We stand near the cross today, and here the cry of Jesus. His prayer quoted from psalm 22, is a most difficult and somewhat confusing question. ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Throughout the scriptures, Jesus seems pretty clear that he understood his mission on earth. He was clear about who he was and whose he was. God always seemed to be with him. But here in his final moments, it appears God has abandoned him.
Certainly this questioning of God helps us to see the humanity of Jesus, one who was made to feel as we feel, to be tempted, to suffer, and to question. No matter how secure we as humans feel in our connection to God, we are never so secure or beyond the possibility of doubt. Feeling alone, scared, or abandoned is a most common human experience.
Some say that God was separated from Jesus in that final moment on the cross, but I wonder if maybe God didn’t leave Jesus. Maybe Jesus fully brought death, suffering, abandonment and forsakenness into the Godhead. And there, where there is so much life, so much love and forgiveness, death was destroyed. So that death rather than being the ultimate separation, finds its path to greater union. If we read all of Psalm 22, we see David’s journey from his sense of separation and hopelessness into the promise of new life and hope. It’s good to ask questions. And I’m grateful to know the end of the story.
Lord, there are times when we feel forsaken. Help us to call upon you in our hour of need. Comfort us, knowing that you understand what it is like to feel abandoned. Help me, in my moments of despair to place my life in our hands. Amen.
