Reflections and contemplations for pilgrim on the journey

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Liberating Lent Series

The church calendar offers 40 days and six Sundays, to reflect and to prepare for Easter. Over centuries, churches worldwide have used the six penitential Psalms – 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 as prayers, songs, and tools for contemplation.

This Lent, I set out to write a book reflecting on these six Psalms, one for each Sunday of Lent. I was keen to write it in conversation with others, those who could share the journey, offer insights, prayers, ask questions, respond personally, and develop a resource for future Lent seasons.

So journey with me over the coming weeks through these Psalms.

Week 1: Cry for Deliverance: Psalm 6

Week 2: Confession and Forgiveness: Psalm 32

Week 3: Lamenting Injustice: Psalm 38

Week 4: Seeking a Pure Heart: Psalm 51

Week 5: Hope Amid Despair: Psalm 130

Week 6: Commitment to Justice: Psalm 143

Week 1: Psalm 6 – A Cry for Deliverance

First Sunday of Lent: A Cry for Deliverance
As you set aside this time to pause and reflect, bring your awareness to the fact that God is present – the God of liberation and freedom, the God who hears and who listens, the God of compassion.
Prayer of Approach

Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me.

You who hear the cries of your people,
when they suffer,when they fall,when they are hurting,
or alone,
turn your ear to hear us now.

May we know your presence with us,
here, in the mess,
in whatever situation we are facing.

And may we hear your voice,
speaking to us and speaking through us.

In the darkness meet us now.

Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me.

Psalm 6: A Cry for Healing

Contemplation

Sometimes life is filled with tears,
heart ache,
suffering.

Sometimes we wonder, “where is God in this?”

Sometimes it seems as if there is a silence from heaven.

Our lives fall apart,
we stumble on the path,
and all we can do is cry out – help me,
put me back on my feet,
heal me,
save me,
God of love.
Amen.

“Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.” Frederick Buechner

It is almost impossible not to respond to the cries of another. The desperate cries of a baby, with their crumpled beetroot coloured face, quickly bring their parents and family running to comfort the tiny child and take them in their arms (even though the emergency is often just a bout of wind, or a soiled nappy!). The tears and heartbroken cries of a person facing the pain of loss and bereavement are profoundly sobering. Anyone who has sat alongside those who mourn, will know the depth of suffering experienced and the primal cries of pain in response to the death of a loved one. Our televisions are filled with the cries of those suffering around the world – the victims of famine, natural disasters, conflict, oppression and poverty. And what about the cries of those who have just been told they have an illness that may be incurable, or may lead to a life of pain and suffering? The cries of the suffering are all around us, for those with ears to hear.

We don’t know the circumstances that led to the writing of Psalm 6. Perhaps the initial words suggest they had made a mess of their own situation, and like a child before their parents, expected some form of discipline. It appears they had forgotten, at least initially, the God who is “so kind and tenderhearted and so patient with people who fail you!” Ps 103:8 TPT. The words suggest that the writer may have been suffering some form of physical illness, or the physical and emotional effects of all that had occurred. They cry out, “I’m sick and frail and weak.” Whatever the circumstances, the words that flow from the pen of the poet are tear soaked, desperate. The writer, in the darkness and mess of their own situation, cries out to be delivered, cries out for mercy.

The pilgrim path is often a place of tears and suffering. During such times, unlike the writer of this Psalm, we have a picture of God rooted in Christ, and that image is of someone who knew what it is to suffer, and knew what it was to weep, or even cry out for help.

A number of years ago I visited the National Gallery in London, to view an exhibition called Seeing Salvation. There were many paintings of Christ, but the one that moved me most was a small, almost insignificant image of Christ, The Man of Sorrows. His face was wracked with pain, his eyes filled with tears. Jesus wept, wept at the grave of his friend, cried out in the garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross of crucifixion in pain and abandonment, and still weeps with his people today.

There is a verse in Psalm 6 that we shouldn’t miss, a verse that is essential to understanding the heart of God – “I know your faithful love will never fail me.” The Hebrew word khesed is key to understanding who God is – this is the God of love. Not the schmaltzy love of a Valentine’s day card, or a rom com film, but an unconditional love that is faithful, through thick and thin, even when it’s not deserved.

In light of the knowledge of the God who suffers with the people, who is love personified, we shouldn’t be surprised by the ending of the Psalm. Out of the darkness, in the midst of the tears, God hears the cries, and has “taken hold of my prayers and answered them all.”
This is the God who always hears the cries of the oppressed, who longs to deliver the pilgrim people from suffering – who’s very mission, in Christ, was,“to be hope for the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’” Lk.4.18-19.TPT. This is still Christ’s mission today, and ours too, as we follow in his footsteps.

Respond

As you read the Psalm again, what words of phrases stand out for you?

