EASTER OCTAVE, DAY FOUR: “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
by Stephen Noll, Contending Anglican:
“My God, My God, Why Have Your Forsaken Me?”
Mark 15:34
I preached this meditation on Good Friday 2018 at my parish church in Pennsylvania.
It is reported in two Gospels – Mark and Luke – that Jesus cried out in a loud voice at the end of his life.
According to Mark,
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
And in Luke it reads:
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)
These are the only two of Jesus’ words from the Cross addressed to the Father on his own behalf. Usually, I think, we see these two words to be very different. The Fourth Word, my text today, is seen as the “cry of abandonment,” a passionate question directed to God much in the manner of Job. The Seventh Word from Luke, it is thought, breathes quiet confidence, with Jesus speaking intimately with the Father.
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