Living in the Spirit

June 15, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 22:19-28

I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
   stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he did not despise or abhor
   the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
   but heard when I cried to him.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
   May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
   and he rules over the nations. –Psalm 22:22-28

Most of us are probably more familiar with the first verse of Psalm 22 which Jesus quoted from the cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? Reading the remainder of the chapter suggests that he took comfort from that scripture even in the agony of a painful death. It takes the reader all the way back to their ancestor Jacob who knew God and attested to God’s support and brings the history of God forward for Christ-followers’ understanding of God’s continuing fidelity in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. God’s vision of the whole world being blessed through his love continues to this day.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your saving grace giving us hope in a world that is being challenged from every quarter. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.