Sin is a loaded word. For those outside the faith, it’s a funny and dated religious term. For Christians, we repeat it so often that it loses its bite. Scripture reveals that sin is worse than we know. Jesus is so serious about it that he says, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.” What is it about sin that’s so fatal it would require Jesus to go to the cross?
This Lent we do a soul examination, studying all the ways God describes the complex of sin. Lawlessness, adultery, rebellion . . . The cancerous nature of sin means that we need to go deeper than surface confession. The problem is worse than we know, which makes our Savior greater than we can imagine.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord, you know the power of the evil foe. You endured his temptation in the wilderness for 40 days. Answer our prayer to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Keep us from the devil and his schemes. Guard us from the fiery arrows of satan. Grant us life by the power of our victorious King, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Word
Matthew 27:46
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:51
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”
Meditation: Forsaken Seasons By Susan Becher Schultz
In the midst of suffering, the words people say in consolation often feel hollow. “The darker the night, the brighter the stars,” “God wouldn’t give you what you can’t handle,” “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.” In the middle of pain, grief, and loss, these are often the last things I want to hear.
In seasons of anguish, it’s not quotes I want to hear. Instead, I want to be near those going through their own darkness. I find no greater consolation than being in the presence of a friend who also struggles with health anxiety, or a relative who has lost a loved one, or a coworker who feels isolated in their own family for being the only one who struggles with their mental health. It’s the people who have screamed out their own version of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” who help me feel less alone.It’s the words they share, the hugs they give, the prayers they offer, that give me the strength to take on another day. In seasons of life that I have to take day by day, these are the relationships that encourage me to move forward.
I remember now that my confirmation bible verse was Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Yet, there have been times where it feels like I have been very much abandoned. Jesus’ words on the cross resonate much more than those from Hebrews. It’s the fact that Jesus suffered so tangibly, and so specifically for us, that gives me hope. It’s this moment where Jesus cannot see an end to his suffering that I find the most consolation. This connection of suffering binds us to one another, and turns our faces to God as only he knows what comes next.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
And what comes next is often much more beautiful than anything we could ever imagine. Almost as if God picks up all of our shattered pieces and rearranges them into something more stunning than what came before. Where we thought he forsake us, he was working something greater. He was turning us towards one another for comfort, teaching us to rely on him for strength, and requiring us to relinquish whatever bit of control we thought we had. Even when we can’t see it, we’re fully included in a story much bigger than ourselves.
Dear Lord, thank you for the people you’ve sent into my life to walk with me in my suffering. Remind me of how you work all things for good, even when I feel lost in darkness. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.