Palm Sunday/Sunday Of The Passion
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
(Occurs in all three cycles of the lectionary; see Liturgy Of The Passion, Cycles A and B for alternative approaches; see also Easter 5, Cycle A, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-5, 15-16.)
Psalm 31 is an eloquent testimony to the grinding force of grief and pain. That is one reason this psalm is so appropriate to be read at the beginning of Passion Week. It is not hard to imagine Jesus experiencing the feelings the psalmist has described for us. Since the gospels offer us virtually nothing of the inner life of Jesus, his private ruminations, we are forced to rely on others who have known suffering to help us understand and appreciate the inner agony that must have been the Lord's.
The psalm also serves as a sort of blueprint or a map of the process that begins with grief but ends in comfort. For all those who suffer, there is a hopeful message offered here: that what begins in lonely agony can end with a sense of peace and the assurance of God's presence. For those who are themselves at the beginning of a journey of pain, that hope can become an important source of encouragement.
There is great sermonic value in approaching the psalm in these two ways. First, we kindle the imagination and allow the psalmist to help us understand Jesus' suffering. Then, we move directly from Jesus' agony to our own as we allow the words of the psalmist to trace the path of our own suffering.
In pulling these two themes together we are able to establish a basis for beginning to understand what Paul means when he writes about "sharing in the sufferings of Christ" (Philippians 3:10) and when he writes, "I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Colossians 1:24).
In other words, this psalm allows us to be drawn into the passion narrative. Jesus not only suffers for us, but also with us -- and us with him, and just as his sufferings are redemptive, so ours may be as well.
Obviously, we must take care at this point. This is not an invitation to martyrdom or for injury to be inflicted on the self in search of some greater glory. The idea is not to induce suffering, but rather to offer meaning and hope in the face of suffering that is already at work.
The psalmist gives us words that allow us to express the depths of our pain: "My eye wastes away from grief ... My life is spent with sorrow ... my bones waste away ... I have become like a broken vessel" (vv. 9-12). The psalmist also gives us words that direct us toward our comfort: "Be gracious to me, O Lord ... I trust in you ... My times are in your hand ... Let your face shine upon your servant ... save me in your steadfast love" (vv. 9, 14-16).
It is the gospel that gives our suffering meaning. Our pain is part of the suffering that God undertakes for us and with us. In the heart of God there is a cross that is filled with the agonies of human suffering. Out of that pain flows a torrent of gracious love that sweeps away our sinfulness and makes possible a life of purpose and dignity.
Our sufferings are part of that. Whether our pain is psychological or physical, whether it comes from our actions or the acts of others, whether our pain has an understandable cause or exists in us as a mystery, the meaning of it is found in the cross of Christ. It is there that we will be able to say with the psalmist, "Save me in your steadfast love."
-- J. E.
Psalm 31 is an eloquent testimony to the grinding force of grief and pain. That is one reason this psalm is so appropriate to be read at the beginning of Passion Week. It is not hard to imagine Jesus experiencing the feelings the psalmist has described for us. Since the gospels offer us virtually nothing of the inner life of Jesus, his private ruminations, we are forced to rely on others who have known suffering to help us understand and appreciate the inner agony that must have been the Lord's.
The psalm also serves as a sort of blueprint or a map of the process that begins with grief but ends in comfort. For all those who suffer, there is a hopeful message offered here: that what begins in lonely agony can end with a sense of peace and the assurance of God's presence. For those who are themselves at the beginning of a journey of pain, that hope can become an important source of encouragement.
There is great sermonic value in approaching the psalm in these two ways. First, we kindle the imagination and allow the psalmist to help us understand Jesus' suffering. Then, we move directly from Jesus' agony to our own as we allow the words of the psalmist to trace the path of our own suffering.
In pulling these two themes together we are able to establish a basis for beginning to understand what Paul means when he writes about "sharing in the sufferings of Christ" (Philippians 3:10) and when he writes, "I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Colossians 1:24).
In other words, this psalm allows us to be drawn into the passion narrative. Jesus not only suffers for us, but also with us -- and us with him, and just as his sufferings are redemptive, so ours may be as well.
Obviously, we must take care at this point. This is not an invitation to martyrdom or for injury to be inflicted on the self in search of some greater glory. The idea is not to induce suffering, but rather to offer meaning and hope in the face of suffering that is already at work.
The psalmist gives us words that allow us to express the depths of our pain: "My eye wastes away from grief ... My life is spent with sorrow ... my bones waste away ... I have become like a broken vessel" (vv. 9-12). The psalmist also gives us words that direct us toward our comfort: "Be gracious to me, O Lord ... I trust in you ... My times are in your hand ... Let your face shine upon your servant ... save me in your steadfast love" (vv. 9, 14-16).
It is the gospel that gives our suffering meaning. Our pain is part of the suffering that God undertakes for us and with us. In the heart of God there is a cross that is filled with the agonies of human suffering. Out of that pain flows a torrent of gracious love that sweeps away our sinfulness and makes possible a life of purpose and dignity.
Our sufferings are part of that. Whether our pain is psychological or physical, whether it comes from our actions or the acts of others, whether our pain has an understandable cause or exists in us as a mystery, the meaning of it is found in the cross of Christ. It is there that we will be able to say with the psalmist, "Save me in your steadfast love."
-- J. E.
