Maundy Thursday

By Pastor Steve Dow

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress.

Psalm 22:1 

Psalm 22 is a familiar Psalm of lament. When we hear the opening line, we are drawn to Jesus’ words from the cross when he quotes this Psalm in both Matthew and Mark’s Gospel. We can not only hear but feel the despair in these words. It is why these words are so often spoken or sung as the altar is stripped bare at the end of the Maundy Thursday service. We are left with nowhere to go but to the cross on Good Friday. 

The stripping of the altar has always been striking to me. I have watched the care and gentleness as each piece is removed. The supper has ended, feet may or may not have been washed, Jesus’ betrayal is at hand. It is in these moments where the lament in Psalm 22 continues on, “But as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by the people.” V. 6

I always say that we have the benefit of knowing the rest of the story. We know that death leads to life. We know that we can have hope amid the darkest moments of life. We know that we are not forsaken but beloved by God. The Psalmist knows it too. What began with despair ends in hope: 

Their descendants shall serve the Lord, whom they shall proclaim to generations to come. They shall proclaim God’s deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying to them, “The Lord has acted.”  V. 30-31 

Gracious and loving God, we have our moments when we too want to cry out in despair. Help us to remember that your promise is to be with us. Your promise is that we will not be forsaken or abandoned. Turn us from despair to the hope we have in you. In your Son’s name we pray, Amen.