Isaiah 50:4—7 + Philippians 2:6—11 + Mark 14:1—15:47
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Delivered at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, Oklahoma
The cry of Jesus from the cross, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani” (“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”) sounds like the cry of someone cut off from God. But Jesus’ cry from the cross is the first verse of Psalm 22, the beginning of a prayer where God’s faithful one expresses the “feeling” of being abandoned because of great suffering. However, the psalm concludes with a great act of trust in God’s saving presence.
Jesus, knowing he is the beloved Son of the Father even on the cross, is ripped away reveals God’s presence where God appears to be absent. God is present with those who suffer, with those who are abandoned, with those who are stripped of their dignity, with those who have been betrayed by their closest friends.
The hope that sustains Jesus is not that his situation will change and that God will appear with legions of angels and rescue him from a terrible death. The hope sustaining Jesus—his Father remains with him in the darkest day of his life, even in the most horrific hours of Jesus’ existence. The hope sustaining Jesus is that he is still loved by God, despite all evidence to the contrary. It is a hope not depending on changing the present situation or demanding a different outcome.
It is a hope whereby terrible events and immense suffering are placed within a larger context—the loving presence of God, a God whose love sustains those who trust in him.
We still do not understand where to look for God, which is why the Church gifts us with Holy Week year and year after year. We look for God’s presence only in times of glory, times which are few and far between in our lives.
The truth which Jesus reveals from the cross—God is present in sacrificial love,
in those times where we experience suffering because of our love for God or our love for others.
We look for God in strength, in power and might, but the cross reveals God present in times of weakness.
We look for God’s presence in times when we are successful or honored by others, but Christ on the cross teaches us God is powerful present with us,
strengthening us when we are “dishonored” by others or “shamed” by them.
We therefore are sustained by the rock-solid conviction that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)
Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi
