Eli Eli lama sabachthani
(o god o god why have you forsaken me)
When I reflect upon these words, there is no doubt Our Lord was in deep despair. We have no capacity to appreciate the utterly horrific experience of having the sins of the world put upon the Lord Jesus as He hung, in excruciating pain, from that cross. The physical pain was immense. The spiritual one must have been even greater. In those awful moments, Jesus was expressing His feelings of abandonment….forsaken-ness…alone-ness.
During those moments God placed the weight of sin upon Him. And indeed, this is the price of sin…to be separated from God, just as Adam and Eve were separated from God when they sinned… and all through time, just as we did – as we do – and will continue to do so.
And as Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, He was experiencing separation from God for the first and only time in all of eternity. He felt the loneliness and abandonment that sin always produces, except that in His case, it was not His sin – it was ours – it was mine.
And just to be absolutely clear ….Jesus did not simply carry the sin of the people who were around him at that time – those who were there to actually crucify him and judge him and throw stones at him. No! It was far more reaching than that! Jesus carried the sins of the world….not just across all lands But across all time! Through our generations – through future generations….Can we even begin to conceive the magnitude of what Jesus carried for us on that cross?
He is the Son of God made Man and He was to undergo every possible human condition – torture, indignity, pain, suffering, and death – not just physical death but death in all its forms…indeed even that of DESPAIR to become the ultimate offering, the sacrificial Lamb
But Not only was he The Sacrifice – Jesus is The Way…! And he shows us a blueprint, a map, on how we are to endure Every human condition …yes even that of despair or abandonment
What I am suggesting is this…Most people feel some form of abandonment during their lifetime.I know I have. We will feel this from a loved one…whether through death, divorce, or even simply being left behind. If you have ever experienced despair…or the feeling of being lost and abandoned….it can be shattering. And it feels like you are so small not even God can see you – let alone hear you! It is easy to give in to the darkness. I can tell you – from my own heart and shame – in the darkness, it can seem like there is no hope, no way out. Some resort to drinking, drugs, wantonness, Godlessness, Immoral behaviour, hoping to fill the void!
But…We are given another choice. We can choose to do it the “Jesus-way”
So here He is…on what the Bible calls as the Ninth hour – in the middle of his despair, we find Jesus clinging to God with all his power, with both hands, and at the same time, shouting his inner feelings up to God. Throughout his agony we find Jesus In complete surrender and faithfulness as He continues to accept God’s Will and His purpose for us.
We are to remain faithful…Full of Faith! That would mean no matter how we are feeling at the moment…we need to know God is there. Yes he is there …even in the dungeons and darkness of our lives…He is there waiting for us to call out to Him.
It is easy to believe in God when life smiles on you and everything is beautiful and wonderful. But sometimes, life can be incredibly hard. And it Is difficult to hear and see God during these times. And we start to feel alone…abandoned…maybe even despair! But He is there.
And I believe that is what Lent tries to correct about our impressions of God. In the mysteries of Lent, God walks into the midst of the deepest, darkest experiences of human pain and suffering—
because He wants us to find Him there.
World War 2…one of the darkest times in human history…where the feeling of despair and abandonment must have been felt by so many…. We find written on a wall in a small ghetto in Poland…
“I believe in the sun when it is not shining.
I believe in the stars when I cannot see them.
And I believe in God when I cannot hear him.”
(quiet)
Lastly I wish to remind us all…. The drama does not end with Jesus crying out in depression and emotional exhaustion.
“Why have you forsaken me?”
…These are not his last words, not his final words, not the end of the story.
Through Jesus’ cry of despair we learn… God’s healing always triumphs over tragedy. Easter trumps Good Friday. And God can and will heal you from every disaster that befalls you. iN faith, God will lift you from YOUR Despair.
We are simply invited to Cling to God with both hands in complete surrender to His Will…with both hands and shout our inner feelings to God in the highest.
ang sanhi 