“From dereliction unto deliverance”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, January 12, 2024

Psalm 22 (Forward, p. 75) CEV p. 567

This psalm first came to my attention back when, as a parish lay reader, I was assirgned a talk on one of the ‘seven words’ from the Cross, as part of a series of Good Friday meditation. I was asked to speak on the fourth ‘word’, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’. And, I was handed Ralph Dean’s little book, In the Light of the Cross, as a resource. There I was surprised that these very words of Jesus were actually a quote from Psalm 22, verse one.

Continuing with this psalm, I found it to be quite remarkable in describing what a crucifixion must be like—and what certainly Jesus’ one was like:

“But I am merely a worm, far less than human, and I am hated and rejected by people everywhere. Everyone who sees me makes fun and sneers. They shake their heads, and say, ‘Trust the Lord! If you are his favourite, let him protect you and keep you safe’ (verses 6-8).

“I have no more strength than a few drops of water. All my bones are out of joint; my heart is like melted wax. My strength has dried up like a broken clay pot, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You, God, have left me to die in the dirt” (verses 14-15).

“Brutal enemies attack me like a pack of dogs, tearing at my hands and my feel. I can count all my bones, and my enemies just stare and sneer at me. They took my clothes and gambled for them” (verses 16-18).

Reading this perhaps for the first time—or, at least, the first time that I connected it to the Cross—I could not but marvel:

-here was the gambling for his clothes and his thirst, both prefigured,

And here were the actual words of those who taunted him. It was

incredible.

But it was also incredible in terms of the utter desolation that Jesus felt at that point, His feeling of being rejected, forsaken by none other than God

Almighty. This must have been even more devastating for Jesus than for all the rest of us, seeing as Jesus had never known what it was like to be separated from God, cut off or separated from Him. For us, it is ‘old hat’, but for Jesus, this was brand new and totally foreign. What a terrible blow this must have been.

However, I think that there was more to this than just that. The apostle Paul tells us that ‘he who was without sin, was made sin for us’ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). In other words, Jesus, the sinless one, took on Himself all our sin, all our wickedness and depravity, all our disobedience and waywardness, all our selfishness and rebellion, and bore it there on the Cross. What a horrible and oppressive weight that must have been—that, together with the sad and inevitable fact that sin, in itself, separates a person from God. And so, Jesus voluntarily, took on that separation that rightfully ‘belonged’ to us. No wonder it constituted such an agony for Jesus!

However, as I continued reading through this psalm, I discovered that this sense of dereliction doesn’t continue. The last part of this psalm is positively joyful. Its author has moved forward from the despair and dereliction to a sense of deliverance. He is convinced that the God who has led Him to this place, and who seemingly deserted Him, is not absent at all, and neither is He uncaring and unresponsive. In other words, God will see Him through this to something much, much better. So, I must ask, did Jesus repeat all this psalm there on the Cross, even to its very different end? And so, was conviction of God’s love and presence, Jesus’ conviction as well? I believe that it was so, and so, constitutes a firm trust in God no matter what.

But, before we leave this psalm, there is something else that I must mention. This psalm is traditionally ascribed to David: in fact, its title says as much. So, this leads me to two questions. Firstly, when did David experience such a terrible and got-wrenching time of desolation? (What I mean is this, that despite his many adversities, I cannot put my finger on a time that was ‘quite’ as bad as this!) And secondly—if this was indeed his experience—what brought him through it to that place of peace and joy and deliverance expressed within this psalm?

What, then, is doubly delightful, and encouraging, is that this experience of deliverance belongs not just to our Lord, but also to us ordinary mortals,

who, like David, encounter diverse difficulties in life. We, like him, and like our Lord, can always look to our Lord for help, even when we do not feel His presence or feel that He is doing anything. Thanks be to God for this great hope--and promise of help. Amen.

Forward notes: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest” (verses 1-2).

‘’Several years ago, I got up one morning and id what I always did: fed breakfast to my children and got ready for work. Except there was one difference. I wanted to die. I felt such despair and darkness and had no words to pray. I thought, how can this be? How can I no know how or what to pray to God? I had no answers.

“Later, I happened to hear from an angel squeezed into the body of an 89-year-old woman who said that when we don’t have the words to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us with wordless sighs (Romans 8:26-27). Thanks be to God! God was with me the entire time. The silence was healing. And the sighs and groanings were a prayer. I like to think that when Jesus asked, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ as he hung on the cross, his groanings were a prayer, and God’s silence brought healing.”

Moving Forward: “Are you suffering from despair or depression? Remember, God is with you always. Also, consider contacting a priest or therapist, who may be God’s hands and feet in the world, providing you with much-needed help and strength. Dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.”