A Verse A Day (Day 9)

The daily reading guide that I am following has shifted from the 77^th Psalm to the 22^nd Psalm, particularly vv. 23-31.

 

Psalm 22 speaks to a fundamental part of the religious experience – or, I think one could say, the human experience. In v.23 it seems addressed to “you offspring of Jacob” and “you offspring of Israel.” As such, it is speaking to people with a particular history, a particular heritage, and so a particular identity. To be an offspring of Jacob/Israel (the same person whose name was changed as a result of “wresting with God,” which is what “Isra-el” means), is to be part of a tradition that knows God in a particular way. God is the God of the covenant, whose faithfulness is never-ending. And that way of knowing God is the source of much wrestling, especially when one feels forgotten and unseen by God in times of personal distress or communal catastrophe. The old adage is that a man went to his rabbi and said, “Rabbi! I can’t pray anymore. I just don’t believe there is a Gd in this world!” The rabbi replied, “Oh my! You should pray about that.” Some seasons of prayer are exactly that kind of questioning of God’s presence, God’s reality, or God’s love. But, the beauty of the story is that the covenant tradition welcomes those questions and sees prayer as the place to enter and hold those questions. That speaks to a very deep identity, beyond just birthright or national affiliation. 

 

Soon the psalm starts speaking in much more universal, global terms. V. 27 says, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.” Now we’re in a realm of religious experience that transcends particular national, familial, or even a specific religious identity. The earth has ever been a large place, full of diversity and differences. Among those differences are not just the cultural habits, languages, or locations, but religion. And yet, in a world with religious difference, which is the basis for using such specific language as “offspring of Jacob/Israel,” there is also a deeper unity. Because God is one, because God is the God of heaven and earth, because God is eternal and omnipresent, the psalmist – out of his particular experience – can also speak of the ‘ends of the earth’ as well as the dead (v.29) and the yet unborn (v.31). 

 

Because we are human, religious experience is specific to some kind of order, tradition, or lineage. Because God is God, religious experience is larger than our minds and imaginations can conceive. What shall we call it? That’s today’s quest.