This week's author is the Rev. Michael Ciba, Valley Northwest Regional Minister for the Connecticut Conference, UCC.
You who fear God, praise God!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify God;
stand in awe of God,
all you offspring of Israel!
For God did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted;
God did not hide God's face from me, but heard when I cried to God.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear God.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek God shall praise God.
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to God;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before God.
For dominion belongs to God,
and God rules over the nations.
To God, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before God shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for God.
Posterity will serve God;
future generations will be told about God,
and proclaim God's deliverance
to a people yet unborn,
saying that God has done it.
Most of us know the beginning of Psalm 22: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This is the cry of Jesus on the cross. The first 22 verses of the psalm describe the pain and agony of the psalmist in great detail. We hear a desire to trust in God, but also despair that God seems far off and inattentive to the psalmist's plight.
But God is not far off and does rescue this individual. Verses 22-31 describe the author's willingness to publicly proclaim to the "great congregation" thankfulness for deliverance. The author calls us to worship and honor God, who is faithful in all things.
Each of us, in different ways, faces challenges great and small. Sometimes we feel like the psalmist in the first part of the psalm. But we also experience God's faithfulness.
How has God saved us from ourselves and from others? What is our testimony? What good has God accomplished for, and in, and through us? How do we share this good news with others, in the "great congregation" that extends across space and throughout time to include all those who testify to God's faithfulness in their lives?
Please remember our Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree, as she continues treatment for breast cancer. You can follow her progress and leave messages for her at this site:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davidacrabtree
Please also remember:
the loved ones of the Rev. Dr. Paul Zeckhausen, Minister of Parish Care at the First Church of Christ in Suffield, who died unexpectedly on February 25;
Elizabeth Waterman, niece of the Rev. Dr. Ron Brown and the Rev. Jane Rowe, hospitalized in critical but stable condition due to a severe infection;
the loved ones of Peg Zappulla, wife of the Rev. Jon T. Zappulla, pastor of Bunker Hill Congregational Church, UCC, of Waterbury, who died on February 19th after a long struggle with brain cancer;
Patricia "Patsy" Bjorling, who will join the Conference staff as Associate Conference Minister for Generosity Ministries in April;
Cheryl McNamee, daughter of the Rev. Al Turner, pastor of South Congregational Church UCC in East Hartford, who is being treated for breast cancer;
the Rev. M. J. Hinchliff, pastor of First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC of East Haddam, who is being treated for breast cancer;
members of the Conference staff who are ill or recovering from broken bones;
the leaders of this nation, that they may meet the challenges of the day with insight, wisdom, and compassion;
those suffering due to the ongoing financial woes of the nation, be they struggling to meet an unaffordable mortgage, confronting the loss of a job, or working to find just resolutions to the crisis; and
those serving or living in war or conflict zones around the world, or where terrorists have struck, particularly in Gaza, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, and the Sudan.
To be added to the prayer list, please send an email to your Regional Minister or to webmaster@ctucc.org.
Mansfield Center
First Ch of Christ in Mansfield Cong'l
IN The Rev. Matthew J. McCaffrey
CE Ms. Louise Labbe-Fahy
Marlborough
Cong'l Ch of Marlborough
P The Rev. Robert G. Faulhaber Jr.
PE The Rev. James H. Ameling
CE Ms. Denise Peterson
Meriden
Center Cong'l Ch of Meriden
P The Rev. James J. Olson
Meriden
First Cong'l Church
P The Rev. John W. Clarke
Middle Haddam
Second Cong'l Church
P The Rev. Lois F. Kennedy
The Spirit Calendar: March 02, 2009 by Rev. Michael Ciba, Valley Northwest Regional Minister
