BREAKING FORMAT

   Exodus 4:1-5:21; Matthew 18:1-20; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 5:15-21

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?  Why are you so far away when I groan for help?  Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.  Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.  Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
 They cried out to you and were saved.
 They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

But I am a worm and not a man.
 I am scorned and despised by all!
 Everyone who sees me mocks me.  They sneer and shake their heads, saying, ‘Is this the one who relies on the Lord?  Then let the Lord save him!
 If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!’  Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast….
 

My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart is like wax, melting within me.
 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
 You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
 My enemies… divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.

O Lord, do not stay far away!
 You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
 … I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.  I will praise you among your assembled people.
 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him….  For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
 He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.

I will praise you in the great assembly.
 I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
 All who seek the Lord will praise him.  Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.  The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
 All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
 For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations…. Our children will also serve him.
 Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.  They will hear about everything he has done.”

What did He say?  Did the Messiah, the very Son of God, really just say He’s been abandoned by the Father?  Oh, no!  This is the worst possible time!  That’s not what we expected.  That’s not how the story is supposed to end!  Who, or what, are we going to believe in now?

Draw nearer to the Cross.  Let us allow our hearts to swoon at the misery.  Hear Jesus cry out.  Be overwhelmed.  Feel His anguish.  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Lord, what are we supposed to do with that?  If Christ was abandoned, how can we ever trust You again?  “Remember,” comes the divine reply.

Remember that Jesus’ cry that dark afternoon was only half a thought, half a Psalm, in fact.  Remember God’s history of saving His people.  Remember that Jesus suffered so we don’t have to.  Remember God lead Jesus to the Cross and even tomb, but He did not leave Him there.  And teach your children.  There is hope.

In what seemed the final act of Jesus’ life, God was His most unpredictable.  We should have seen it coming.  The Psalmist did.  Jesus warned us.  Somehow, though, we were still unprepared for the enormity of the moment, the abyss of the separation. 

What hope is there for us?  “Remember,” comes the divine reply.  No doubt, that is what sustained Jesus.  God has a history, with us and with others.  If we grasp it, we will always have hope.

Some things should not be read piecemeal; Psalm 22 is one of them.  So I’m breaking format today, knowing that the unexpected sometimes carries with it the greatest potential for redemption and creativity.  Reread Psalm 22.  All of it.  Breaking format has worked before.  Remember the Resurrection.