Where is the cry for help rooted?
What resonates for you?
What does the Psalm tell us about God?
Where do you notice cries for help from those around you or in the wider world?

Take a moment to respond in prayer to the cries of this Psalm, the cries in your own heart, and the cries of those around you. You may find it helpful to take a phrase or verse from the Psalm and use it as your prayer this week.

Action

“As the followers of Christ that we are trying to be, we cannot fail to show our solidarity with the suffering—the imprisoned, the marginalized, the persecuted—for Christ identifies himself with them (Matt. 25:31-46).” Gustavo Gutierrez

Throughout the Bible narrative God hears the cries of the people, but also calls those who follow to be people who listen for the cries of the oppressed, the suffering, the poor, the lonely, in order to respond. As you go through this week, pay attention to the “cries” of those around – friends, those you come into contact with, but also those in the wider world who are crying out for liberation.

There are a number of organisations working to offer comfort and hope to those who are crying out. You may find it helpful to explore some of the ways you can partner in solidarity with the suffering on a national and global scale.

https://www.tearfund.org/
https://www.opendoorsuk.org/
https://www.christianaid.org.uk/
https://www.fairtrade.net/
https://capuk.org/
https://www.actionaid.org.uk/

God who hears our cries,sees our tears –
God in Christ who wept,
who cried out in pain and suffering,
hear the cries of your people.
As you entered the mess of the world in Christ,
enter each situation where pain and poverty overwhelm.
Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy.
Amen.

1. Psalm 6, the first of the penitential Psalms, is recited each weekday morning within Jewish liturgy.2.“David’s conscience is uneasy, and he must appeal to grace to temper the discipline he deserves.” Derek Kidner, Psalm 1-72,Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, IVP, 2007.3. Khesed is a key word in the Hebrew scriptures. It’s a word that points to the loyalty and faithfulness of God’s love to the people. “The primary definition of Heb. hesed is “demonstrated loyalty,” ie. loyalty that exhibits itself in actions rather than words or sentiments… Loving kindness is a type of loyalty that does not meet an obligation but goes the second mile.” Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, David Noel Freedman Editor. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Cambridge UK. 2000. 4. Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Beginning the Journey

Leading pain psychologist– at one time my own psychology
lecturer– Professor Christopher Eccleston, wrote a paper called
A Normal Psychology of Chronic Pain. He began with the following
words, “Pain and suffering are fundamental to human being.
Indeed, we are born into pain, will likely die in pain, and we have
lives punctuated by painful experience.” With that optimistic
and jovial introduction, he reminded his readers that life
how ever much we might want it to be – isn’t always rainbows
and unicorns. It isn’t always the sausages on sticks, jelly and ice
cream party-food-moments of childhood. It isn’t always calm
holidays, full of laughter, where the sun shines and the troubles
of life vanish into thin air. We can try to numb it, medicate
it away, bury it deep inside and block it out, however life is
perhaps more often than not – painful and uncertain. Suffering,
in all its forms, is a constant companion. We experience losses,
injustice, discrimination, trauma, hurt to others and ourselves,
hardships, illness, fractures in our relationships, and see our
dreams, hopes and realities shattered. As M Scott Peck once
wrote, “Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest
truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we
transcend it.”
Whether people of faith or no faith, our lives continue to echo
the journeys of the ancient pilgrims. Sometimes that journey
is taken alone, sometimes in community, but the relentless
challenges of our journeys, the year-on-year struggles to share
the complexity of our lives with others or even ourselves,
remains. Throughout the millennia people have turned to
poetry, to song and to prayer to express the experience of
life in all its technicolour or monochrome intensity. Many
communities have written and gathered together books of
prayers, intentionally setting aside time each day to stop, to
becomepresent andtovoicethroughprayer andsilence the full
spectrum of their lives and their emotions. Using the words
of others can be a springboard to uncovering our own deeply
hidden feelings or articulating the pain and suffering we face
and carry with us on our own journeys.
In 2020, with the world facing a global pandemic, with faith
communities unable to meet in person, with a growing fear of
the future and chaos and suffering very present, a friend and I
were drawn to the ancient words of the Psalms of Ascent. They
became a creative and prayerful focus, articulating for us both
and for the faith community we were part of at the time, the
stark reality of our lives. We also discovered, in that moment,
underneath the turmoil and pain, a belief that, as M Scott Peck
alluded to, once we truly see the truth that life is difficult, we
can transcend it, or at the very least face it and journey through
it with our eyes wide open.
As I’ve returned to the Psalms, I’ve been reminded that whilst life is difficult, there
remains not only valued fellow pilgrims with us on the path, but
also a loving presence alongside, who knows, more than anyone,
what it is to suffer and face injustice.
I offer the following prayers and reflections as a fellow traveller,
stumbling along the path, sometimes managing to put one foot
in front of another. (adapted from Pilgrim Prayers for the Journey Home)