A Good Friday Reflection
Ps. 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
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After our daughter was born, I experienced a brief but intense bout of postpartum depression (hormonally induced feelings of sadness and overwhelm— typically called “baby blues”—are common in the first few weeks after birth). I remember sitting outside one sunny morning hoping that my mind—and my newborn baby— would cooperate with a time of prayer. Hoping that prayer would help to lift the cloud that seemed to persist over me.
I opened my Bible to the psalm of the day: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The tears flowed freely after that opening line. God’s Word met me that morning in a place I didn’t expect. Rather than ask me to cheer up, to practice gratitude, or to focus on the work ahead (all good things), Psalm 22 gave me words to articulate exactly how I felt in the moment. It showed me how to turn anguish into prayer.
What’s interesting about this particular psalm is how it reads like a conversation. “Why have you forsaken me? -Yet you are holy… But I am a worm and not a man… -Yet you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.” In his turmoil, the psalmist engages in a kind of call-and-response with himself as he cries out to God. This is often what faith feels like in real time. Difficult life experiences disorient us, but we keep returning to the refrain of hope.
Of course, our greatest song leader in this music of faith is Jesus Himself. It’s hard to imagine how he, the perfect human being, could have felt far from God. But the words of Psalm 22 were among his last. He showed us what it looks like to ask God “why?” while remaining faithful to Him nonetheless. He stayed on the cross, entrusting himself to His Father even when he felt abandoned by Him.
The reason this can comfort us is because we know that Jesus’ story did not end in the grave. Ultimately, he wasn’t abandoned by His Father. In his obedience, Jesus was fully vindicated. Now he has been given a name above every name. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the ultimate call-and-response between God and humanity. It reminds us where the story is headed, even in those moments or seasons when it seems like we are calling into the void.
What’s more, Jesus’ own ability to pray this prayer reminds us that we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness. He knows what it is like to be on the human side of this psalm, to suffer in a body and to feel the sting of shame and betrayal. And because he has gone before us into Heaven, because He now represents us before the Father, we can cry out to God with confidence. Here's what that looks like:
First, we can be confident that we will not be put to shame in our struggle. He does not despise our weakness, he understands it. If Jesus asked, “why?” then so can we. Second, we can be confident that God does in fact hear us when we pray. That in and through Christ, God has already answered our deepest questions and met our deepest needs. And third, we can be confident that Christ will supply us with what we need to be faithful until we see Him. He sends his very Spirit to help us— to keep the song of faith on our lips and even to sing it over us when we forget the words. So let’s sing on.