A Faith that is not Silent (Psalm 22:23-31, Lent 2B)

Psalm 22:23-31 is an interesting passage of praise.  It’s easy to read these praise passages as kind of interchangeable–which Psalm shall we use to praise God today.  But there are generally some special features of each passage.

I believe that we are to focus on God when we worship and praise him.  But at the same time, God is focused on us.  Keeping that in mind might help keep the balance.  There are many reasons to praise God, because he is our creator, because he’s great, because he’s good, and so forth.  Anyone in the congregation can list them.

But there’s another reason illustrated in this passage. We need to praise God because other people need to hear us do it.  No, this is not because we need them to think better of us seeing as they have heard us offer praise to God.  Rather, it’s because they need to hear what God has done.  The classic Psalm based on this idea is Psalm 78, but it is equally well expressed in shorter form here in Psalm 22.

Verse 30:  “our children will also serve him.  Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.”  (NLT)

Verse 31:  “His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.” (NLT)

The thing about a silent faith is that it is dead in the most important way–it doesn’t reproduce.  Reproduction is one of the key elements that defines biological life.  It is also a key element in defining spiritual life.

Here’s a question for you and for your Sunday School class or congregation.  Have you provided enough of a basis for your faith to survive?  Is there anything known about it that would make people want to join your community of faith and carry on?