Eclipsed, But Not Forgotten

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, April 28th, 2024:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

---

Psalm 22
​
R. Lord, 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. 

R. Lord, from you comes my praise in the great congregation.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust. 

R. Lord, from you comes my praise in the great congregation.

I shall live for him. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet un-born, saying that he has done it. 

R. Lord, from you comes my praise in the great congregation.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I’m writing this at the end of a much anticipated day on which we witnessed, to a greater or lesser degree, the wonder of the solar eclipse. We sat out on the front porch in Halifax to witness this event and watched as the neighbourhood took on an eerie feel. It certainly wasn’t darkness but more of a strangeness of the light outside that you couldn’t put your finger on. For about ten minutes the atmosphere was neither good nor bad but simply out of kilter.  

The word “eclipse” has its origins in the Greek ​ekleipsis, meaning “an eclipse; an abandonment, a failing, forsaking.” The whole of Psalm 22 is an epic journey that begins with the psalmist expressing this very thing: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The lamentation and anguish of the early verses transitions to the ardent praise of this Sunday's Psalm. It proclaims God's enduring sovereignty over all things and our response of trust in Him to unify all peoples, families, those living, those who have died and those yet to be born.  

This is such a hopeful psalm! The darkness of the first several verses almost abruptly shifts to the victory of Christ on the cross: “he has done it.” I love the finality of that line – this is Christ's ultimate victory, and we get to share in it. What a profound privilege to live for Him, to share the reason for our hope, and to share in the exultant praise of our Saviour among the great congregation of the faithful. Alleluia!

​

​Patty Viscount

---