The Fourth Word Of The Cross:
"My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?"
When I was a teenager a friend of mine asserted that Jesus sinned twice. he asserted that the first time was in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked that "this cup pass from me", which meant the cross. the second time, be believed, was with this word of the cross. On the first point it is not a sin to ask got to remove the challenge. Jesus ultimately said the prayer we all are called to pray, "thy will be done". On this word of the cross one must ask: How in the world can you sin quoting scripture? Jewish life is suffused with the Tehillim, the Psalms. They form the Jewish people as they have formed many Christians. Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1 . It begins as a psalm of despair, and ends in trust in God. Here is the full quote in the New Revised Standard Version of the Psalms:
22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
The psalm goes on to affirm the holiness of God and to express trust in God's will. We have the idea sometimes that to express human emotions that seem to be negative is a sin. These emotions are part of what we are, and part of being human is feeling abandoned by everyone, including God. We don't want to believe we are weak, but we are. It is no sin to express our frustration and anger, even with God. What burdens do you carry that make God seem far from your cry? Jesus is expressing human emotion, but also finding hope in the scriptures. Read the psalms, they range from beautiful to hateful, yet they all do the same thing. They all keep the relationship with God going by staying in communion with God. If we are still talking to God, we must believe God is there? The scriptures don't teach that it is a sin to feel forlorn, or abandoned. The Psalms are full of these kinds of expressions. If we don't feel them we are not allowing the full range of what it means to be human to be a part of us. What psalms give voice to your sense of abandonment, of your sense of thanksgiving joy and hope. In our despair we keep the relationship with God going, even when we are feeling lost and abandoned.
In Christian Hope,
Jim
"My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?"
When I was a teenager a friend of mine asserted that Jesus sinned twice. he asserted that the first time was in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked that "this cup pass from me", which meant the cross. the second time, be believed, was with this word of the cross. On the first point it is not a sin to ask got to remove the challenge. Jesus ultimately said the prayer we all are called to pray, "thy will be done". On this word of the cross one must ask: How in the world can you sin quoting scripture? Jewish life is suffused with the Tehillim, the Psalms. They form the Jewish people as they have formed many Christians. Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1 . It begins as a psalm of despair, and ends in trust in God. Here is the full quote in the New Revised Standard Version of the Psalms:
22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
The psalm goes on to affirm the holiness of God and to express trust in God's will. We have the idea sometimes that to express human emotions that seem to be negative is a sin. These emotions are part of what we are, and part of being human is feeling abandoned by everyone, including God. We don't want to believe we are weak, but we are. It is no sin to express our frustration and anger, even with God. What burdens do you carry that make God seem far from your cry? Jesus is expressing human emotion, but also finding hope in the scriptures. Read the psalms, they range from beautiful to hateful, yet they all do the same thing. They all keep the relationship with God going by staying in communion with God. If we are still talking to God, we must believe God is there? The scriptures don't teach that it is a sin to feel forlorn, or abandoned. The Psalms are full of these kinds of expressions. If we don't feel them we are not allowing the full range of what it means to be human to be a part of us. What psalms give voice to your sense of abandonment, of your sense of thanksgiving joy and hope. In our despair we keep the relationship with God going, even when we are feeling lost and abandoned.
In Christian Hope,
Jim
posted by Theoblogger at
4:46 PM
