Psalm 22

I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast;
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death.
--Psalm 22:14-15

When people talk about Psalm 22 they don't normally get this far. We like to stop with the first verse ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) because we meditate on that verse during Lent and Good Friday. So it may sound odd that I'm bringing out this Psalm during Eastertide. I think the writer of Psalm 22 went to seminary, or the ancient equivalent. If the writer did not experience higher education, then s/he experienced the same emotions from another experience. The two verses above are what many of my classmates are feeling right now. The 'dust of death' may be a bit over dramatic, but what's seminary without a little drama? After the school year spent reading, writing essays, taking exams, and discussion some of us may be glad for a time when our tongue to stick to our jaw. We've spent the year pouring out ourselves into our studies and internships while balancing other commitments. In some ways, we're very dry. I see the exhaustion in my classmates' face. Many are moving to a new place on campus, many are beginning summer jobs in the next couple of weeks, many are relocating for a post-seminary job, and a few have decided to leave seminary early for various reasons.

I don't really have a point today. I just wanted to acknowledge what my friends and classmates are going through. I'm sure our professors have some similar feelings. This is the time to ask again for the gift of living water that we may never be thirsty again.