Reflection - My Time

By Steve Hall

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092521.cfm
Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15
Luke 9:43-45

Today’s Psalm is especially apropos as an accompaniment to the Old Testament text.

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
    proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
    he guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
    he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
    they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
    and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
    I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.

The reading from Zechariah is concerned with the return of God’s people from captivity in Babylon. The Psalm captures the emotional import of that event. It had been a painful exile; and, like most other chastisements that come from God, was productive of a change of heart. What was most difficult during this period of foreign captivity was not the separation from the Jewish homeland and the heights of Mt Zion in Jerusalem. Rather it was the sense that God had forgotten them! Even abandoned them! It probably recalls a similar sense of emptiness that sometimes plagues us all. Even Jesus would declare such feelings as he hung upon the cross. 

“My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” The words are not his alone. They came from the depths of his heart but were echoes of the feelings expressed in the beginning of Psalm twenty-two. No loneliness, no emptiness can compare. It’s painful to watch those whose lives are devoid of a connection with the One whose love is so great.

The anguish we hear in the words of Jesus just quoted from Matthew follow directly after the mocking of his critics: “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " (Matthew 27:43)

Neither the criticism nor Jesus’ response tell the whole story. We must look to the entirety of Psalm twenty-two to know the heart of Jesus. His sense of abandonment follows from the circumstances described after that initial expression of mournful grief. Those circumstances were anticipated in the words of the Psalm. “Yes, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm 22:16, 18)

But it is the conclusion of Psalm twenty-two that is most in sync with today’s Scripture texts.

“You who fear the LORD, praise him! all you sons of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.” (Psalm 22:23-24)

As with the beginning of the Psalm, these words too would resonate with Jesus as he hung upon the cross.

Two things we need to hear in the depths of our souls.

Two things we must understand.

I — “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”(Psalm 103:12)

It serves no purpose to wallow in our sinfulness or to live with ongoing regret for having once, or twice or a thousand times separated ourselves from God. To live with joy in his presence requires that we remove those times of transgression as far from ourselves as the east is from the west. Then we can know the joy of those exiles as they returned home.

II — “Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

From time to time we may be able to fully relate to Jesus’ expression of desolation as he hung on the cross. Such experiences may be few. They may be frequent. But the promises of our Lord are everlasting. Sooner or later we will once again know his presence. In the interim we must rely on our faith in his words.

We cannot anticipate those events which bring either desolation or consolation. But, there are teachings in the Scriptures which we would do well to remember as they apply to ourselves as well as to the Christ.

In Ephesians Paul writes that “He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time.” (Ephesians 1:9-10) And in Galatians Paul notes that “When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son.” (Galatians 4:4) Likewise there is a plan for the fullness of our time. Not nearly as momentous. Not nearly as consequential. Yet, we would do well to recall the rejoicing in heaven over the one sinner who repents as distinct from those who have no need of repentance.

The Jews returned from exile at the proper time. And the people rejoiced.

Jerusalem was restored as the city of God in the fullness of time. And the people rejoiced.

The Son of God became man in the fullness of time. And all creation rejoiced.

Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed of God brought redemption. And all creation rejoiced.

Today is my time. Just as much foreseen, just as much planned as that of the Son of God. This is the fullness of time for me to give glory to God and to rejoice.