Holy Moments!
Matthew 27:45-50
New International Version
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Psalm 22[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Good Friday…
The day we remember the death of Jesus on the Cross. Many times over the years, lent and esp Good friday worship is quite somber. Its a day of profound meaning and yes sadness. Yet even as we commemorate His death, taking on OUR sin, we can find a bit of hope. Because with God, there is always MORE than we can imagine…
Our psalm illustrates this movement from anguish to hope, even triumph.
But i’d be remiss if i did not say thank you to all who have participated in and attended these community lenten services. The Wednesday evening services have been such a blessing! Over the years we’ve had a lot of great services, but this year has been one of the best IMHO.
We’ve heard a variety of good music, gospel, traditional music on piano and guitar, organ music, and a children’s choir! And we’ve had wonderful fellowship time, building and renewing our connections. We’ve been able to financially support community organizations that assist and empower our neighbors in need.
We’ve heard some powerful preaching!
We heard inspirational messages
Even in wilderness/darkness. God shines thru.
Tracey; deliver US not just me, do not let evil -lying, hate, toxic behaviours--do NOT let them become the norm.
We heard stories of renewal..not what i need but who needs me--
That we can take action, pay attention, offer our presence. -
we can unbind from the past…as Lazarus needed to be unbound from the grave clothes, with help from those around him.
Today we’ve arrived at Good friday. We are at the cross.
this is a somber moment.
We began our service with a litany, a responsive reading. We do a lot of responsive readings in church services don't we? Its a way to help us be drawn into the meaning of the worship, a way of helping to engage and focus. When the congregation says Amen! Or preach it… that shows attention….
Another way pastors and especially musicians can draw us in is with call and response.
Call and response
God is Good, All the Time.
The lord be with you
Musical call and response.
Its kind of fun and it keeps us alert! All of these elements, the music, the litany, the call and response, and moments of silence…can help us to find a moment of true worship, being one with each other and with God thru the Spirit. These moments of connection are holy moments.
But holy moments happen outside of church too!
I think we see in the middle of our psalm today King David had a holy moment that brought him around….
Psalm 22 that first line, my God my God why have you forsaken/me, abandoned me!? Was said by Jesus on the cross. Eloi eloi lema sabachthani?
This psalm was composed by David, the great king who was an ancestor of Jesus. He was writing from profound anguish, physical pain and despair, surrounded by enemies. Hes experiencing inward turmoil as well physical danger. This psalm is a prophecy of the agony that Jesus endured on the cross. He endured intense physical suffering, emotional anguish, and
With the abandonment of God, spiritual despair. he who had proclaimed I and the Father are One…By taking on the sins of the world, became totally separated from God for the only time through his whole life. For Jesus, I believe this was the greatest suffering of all!
The psalm laments suffering and pain, Yet, even in this extreme distress, David never loses faith or falls into complete hopelessness. His anguish leads him to pray, and the first words of the prayer are “My God.” Even in his suffering and wondering about the ways of God, he does not let go of his knowledge that God is his God. In the midst of his anguish, he articulates that faith. He remembers God’s past faithfulness in Israel’s history:
…A recurring theme in the Psalms is to fill the mind with memories of God’s past faithfulness to assure us of God’s present faithfulness.
The psalm laments suffering and pain, yet there is a confession of trust, of faith…declaring praise and the performing his vows, that the poor will eat and be satisfied. That all the earth will remember and turn to the Lord!!
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
The psalm turns from distress to remembering God’s steadfast presence.…a moment that David then turns into praise. Perhaps he saw or heard something that reminded him… the sound of a child’s laughter. Birdsong. A rainbow or lovely sunset.
And he turned that moment into praise. Shouting the Lords’ goodness loud and clear! David remembers the connection with God.
That remembrance then became prophecy of God’s people--of all people everywhere worshiping, honoring God in community!
And the final moment of proclamation HE HAS DONE IT…
GOD WILL PREVAIL Indeed GOD HAS prevailed, he has done it!
This reminded me of a call and response… Won’t he do it? Yes he will. When we recognize some moment that God is present and in control… some holy moment.
Thinking of call and response, Wont he do it? Yes he will!! He has Done it! (song: wont he do it, answers yes he will….leader wont he, people, yes, all HE HAS Done it! )
This threefold call and response echos the eternal nature of God!
You see, GOd is eternal, THe Alpha and omega who was and is and ever shall be. Wont he do it? Yes he will, he has DONE it.
In our gospel lesson, our Good Friday lesson…of Jesus upon the cross, Matthew tell us that
with a cry, he gave up his spirit…
In John, he said “It is finished” the word translated finished also means accomplished, completed…with an aspect there of perfection.
I’d like to tell you a story of a holy moment i had. Martin and I were traveling to San Diego for our church national meeting. We stopped on the way to stay overnight at Grand Canyon in order to see the sunrise there.
We got up very early, got ready to drive south for the rest of the day, and headed to the canyon. We got to Yavapai point just about 5 am. Maybe 20 minutes or so before the time of the sunrise.
I started to cry a bit as we walked up to the spot..This was a life dream. M remembered that when we were there before i said as we left how great it would be to see sunrise.
So we did :) there was another couple about our age, we chatted and took each other’s photos with the dark canyon in the background.
I went to sit down, asking if it was ok to sit by 2 women, probably sisters,
speaking a spanish type language, i heard one say “frio” and i said yes, its cool!! I was wearing shorts, and a tee and light sweater. They were wrapped in a blanket ;) i asked where they were from, “Roma” i said oh wow! Welcome to US
As the sun came up, we were all clicking away.. And the one lady bella, bellissima!! I Said yes Beautiful!!
said “Buon Journo, Sol!” and i said yes buon journo Sol! And turned to M “good morning sun!” and the gal with more english chuckled, smiled and nodded at my translating. The other american couple were smiling too. They took a nice pic of M and me and i took one of them, and i offered to take pics of the Roma ladies and they were SO pleased! And the two ladies from Roma left saying Arrivaderci!!
It was a holy moment. We knew the sunrise the fulfillment of that bucket list item would be a holy moment. But God went over and aboveboard and showed me next to the sisters from Roma Italia… and with their basic english and my fractured italian we were able to connect and bond…and at the break of day at one of the most glorious examples of God’s creation.
Wont he do it?
Beloved, Look for holy moments. Seek them out. Treasure them Holy moments of connection, remind us that evil is not the norm. Remember that GOd’ light shines through even the darkness, even in the deepest wilderness. Even seemingly small moments can be holy… like a cardinal singing outside your window. Like a chance to help someone. Holding a door, giving to a good cause, sharing a laugh, a hug, even tears…
look for holy moments of renewal.. who needs me today?
Then we can take action, pay attention, offer our presence--which can be the holiest of moments.
Jesus went to the cross, Love held him there,.. So that we can unbind from the past…and move forward as a vibrant community of loving compassion and the Grace of God almighty!
WONT HE DO IT! Yes he will, he has done it!
Thanks be to God
Amen.