My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
Psalm 22 (NRSV)
STORY
In April 2007, I read a selection of Good Friday sermons preached at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, which is an African-American church in Philadelphia. There were seven preachers that afternoon, with the oldest and the most respected pastor being honored by mounting the pulpit last. That seventh preacher’s sermon became another watershed moment in my spiritual life, providing a biblical guidepost that always assures me of my security in Christ. He preached:
It was Friday and Mary was cryin’ her eyes out. The disciples were runnin’ in every direction, like sheep without a shepherd, that was Friday, and Sunday’s comin! It was Friday. The cynics were lookin’ at the world and sayin’, ‘As things have been so they shall be. You can’t change anything in this world; you can’t change anything.’ But those cynics didn’t know that it was only Friday. Sunday’s comin’! It was Friday! And on Friday those forces that oppress the poor and make the poor to suffer were in control. But that was Friday! Sunday’s comin’! It was Friday, and on Friday Pilate thought he had washed his hands of a lot of trouble. The Pharisees were struttin’ around and pokin’ each other in the ribs. They thought they were back in charge of things, but they didn’t know that it was only Friday! Sunday’s comin’!
DEVOTION
Jesus never sinned; though, he did experience sin. This occurred when he was on the cross, crying out in anguish, quoting from the first verse of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With these words Jesus felt forsaken. At this moment, feeling alienated from God, Jesus took upon himself all of our sins. The psalm then moves to a message of deliverance. This is made explicit in verse 24, which reads, “For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
The cry of despair was transformed into a message salvation.
We live in the darkness of Good Friday when all seems lost; when nothing seems redeemable. The foreboding clouds that covered the earth for those three hours Friday afternoon shadow us today. The darkness comes with despair and anxiety brought on by money problems, family problems, health problems, work problems, estrangement from a friend, being ostracized from a group, a difficult decision to make, an uncertain future, and so many many other disturbances in our lives.
In these dark and difficult times, it does seem God has forsaken us. Journeying through our trials and tribulations, we do feel alienated from God. With agonizing anguish we cry out from our cross of affliction, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Our solace is understanding, “but they didn’t know that it was only Friday! Sunday’s comin’!” The light of Resurrection Sunday is only three days away from the darkness of Good Friday. It may be three days away, three weeks away, or even three decades away, but we know that “Sunday’s comin’!” This provides us with the hope and the assurance of God’s presence and deliverance.