Re: Verse reading–Mark 15:33-41; 16:1-8 (day two) At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 15:34
Even on the cross, and perhaps especially on the cross, Jesus has something to teach us. As Jesus utters these words there are many who think he is calling Elijah, but he is actually quoting scripture. Psalm 22 is titled “A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.” Like most Psalms of Lamentation it begins with an honest, desperate cry for help. The writer of these words understood that God can, indeed, feel very far away. There are moments that not only do we not feel his pleasure, but we actually feel that we have been abandoned. But you must keep reading. The psalmist, and certainly Jesus, understands a relationship with the almighty is honest. God wants us to cry out, even in despair, but that is not where it ends. With very little exception the Psalms of Lamentation turn somewhere in the middle. Once they have made their complaint known, they quickly acknowledge God’s purpose, his goodness, his ultimate authority. Jesus was teaching us to run to the scripture even in, and especially during our crises. Cry, scream, yell, but keep your focus on the author and finisher of our faith…Jesus did.
