"My God, My God ... Why?"

Meditations and prayers on the last words of Christ
This is Holy Wednesday – Our fourth step into Holy Week

You are now invited, each day of this week, to a time of personal reflection and prayer.

“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?” which means, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46)

At the foot of the cross we hear the prayer of the Son to the Father… “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is the moment that Jesus had so dreaded…not the physical pain that he would endure. He had never been apart from his Father. Never. He had never experienced sin. And now, in this ninth hour, he was experiencing silence and separation from his Father, and the sins of all of mankind slammed hard upon his shoulders. This faith-cry in the darkness was whispered, but the reality of it all has resounded throughout the centuries. We can see God because of the hours when Jesus saw only darkness and heard only silence. We can be assured of eternity in God’s presence because our sins were piled onto the shoulders of the One who had never known sin. The anguish that he bore for us is beyond measure.

Reflection: Be silent and still in this “ninth hour.”

Prayer: Holy Jesus, I am without words. I sit in silence. I can’t begin to understand what took place in this ninth hour, can I? God’s sacrifice. Your sacrifice … the sacrifice for us, the sinners. I am loved beyond words and, because of this ninth hour, I can be assured that when I cry out “My God, my God”, God’s back will surely not be turned away. There are truly no words. No words. Only silence. Only worship. Amen.

anna