The Scriptural Way of the Cross -- part V

  13. Jesus dies on the cross:
    “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani...My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  These, Jesus’ last words, cut like a knife.  The fullness of Christ’s humanity seems to be made evident, for the mission, though accomplished has meant that Jesus has given His life, and it was according to God’s plan.  His last words cry out betrayal and confusion, some might call them an expression of Christ’s faith faltering...
    On the surface this may be so, but one who knows the scriptures knows that in Jewish tradition, one might reference a Psalm by simply stating the first line.  These words of the dying Christ proclaim the 22nd Psalm, a plea for deliverance of the servant, but also a proclamation of faith, ending with confidence that God indeed is victorious.  His last words were not of betrayal but of hope and confidence.
    Imagine being Mary or John or any of the other Jewish bystanders.  What might it have been like to hear the cry?  First hearing it as desperation, but then the spiritual mind kicking in realizing the power of the exclamation.  Might they have walked away with hope that His death was not in vane?

    Have there been times in your life when you cried out (or wanted to cry out), “My God, why have You forsaken me?”  What was the result of the situation?  Did God answer your cry?  Even if the situation seemed to “kill you,” did God make a way where there seemed to be no way?

  14. Jesus is laid in the tomb:
    There is power in this final act of laying Jesus to rest, for it means that Jesus was dead.  This was not a case of mistaking a coma for dying.  It was not a myth, but Jesus was sealed in a tomb...just like us.  Just like we experience there at death, there is darkness.  Sheer, utter darkness for the deceased, as well as for those who grieve the loss.  And yet...
    Death is known as the final enemy, and God does not desire the death of anyone, which is why God made a way for Resurrection and new life.  Which is why when death comes, there is an eery sense of peace.  The pain and struggle is gone.  The suffering has ended, and there is peace for those who have stood by the dying and for the one who dies.  At the end of life this is proclaimed in the burial, the last time one prays, “Now I lay me down to sleep...”
    The journey to the Cross has been brutal, painful, and filled with suffering, and yet God saved Christ from such agony.  God made Him whole in His death, and as we will rediscover in two days, God made Him whole so we might be made whole through Him.
    As we bury our Lord, are their things that we need to bury with Him?  Where is the suffering and pain in your life?  Dare you lay it down this day...so that God might transform such pain into new life?