Scripture: Psalm 31, Luke 23:44-49
Focus: I entrust my spirit into your hands; you, Lord, God of faithfulness—you have saved me. ~Psalm 31:5
Commentary: Psalm 31 is a complex psalm which borrows heavily from Jeremiah and other psalms, moving alternatively between pleas for help, words of pain, and expressions of trust and praise. The psalm explores what it means to entrust one’s life to God, even in death.
Yesterday, Matthew recounted Jesus’ last words from Psalm 22 (please note Matthew does say Jesus “cried out” again but does not tell us if he used words) but today we hear Psalm 31:5 as the last words from Luke’s Jesus. In today’s account, we see Jesus in a moment of surrender, not to death but to God IN death. Jesus pushes the theme of trust beyond this life and into the next. Look at Luke’s words to see what is missing from verse 5: “you have saved me.” Jesus didn’t say those words with his mouth, but we feel them from his heart.
As Jesus breathed his last breath, seen through the eyes of the psalms he quotes, his trust in God permeates both the Matthew and the Luke passages. As we make our Lenten journey, with the psalms as our prayer partner, perhaps the psalms will begin to live in us and breath into our lives as we breathe the messages they offer us as people of faith.
Portions of Psalm 31 are often read on Good Friday. Reading the psalm, now, at the beginning of Lent encourages us to live our lives not only with the end in mind but with trust that mirrors the complexity we find within the psalm and the words Jesus speaks.
Reflection: What does it mean for you to entrust your life to God? How have you surrendered, not just your life, but your entire being to God? Are there things in your life that keep you from trusting God with your spirit? What are they and how can you grow beyond them?
If music is a spiritual pathway for you and if you love children, listen to Lord into your hands I commend my spirit. (YouTube) It is a Bro. Fr. Abedies song, and he is joined by others in what I would consider to be more of an embodied chant than a song. I invite you to let the words live and breathe within you as much as you breathe the words into the world ...
Breath Prayer for the Day:
Breathing in … Lord into your hands
Breathing out … I commend my spirit
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