Lenten Devotions in Hard Economic Times

THIRTY-SIXTH DAY OF LENT 
                 MARCH 30
  
 Hebrews 4: 16
 Psalm 22: 1a, 3
 
 
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace
with boldness,
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help
in time of need.
 
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? 
Yet You are honored as the Holy One,
Enthroned by the reverence of Your people.
 
So where, exactly,
Is grace instated?
Where is the lyrical expression of benevolence
Positioned in power?
How do I get there from here?
Here, where the landscape is so utterly godforsaken,
Where, inside and out, all is stagnant and stingy.
 
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
I stagger in my weakness,
I wander in my bewilderment,
I glance around and snag no hint of hope,
Amid the briars of despondency.
 
Yet You are honored as the Holy One,
Enthroned…..
 
So might it be that You have not abandoned me?
But that I have spiraled
In awkward circumnavigation,
Running around the unmistakable,
Missing the obvious,
That You, Who are mercy and grace,
Are present in mercy and grace,
That Your throne is the heart of
Steadfast love,
That Your heart is the throne of
Steadfast love?

Hebrews cited from New Revised Standard Version
 Psalm from Redemption Songs—A 21st Century Descant on the Psalms
 commentary in italic