“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These opening words from Psalm 22 are no doubt familiar to us from when quoted by Christ as He was on the cross paying the penalty of human sin. The psalmist David paints a detailed image of the suffering that about one thousand years later would occur in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
The first twenty-one verses of the psalm show the torment of the sufferer, completely alone and crying out to God in agony. They cry out, “Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (Psalm 22:1b), then turns to reminders to trust in God for deliverance which was never in vain for Israel. Despite the description of the treatment experienced at the hands of his enemy, “they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones…they divine my 
garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:16c-18) the psalmist continues to cry out to God for help.
The final ten verses of the psalm, the sufferer is no longer alone but is praising amidst a large group. Being free from the pain and suffering described in the first half of the psalm, they are left with gratitude which they want to share to the ends of the earth.
There are times when we may feel a similar resonance to these opening verses, suffering and alone. While we certainly have not had the experience exactly recounted in Psalm 22, we are all wounded. Our wounds can come in many shapes and sizes, and be in various forms of healing. We may have received them due to the original sin of Adam and Eve (the death of a loved one); by a sin committed through our own thoughts, words, and deeds; perhaps we were sinned against.
The good news is that we do not suffer these wounds alone. Jesus, the Lamb of the Father’s choosing, suffered great wounds that through them we may be forever healed and in eternity with Him. Jesus’ suffering and death brought us joy and life. His humiliation brought eternal glory. His rejection brought a community of love as members of “the body.”
Amanda Parparian is best known at University Lutheran as Elena’s mom. She grew up in northern Minnesota. She did her undergraduate studies at Concordia University, St. Paul in Theology and Family Studies. She then went to Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana to train to become a Deaconess. She served as a Deaconess at Grace Lutheran in St. Petersburg for 6 years before moving to Tallahassee.