Canon Rob's Reflections

Today, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week and on Friday this week, we will remember Jesus dying on the Cross: a very common form of execution by the Romans two thousand years ago. How quickly things change! Today we celebrate the time when Jesus entered Jerusalem, being greeted by words of welcome, and on Friday that welcome had been replaced by words of condemnation, shouts of “Crucify him! Crucify him!” [Compare Mark 11.1-10 with Mark 15.6-15.] Social media is often in the news today, reminding us that whilst it can be very helpful, it can also cause a great deal of harm, even leading some to take their own lives. Words are very powerful, used to convey love but also to express hatred. So, in the 13th verse of today’s psalm, we read, “…I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is on every side; they scheme together against me, and plot to take my life.” As often in the psalms we don’t know the circumstances, but clearly the author of Psalm 31 is feeling persecuted and doing his utmost to trust that God will help him. As I ponder this verse, I recall Jesus praying in Gethsemane, being scared, knowing what he must face but praying to his Father in heaven that it may not be so. The Son of God who is Our Lord and King, is also the Son of Man who suffered for the sake of humanity. The verses set for today’s psalm which we reflect upon speak of faith in the midst of suffering, echoes of which we find in the Book of Jeremiah, where the prophet, in Chapter 20 verses 7 – 11, complains to God, but, by the end of that passage, expresses his faith and trust in Him: “…you Lord, are on my side, strong and mighty, and those who persecute me will fail.” The mood in verse 13 of the psalm, printed above, is also followed by words of hope: “But my trust is in you, O Lord…. My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies…” [Verses 14-15.]

Those familiar with the hymn book we use at St Dunstan’s may recall the words on the image here. [949, “Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New.”] The words here are the chorus, but the song is an expression of faith in God, even when we have to wait for Him to come to our aid. The author of today’s psalm is finding out what that waiting means. Just as Jeremiah did. In fact some scholars wonder if Jeremiah wrote this psalm! Perhaps we shall never know. However the sentiment is the same. Even the most faithful are not spared from suffering. Yet the experience common to all, especially looking back, is that God is in the midst of that suffering and will help them through it. As you reflect upon these verses of Psalm 19, can you recall a time when you have said, “I couldn’t have got through this without God’s help?” This is the author’s experience and if you read all the verses of the psalm, and not just those set for today, you will see this very clearly. It is possible to sense the emotions being expressed, the lows and the highs, the depth of despair to the height of exhilaration. Whatever has caused his enemies to be so hateful we can only guess. Verses 9 – 12 though reveal the pain he was going through: “…my eye is consumed with sorrow, my soul and my body also. My life is wasted with grief….my strength fails me because of my affliction… I am forgotten like one that is dead, out of mind;…” All this is very raw and real and takes us again to verse 13 quoted above with the “whispering of the crowd.”

Yet all is not lost. Far from it! Even at his lowest, the author continues to trust in God. He can pray, in the words of verses 16, “Make your face to shine upon your servant, and save me for your mercy’s sake.” Entering into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, surrounded by joyful crowds, Jesus will have known that many would soon be after his blood. He couldn’t get away with proclaiming and living his message of love and challenging hypocrisy any longer. Words of welcome would soon turn to expressions of hate. Words are very powerful. But God’s love is far more powerful and just as the psalmist found salvation, so too do we through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.