If you’ve ever had to say goodbye to someone, you treasure the last words spoken. You remember what was said. You hold on to those final words. For Lent in 2021, we are focusing on the last words of Jesus from the cross. What did he say? What does it mean for us? How do those words change us? This week, we focus on the word “forsaken”. Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
Invocation
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
Invitation Prayer
O God, everyone is from somewhere. But I’m in the middle of nowhere. I am a nobody. But you call my name, and I am somebody. Lord, do not forsake me. If no one else knows my name, I simply ask, call mine. Know me. Then I’m somebody. Amen.
Confession
Lord, I am a hollow tree. There is an empty space inside me. Gone is the passion and the energy. All that remains is an echo of what once was. Have you left me? Am I alone? I am a corpse without you. Lord, I am a hollow tree. Only you can fill the empty.
Word: Psalm 22:1
“Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”
Meditation
Jesus quoted Psalm 22 from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The Psalm goes on to say, “Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” Forsaken means to be left alone. Everyone has abandoned you. You are left to groan, suffer, cry. Does anyone hear you? Will anyone come to you?
You have to read the whole Psalm to get the context, and to know how it ends. While Psalm 22 begins with a despairing cry, it progresses to confidence. It starts with a question, but ends with an answer. Verse 24: “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him (Ps. 22:24).
The Psalm answers its own question. Jesus answers the question: God has not forsaken. He has not left. He stays to the end, to death and beyond. Write the name of someone you know who is afflicted today. How can you bring them a message of hope today?
Lord, don’t hold my questions against me. Sometimes you seem so far. Be near, by the grace of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sending
From Hebrews 13:5-6: “He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Come, O Lord, Amen.
*Today’s devotion is taken from It Is Finished by Jeff Cloeter, published by CTA – Christ to All at ctainc.com