Search Results

Psalm 126 is a community song of trust or confidence that skillfully employs metaphor to proclaim God as the one who brings joy out of sorrow, laughter out of tears, and good out of evil. (...)

Three psalms in particular have served as a treasure trove of evocative imagery for the Gospel writers’ renditions of the crucifixion. Jesus’ cry of dereliction, quoting the opening words of Psalm 22 (Mark 15:34; Matthew (...)

We enter Holy Week hearing “Hosannas” from the crowd and move from triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the cross of humiliation. The words of our Psalm for today have a very familiar ring. These verses (...)

Psalm 22 is a prayer of complaint that, perhaps more than any psalm, serves as a link between the Old Testament and the story of Jesus’ passion. 1 Indeed, this psalm is an appropriate lectionary (...)

Psalm 22 is a prayer of complaint that, perhaps more than any psalm, serves as a link between the Old Testament and the story of Jesus’ passion. Indeed, this psalm is an appropriate lectionary reading (...)

This is one of the Bible’s saddest texts, appropriately read by Christians on Good Friday, the saddest day of the church year. I find myself emotionally drawn into the agony of the speaker, and I (...)

Psalm 22 has been described rather glibly as “the fifth passion narrative” for the imagery it has contributed to the evangelists’ depictions of the closing events of Good Friday. While this description does wrench the (...)

This is one of the Bible’s saddest texts, appropriately read by Christians on Good Friday, the saddest day of the church year. I find myself emotionally drawn into the agony of the speaker, and I (...)

It is easy to see why Psalm 118 is the psalm selection for Easter for all three lectionary years. The psalm is bursting with exuberance and joy, the language barely adequate to the task of (...)

Since ancient times Psalm 47 has been used for worship. It is plain to see why Christians have used it on Ascension Day. “God has gone up with a shout” (verse 5) brings to mind (...)