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Michelangelo’s Pieta, ensconced in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, is one of the most well-known sculptures of human history. The figure of Mary with the crucified Jesus draped over her lap emerging from the white Carrara marble is iconic. The contours of Jesus’ body blend with the folds of Mary’s dress. We see the face of Mary as she may have looked after the birth of Jesus and the visitation by the shepherds when we are told that, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” [Luke 2:19] While neither the face of Mary nor Jesus look distraught in the sculpture, the mass of marble exudes grief. It weeps.

In Psalm 22 we are told that God does not “despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted.” God is undaunted by grief. God does not avoid suffering. God embraces us in our human pain and misery.

In a church in San Cristobal, Mexico, there is a compelling visual representation of the God depicted in the psalm, the very psalm that Jesus quotes from the cross. Just down the right transept of the church, nested in a niche, is a statue of wood, a pieta: a seated figure draped with the body of the crucified Jesus. The statue is painted wood, so we see evidence of Jesus’ wounds and blood. The seated figure is adorned in gold gilt with a halo of three flames. But the seated figure supporting the body of Jesus is not his mother. It is an old, weathered, bearded male figure. God. God holds the body of the dead crucified Jesus.

While in general I do not personally resonate to gender specific language or imagery for God, this sculpture is captivating. It is beautiful. It conveys the grief of God. It is a wonderful image of love between father and child. It is an image of extreme tenderness not usually associated with masculinity. It extends a role traditionally reserved for women to a male figure. It evokes our common human capacity for compassion. It also looks as if God is presenting this body to the viewer as evidence, as if to say, “Look what you have done.”

When I think of God not turning away from human agony, pain, and sin, that statue comes to mind for me. It shows the compassion and mercy of God. I only have one blurry picture of the statue, taken in the dark church while a service was in progress and I was trying to be discreet. The statue is well worth seeing. I encourage you to make the journey to San Cristobal to see it and the other amazing treasures of that southern Mexican city. You will not be disappointed!

Prayer
We pray that we may have the compassion, the empathy, and the mercy of God. May we forgive one another all the hurt, pain, misery, and affliction that we cause to each other and embrace our sisters and brothers with love and peace. May we treat each and every person as if he or she was Jesus. Amen.

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my! Well, it’s almost that bad in Psalm 22. There are numerous references to animals in the psalm. There is mention of lions, bulls, dogs, oxen, and a worm. Quite a menagerie! Scholars tell us that animals were used as imagery for demonic forces in ancient near eastern writing. The animal references in the psalm are certainly all negative and threatening:

Strong bulls open wide their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion
Dogs are all around me
Deliver my life from the power of the dog
Save me from the mouth of the lion
From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me

All of these images suggest the threat of harm and attack. The animals show us the wild, uncontrollable, fearsome power of evil. They instill fear. There is nothing of the peaceable kingdom in this psalm.

And finally, there is mention of the lowly worm: “But I am a worm and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.” While this animal reference does not suggest fear, it is an image of degradation. It is certainly negative.

In some passages in the Bible, even in the psalms, animals are used to convey the nobility of creation and the incredible diversity of life. They show us how we are to praise God by being fully ourselves. But in Psalm 22, as well as in other biblical references, animals are used to express negative sentiments.

I am wondering about the connection between these negative images and the theology of creation. Do the negative animal images help to support a “man against nature” outlook? A fundamental antagonism between humanity and the natural world? There is a strong tradition within Christianity that supports seeing nature as something to be subdued, to be controlled, to be tamed. Nature is here to be used/used up by humanity to serve human ends.

There is also a tradition of creation care and environmental sensitivity that has been present throughout Christian history. This theology draws upon positive images of nature and the interdependent web of creation that is also referenced in the Bible. Church leaders, theologians, and teachers going back to the earliest streams of Christianity advocate for the care of creation, and for coming to know God through the natural world.

As for our view of ecology and care of the environment today, here again, we exert our freedom to choose. We have two diverging paths within our tradition, both based on the Bible. It is up to us which we will embrace. Personally, I cannot integrate the abuse of creation into my personal Christian belief system and into my faith. I associate the abuse and sullying of the environment with selfishness, immediate gratification, greed, arrogance, over consumption, lack of self discipline, disrespectful behavior, laziness, individualism, and apathy. These are all character traits that I consider negative and at odds with the way of Jesus that is the heart of the Christian life. I associate caring for the earth with self discipline, service, concern for others, respect, generosity, self control, making the extra effort, valuing the well being of the whole, compassion, justice, and respect. These are traits that I feel are consistent with the life and teachings of Jesus. So, for me, I try to exercise the freedom of my faith by caring for the earth and making choices that protect and nurture the earth as the tangible self-disclosure of God.

Prayer
May we cherish the earth and its beauty. May we disentangle ourselves from the sin of anthropocentrism and appreciate the interconnectedness of earth, creation, and all life. As we seek our proper place in the vast web that sustains us, may we find our wholeness and healing. Amen.

Note: As I was writing this, the neighbor’s new puppy came outside to romp in the yard. Talk about disarming any fear you may have of animals (or of evil for that matter)!

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is how Psalm 22 begins. These words may be more familiar to us from the crucifixion story. In the reflection yesterday, we talked about God being a natural part of our lives. What about this extreme plea of abandonment? This is a terrified cry of abandonment.

However natural it may be for us to have God as part of our reality, we can also understand separation from God. There are times when we do not feel close to God. We once had a church member who told me that every time she came to church, she saw the light. It was there every Sunday. Then, she stopped seeing the light. And stopped coming to church. There are those moments, those seasons, those times of life, when things shift. We may feel further away from God, or sense God’s absence. We may have this experience at a time of severe pain and grief: A time we feel most in need of divine love and comfort. Yet even mystics of old who devoted their lives to prayer tell of the “dark night of the soul.” This is the experiencing of the absence of the divine. So we see that sensing God’s absence is also a common experience of the spiritual life.

While Psalm 22 is ultimately a celebration of God’s steadfast love and deliverance which brings humanity through affliction and struggle, the beginning of the psalm also acknowledges the pain of feeling abandoned by God. Yet even from the pit of abandonment, terrified, scorned, despised, mocked, ridiculed, threatened and on death’s door, the writer declares, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” And just who is the writer addressing? To whom is this plea directed? My God. Even from the place of separation, abandonment, and forsakenness, the psalm pleads to God. That very act, those very words, “My God, my God,” undermine the absence. They de-stabilize the abandonment. Faith, however tenuous, persists.

When we are feeling far from God, separated from our spiritual selves, abandoned by God, our continued prayers to God will help to create the new reality of experiencing God’s abiding presence once more.

Prayer
May we continue to pray to God even when we are not sure of God’s presence. May we trust God with our most honest feelings and needs. May we share our truth with God and with one another even in the face of extreme doubt and confusion. May we not be afraid of the depth of our human experience. To live abundantly is to live deeply as Jesus did. Amen.