Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 2 May 2014 "My God! My God!"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 2 May 2014 "My God! My God!"
Daily Scripture: Psalm 22: For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
2 My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;
    in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But you are holy,
    you who inhabit the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in you.
    They trusted, and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you, and were delivered.
    They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm, and no man;
    a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All those who see me mock me.
    They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
8     “He trusts in Yahweh;
    let him deliver him.
    Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”
9 But you brought me out of the womb.
    You made me trust at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb.
    You are my God since my mother bore me.
11 Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near.
    For there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me.
    Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 They open their mouths wide against me,
    lions tearing prey and roaring.
14 I am poured out like water.
    All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
    it is melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd.
    My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me.
    A company of evildoers have enclosed me.
    They have pierced my hands and feet.[a]
17 I can count all of my bones.
They look and stare at me.
18 They divide my garments among them.
    They cast lots for my clothing.
19 But don’t be far off, Yahweh.
    You are my help: hurry to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth!
    Yes, from the horns of the wild oxen, you have answered me.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers.
    Among the assembly, I will praise you.
Footnotes:
Psalm 22:16 So Dead Sea Scrolls. Masoretic Text reads, “Like a lion, they pin my hands and feet.”
Reflection Questions:
Psalm 22 used violent images to express how totally helpless the psalmist felt. Surrounded by bulls, lions, wild dogs—no one on earth is strong enough to deal with such irresistible enemies. Jesus, his mind filled with the Scriptures, did not need to literally recite all 31 verses of Psalm 22 to show that the whole psalm, not just its first verse, framed his heart's cry to God on the cross.
The United Bible Societies' Translator's Handbook on the Book of Psalms says, "This psalm is characterized by…a series of alternating shifts downward and upward (negative and positive feelings)." The psalm spoke of personal wrestling with God. It began "My God, my God," and verse 19 says "You are my strength." What helps you build a faith-filled bond that can reach out to "your God" even at your darkest times?
John 19:24 said the Roman soldiers at the cross fulfilled Psalm 22:18. (It's even possible that seeing the soldiers act out verses 7-8 and 17-18 helped call Psalm 22 to Jesus' mind.) When have you struggled with your own "valley of the shadow," but in the end found your trust in God stronger because of the experience?
Today's Prayer:
Heavenly Father, at times my world grows dark, and I cry out to you in distress and dismay. You are always there, even in the darkness. Help me cling to you as doggedly and determinedly as Jesus did. Amen.
Insight from Chris Folmsbee
Chris Folmsbee is Resurrection’s Director of Discipleship Ministries  He is the author of several books, with an extensive background in applying principles of spiritual growth to real life. He, his wife Gina and their family have been attending Resurrection since 2008.
To cry out, “Why?” to God when we feel overwhelmed with pain, grief or terror isn’t a hollow protest or complaint. It is actually an indication of a deepening spiritual life. Why am I without a job? Why am I feeling alone? Why am I poor? Why is my loved one sick and dying? Why did that natural disaster ruin the lives of so many? Why have you forsaken me? These and all questions pointed at God amidst times of sorrow are an exercise of our belief, of our emerging and expanding faith, that ultimately reveals our hunger for God presence.
Jesus is clearly suffering when he quotes the first verse of Psalm 22 – “My God. My God.  Why have you forsaken me?” Being fully human, Jesus feels the natural aversion to suffering like any other human being. For the first time, however, Jesus feels separation from God. Jesus’ burdened cry, a phrase likely well-known to many watching his crucifixion, was not a shout of disbelief; it was a prayer of love toward God, his Father. Jesus cried out in pain and suffering, yes. He cried out, however, to acknowledge his dependence on God, to request his Father’s presence, and to display his trust that God was indeed going to make beauty out of ruins.
I have to believe that this is one of the conversations Jesus had with the two people on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus in Luke 24. While Luke’s gospel account doesn’t mention Jesus asking God “Why?” Matthew’s gospel certainly does (27:46).  If not on the road when they were walking, then most definitely, in my opinion, when Jesus was sharing a meal in the home of Cleopas and companion, I have to believe that they asked Jesus, “What did you mean when you cried out ‘My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?” I also have to believe Jesus would have responded with something to the effect of “I was in pain. I was suffering. I felt alone. My Father is the only place I knew to look for love, hope and deliverance.”
Recently I read an article in which Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, said in response to the shattering results of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 that killed 6,268 people, “…we have seen how faith rises from the ruins. Catastrophes cannot destroy hope. And we see that love is stronger than earthquakes and typhoons.” Pope Francis responded with, “I have heard that it has been a difficult ordeal, too difficult,” he said. “…The Cardinal’s words are true: faith rises up from the ruins … why do these things happen? They cannot be explained. There are many things we are unable to understand. When children begin to grow up, they do not understand many things and start to ask their father or mother many questions.…But if we watch carefully, we will see that the child does not expect the answer from his father or his mother.… The child needs, in his insecurity, that his father or mother look at him.…Just like a child does when he asks, ‘Why? Why?’ in these moments of suffering, the most useful prayer is that which asks, ‘Why?’ But without expecting explanations, simply asking our Father to look at us. I too join with you, in this prayer to ask ‘Why?’”[1]
Asking “Why,” as Jesus did, is to ask without expecting a response or explanation.  To ask “Why?” amidst pain and suffering is to humbly request the company of God.  We should never grow tired of asking “Why?” because it is in the “Why” that we seek God’s presence, and find God already at work, making beauty out of the ruins.
[1] http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=23663
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"Pope Francis: 'in times of suffering never tire of asking God why?'"
Pope Francis:  "in times of suffering never tire of asking God why?' | Filipino.St Pedro Calungsod, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Typhoon Haiyan 

Pope greets Cardinal Tagle

“In these moments of great suffering, do not tire of asking 'Why?' like children … and in this way you will draw the eyes of our Father to your people; you will attract towards you the tenderness of the Father of Heaven”. With these words of encouragement, the Holy Father addressed the Filipino people gathered yesterday afternoon in St. Peter's Basilica, on the occasion of the blessing of a mosaic of St Pedro Calungsod, the Filipino saint canonised last year by Benedict XVI.
The blessing was followed by a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila, who during his homily spoke of the devastating effects of Typhoon Haiyan in his country, affirming that “we have seen how faith rises from the ruins. Catastrophes cannot destroy hope. And we see that love is stronger than earthquakes and typhoons”.
Pope Francis reiterated his closeness to the Filipino people. “I have heard that it has been a difficult ordeal, too difficult”, he said. “But I have also heard that the people have been strong. The Cardinal's words are true: faith rises up from the ruins. The solidarity of all in moments of trial. Why do these things happen? They cannot be explained. There are many things we are unable to understand. When children begin to grow up, they do not understand many things and start to ask their father or mother many questions. … But if we watch carefully, we will see that the child does not expect the answer from his father or his mother. … The child needs, in his insecurity, that his father or mother look at him. … Just like a child does when he asks, 'Why? Why?', in these moments of suffering, the most useful prayer is that which asks, 'Why?'. But without expecting explanations, simply asking our Father to look at us. I too join with you, in this prayer to ask 'Why?'”.
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