An Open Door...

Prayers of the Passion…”Into Your Hands”…Luke 23:44 – 49

Jesus’ words from the cross in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 are ones of despair coming from Psalm 22. His words from the cross in Luke 23:46 are ones of trust in God from Psalm 31:5. Throughout the ordeal on the cross Jesus looked to God and remained close to God trusting the hands of the Father.

 

Prayers of the Passion…“He Gave Thanks”…Luke 22:7-23

Jesus had eagerly looked forward to celebrating the Passover with his disciples…his friends. He was glad to be there with them. They were his friends. They were a gift in his life. The wonderful aromas of the meal surrounded them. The sounds of their conversation and laughter drifted out into the night. They celebrated together the events of the first Passover remembering God’s faithfulness in delivering them from Egypt’s slavery centuries ago.

An oasis of celebration and ritual surrounded Jesus during the Passover meal. The evening’s traditions rooted him to the people, the land and to God. I believe this meal with his friends helped to steady him as he focused on the night’s ritual. He gave thanks…grateful for bread, for the celebration itself, for all he had been given, for his friends, for God’s provision and care.

And, the disciples…how often had they watched Jesus give thanks at meals? Did they remember other times on hillsides…in the middle of great crowds…by the sea shore…in their own homes? The familiar voice pausing to give thanks as work-worn hands blessed the bread…how often had they experienced this simple, normal act by Jesus?

Prayers of the Passion…"Jesus Remember Me"…Luke 23:32 - 43

Even though Jesus’ followers fled when he was arrested, we find them following him and being mentioned as he is taken from place to place. At the cross, some of them are directly mentioned as being there and others are there but nameless. Jesus had people there for him at the crucifixion.

But what about the other two criminals? Did they have friends or family there as they died? Or, had they alienated everyone? It is easy to think of the criminal who mocked Jesus being alone…he was mean. But it is harder to think of the criminal who turned to Jesus and defended Jesus as being all alone as he died. I hear his final request differently when I think of him dying alone. I hear him say, “Jesus—I am alone—remember me.” And, Jesus did.

 

Prayers of the Passion…”My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”…Thursday, February 25, 2010

A song runs through my head today:

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

Nobody knows my sorrow.

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

Glory Hallelujah!

Sometimes I’m up. Sometimes I’m down.

Oh, yes, Lord.

Sometimes I’m almost to the ground.

Oh, yes, Lord.

Oh, nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

Nobody knows but Jesus.

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

Glory Hallelujah!

You can find Louis Armstrong’s rendition of it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVKKRzemX_w

Prayers of the Passion…”My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”…Wednesday, February 24, 2010

I got stuck.

 

Today, I got stuck on ‘why’ and didn’t get any further. Images flashed through my head. Situations arose in my mind’s eye. Happenings and events that have left me asking ‘why’ did this or that happen kept me from moving on in the prayer. Rarely, is an explanation able to satisfy my ‘whys’. My ‘whys’ have a way of lingering…of staying because answers that satisfy me are not to be found.

So, in my relationship with God, I have a whole truck load of ‘whys’ just dangling out there. They go unanswered, and in all honesty, I can’t put them aside as if they don’t exist. I leave them to dangle in all that is genuine in my relationship with God.  For me, ‘dangling whys’ are honest. And, if I have to pretend to God about anything, including ‘dangling whys’, I figure what’s the point of having the relationship.

I live in the tension of an honest relationship with God and ‘dangling whys’…I call it having faith.

 

Prayers of the Passion…”My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”…Tuesday, February 23, 2010

 

Today, I tried to just pray the prayer six times and found it heart wrenchingly impossible. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” is too hard to say by itself, taken out of its context. To think Jesus said it with little intention to connect the words to David’s 22^nd Psalm, is to put him in spiritual isolation away from God.

 

Yet, to put it into the context of David’s 22^nd Psalm, is to put it into a spiritually rich context…a place where suffering and pain exists…a place where God’s trustworthiness is affirmed (verses 5 & 24)…a place where God’s salvation is proclaimed (verses 4 & 31). Out of affliction comes the affirmation of God’s presence and deliverance.

 

When we pray the entire Psalm along with David…along with Jesus, we find that we are not forsaken…we do not walk alone through spiritual deserts or dark nights of the soul…our God is with us.

 

 

 

Prayers of the Passion: "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me..."Monday, February 22, 2010

When did the first ‘forsaken’ occur? When was the first time someone was forsaken?

 

I know...We all know if we look...

 

We can imagine the evening’s coolness on our faces…a welcome after the heat of the day. We hear the frantic rustling of underbrush and tall grasses...the guilty whispers.

 

We hear a sound on the breeze…the sound of names lovingly called. We hear silence in response. We hear the call again. The loving, concerned-voice asks ‘where are you?’ The voice seeks the beloved as the beloved hide, forsaking their God, their Creator.

 

We humans did the first forsaking in the garden of perfection. And, unfortunately, we continue to forsake our God: to turn away and think we can hide our true selves.

 

We forget that the God’s voice is one of loving relationship. We shiver in disbelief that grace is truly given….that all has truly been made well and whole in Christ. How can God give such great love to us? How? But, in truth, such is the wonder of God’s grace-filled love.