“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - Psalm 22
Reflection by Val Hymes.
Palm Sunday – Jesus, with palms waving, returns to Jerusalem knowing what is ahead—his agony in the garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal and his crucifixion. In his prayer for deliverance from suffering, the psalmist foretells our Lord’s anguish.
The words—a raw, naked plea for help—are repeated by Jesus on the cross. (MK. 15:34) Why does God not answer?
There are times when we feel alone, abandoned and facing problems we cannot solve. Despair can grow out of such a small problem. The despair is still great. Why does he not answer?
Perhaps he does and we do not listen as the psalmist sings, “In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved.”
Our Lord trusts us to believe he is there with us in our anguish.
