. 364
“There is no reason to think that Israel at the end of Psalm 22 would have promptly recited Psalm 23. Regardless, Psalm 23 provides a full culmination and resolve to Psalm 22. There is a good reason to take the two Psalms tighter. When we take Psalm 23 by itself as the church is want to do, it may claim far too quickly that “all is well”. Psalm 22 knows better than that. Psalm 22 knows that the darkness must be fully and deeply engaged The reality of much of life is one of divine abandonment, of being in the valley without the protective staff, of being before enemies without a good table or a full cup. The miracle of it all is that Israel and, after Jesus, the church have found the stamina and the grounding to confess that, in the abandonment, God can yet be trusted. While Psalm 22:1 is a rhetorical shock when we stop and pay attention to it, perhaps the trust voice in Psalm 23 is anticipated even there, because the very one who abandons continues to be “my God”. In the courage of faith that borders on hutzpah, the church dares to confess that “my God” who abandons is still and in any case “the Good Shepherd”. This may lead to reliance on the “goodness and mercy” of God that is given in the risen one who appears at the end of Psalm 22 in praise and in devotion to the well-being of the community.” Brueggemann p. 105
Alter Alter, Robert. 2007. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary New York: W. W. Norton & Company
WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.
Bourgeault, C. (2006). Chanting the psalms: A practical guide Audio Book. New Seeds.
Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.
Brueggemann Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Brueggemann, Walter. Davis Hanskins, Editor. 2022. Our Hearts Wait: Worshiping Through Praise and Lament in the Psalms Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KY.
Brueggemann, Walter. (2002). Spirituality of the psalms. Augsburg Pub. House.
Brueggemann, Walter. (1984). The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg.
Chilson, Richard, ed. You Shall Not Want: A Spiritual Journey Based on the Psalms. Ave Maria Press, 2009.
Chittister Chittister, Joan. (2011). Songs of the heart: reflections on the psalms. John Garratt Publishing.
Cudjoe-Wilkes, G., Wilkes, A. J., & Moss, O. (2022). Psalms for black lives: Reflections for the work of Liberation. Upper Room Books.
WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.
Creach Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
DAFLER, J. (2021). PSOBRIETY: A journey of recovery through the psalms. Louisville, KY: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX.
W de Claisse-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 4-5. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 22. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2020.
Green, Barbara. 1997. Like a Tree Planted: An Exploration of Psalms and Parables Through Metaphor. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
W Hopkins, Denise Dombkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 2-3. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 21. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2016.
NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Lewis, C. S. (2017). Reflections on the Psalms. Harper One, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Mays Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.
McCann McCann, J. C. (1993). A theological introduction to the book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Merrill, N. C. (2020). Psalms for praying an invitation to wholeness (10th Anniversary Edition ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Miller Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.
Morgan, Michael. 2010. The Psalter for Christian Worship Revised Edition. Westminster John Knox Press.
Schlimm Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know.Nashville, TN: Abington Press.
Spong Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.
Weems, Ann. 1995. Psalm of Lament. Westminster John Knox Pres
OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.
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