Forsaken For Our Salvation

A friend of mine, not at all religious once said that how could there be anything ‘good’ about celebrating the long and painful death of someone else? She even commented how the wearing of crosses was pretty gruesome too; likening them to wearing an electric chair pendant on a delicate chain to commemorate those who had died by that method. In some ways she is right – if the story ended with Jesus’ death then it would be both morbid to rock a cross and a little deranged to think that the death of an innocent man some two thousand years ago was good. But as believers gather in churches to walk the Stations of the Cross and meditate on Christ’s Passion, we see the central tenet of our faith expressed: God granting us salvation via the incredible route of his son being forsaken:

“My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

Putting aside the theological arguments as to the necessary separation of Father and Son as the Son took on all the sins of humanity on Calvary, there is something very moving about these words of Jesus. He sounds vulnerable, weak and desperate. He sounds human. It is so easy in the midst of all the miracles, healings, insightful teaching and intellectual jousting with Pharisees that preceded Jesus’ crucifixion to forget his humanity. At this point in the story, Good Friday, Jesus is pretty much abandoned. His disciples were the first to ditch him, one of their own, Judas, doing the actual betraying, and Peter, most loyal of all, denying him thrice. The crowd picked Barrabas over him for freedom, conveniently forgetting any of the signs and wonders they may have witnessed or come to hear about and the Roman soldiers had mocked him and made him walk with the very instrument of his death strapped to his back.  And all this he did for us, whether we choose to believe or not.

Of course, the story does not end here, on the third day Jesus rose and it is at this point the cross my friend dismissed as a macabre item becomes one of triumph. The very instrument of death becomes the way to life eternal. Furthermore, it is also an encouragement to us all, as those short words show, even God’s son felt forsaken at one point, only to be resurrected on the third day.

The crosses we bear in our own lives might seem too heavy. We might have journeyed with tragedies, hardship, betrayal and disappointments for more miles than we would care to mention. Maybe like Jesus, all of our loved ones faded to black when the going got tough. Or we find ourselves at odds with the ‘in crowd’ and mocked and jeered or falsely accused. To all of us, I declare this Friday very good indeed. The cross we bear, like the one Jesus did is momentary even when it seems the opposite. Our true state, like his, is in the bosom of God the father and it is one filled with victory, rejoicing and salvation. And to Jesus I say thank you for getting us all a seat at the top table, it cost you much, but you chose to share.