Communion With the Christ:: Not Forsaken

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest." Ps: 22:1-2

Many times, we can feel as if we are alone, that all around us is darkness and that the circumstances of our life are growing in darkness and at every turn there is adversity. We feel pressed in upon by the things that we face.

In these times of great stress it may feel, from our human vantage point, that our God is far off and distant. It seems as if our Lord has not heard our cry for his divine assistance, that he has turned a deaf ear to us. The heavens are as brass and no answers are forth coming to our prayers.

We can feel that God has forsaken us and deliverance from our trails seems remote in the face of the growing personal darkness that will, from time to time, beset us.

Forsaken?

In all the gathering darkness and when hope seems far off we even find ourselves , as the very words which our Lord Jesus uttered there, in that dark day upon the cross at Calvary, as all the weight of human sin was judged in his holy person.

Our Lord reaches into the Sacred writ of the Holy Scriptures and uses the words penned by Jesus' royal ancestor King David; of whos' throne he is the heir to.

"My God, May God, why have you forsaken me?" Ps: 22:1

At first appearance these words of Jesus may take on the shroud of desperation, abandonment or even fear, yet when properly understood we find that they are something more, something greater, not just for our Lord, but for each and all of us even in the midst of our times of personal darkness.

Messianic Psalm

For centuries Psalm:22 was understood by Israel's Rabbinical scholars as a Messianic Psalm belonging to the very Messiah. This Psalm is far more than a cry of abandonment as some have supposed, it is rather is one of great hope to each and all of us as we face difficult times.

What our Lord Jesus is doing is there upon the cross, enveloped in darkness of the judgement of sin for all humanity, is, declaring that he is the Messiah of Israel and all humanity. Far from being a despondent cry of abandonment, these words are a glorious shout of victory, won for us through Jesus.

Worship and Trust

After Jesus' shout of victory, the Psalm then looks to the faithfulness of God as that faithful one who will, in the end make all things right for those who trust in him. These words were, in Jesus' mind , not just for himself alone but for each and all of us.

The words of the Psalm encourage us to worship and trust in God who is faithful and has wrought salvation for us. We should Worship and praise him and trust him as he is faithful.

"Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises
In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame" (3-5)

When we come to see this as a declaration of Jesus' Messiahship it transform the whole tenner and tone of the Psalm, it elevates it, raises it high as a Psalm of the glorious victory over all that we might contend with in this life . Over sin, fear, or even death itself

It speaks to us of victory over sin, over pain, over loneliness, over sickness, over persecution, over oppression, over injustice, and even over death itself.

In the Midst of Adversity

David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, composes the words which describe the scene at the cross and the experiences of our Lord in the midst of the adversity. David prophetically writes of that which our Lord felt and saw.

Verses (6-21) describes all that was arrayed against Jesus and the passion of the Crucifixion. . The oppression and persecution. The injustice and confinement. The alienation and profound sense of loss. The pain and suffering. The waning of life and untimely death.

All That We Face

All these adversities were the personal experiences of our Lord Jesus. All of this binds Jesus to us in a unique and profound way and imparted a divine empathy for all our sufferings thru which he is able to stand as our High priest and Intercessor and Advocate. Jesus in his humanity faced every and all that might face in our lifetimes.

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted". Heb: 2:18

That day, upon the cross of Calvary, was a compression of all the human conditions, and a microcosm of all humanities suffering brought to bear upon Jesus Christ as he endures the judgement of all human sin. All that any and all of that we might face in our lives, individually or collectively, was present there and given vivid expression in the Passion of Jesus as expressed in words of the Psalm.

With Us

All of us face times of great suffering as we pass through this life trials, test, sufferings are all a part of the life we live. St. Peter comments regarding reality which we all will encounter in his first general Epistle to the Church.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation."1Ptr:4:12-13

St. Peter , however, not only comments that these "fiery ordeal(s)" are common among us , all the more, these things which we face also reflect the truth that we are identified with our Lord Jesus and as we share in his "sufferings" , but what is more to our salvation Jesus has shared in our sufferings.

Jesus is there in the midst of our sufferings to give strength and to help us. Jesus meets us as our Lord even in the midst of our sufferings, trails, difficulties and even at our worst moments Jesus is there. Jesus will never abandon us. Jesus has made an eternal commitment to us all.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you" Heb:13:8

Our Lord knows us all, he understand just who and what we are and what we face and in spite of all things, in all of our brokenness and the sufferings of this life . Through the cross he is sharing in all of our suffering(s), he even being the Son of God did nor does not exempt himself from human suffering , rather that he embraced it with and for us.

Because of Jesus , we are never forsaken. We can face all things because he is the Messiah as Jesus is declaring in the words of the Psalm. This means that, we can face anything because Jesus is the Messiah and that victory is assured us.

Beyond the Sufferings

Jesus knew the outcome of the cross and the glory which awaited him. This truth is expressed in Psalm: 22:22-31. The glory and salvation is depicted in these verses are all expressed in the affirmative.

This tells us that Jesus knew the outcome. Jesus knew what was beyond the cross and the grave and the glory that awaited him, and we all through him.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews expresses it this way.

"who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb: 12:2b

Jesus knew what was beyond the sufferings. He knew that victory and glory awaited him.

This should give us hope and that through Jesus, that we too will share in all that is his.

"For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Heb: 12:3

Because of Jesus

We, each and all of us, can face whatever comes against us in this life because Jesus is the Messiah, this is what Jesus is proclaiming to us all thru the words of the Messianic Psalm. Jesus is declaring his very Messiahship to us giving us hope and in the midst of what we face. As Jesus shouted in victory.

"My God, My God Why Have You Forsaken Me?"

Benediction: May we all take hope and be comforted knowing that we will never be forsaken, that our Lord Jesus is there with us through whatever we face, today, tomorrow and forevermore Amen