10 March (Colin)“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
E tōku Atua, e tōku Atua, he aha koe i whakarere ai i ahau?
At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:33–39 (NIV)
Pete’s ponderings : This is the door of abandonment. I did this on the anniversary of the mosque shooting. Green is the colour of Islam.I tried to write as if spoken with a broken voice, through sobs. “Me” is written in small text – When you feel abandoned you are shrinking away to nothing.
Colin’s chewings : Jesus is in pain and feels the separation from his heavenly father. He calls out a voice of lament. For all of us there is something about when pain comes close.
Questions for reflection
- Where were you when the mosque attack happened ?
- When have you felt “forsaken”?
- What are the pains you carry, Internal, external, physical, mental spiritual.
- Brueggemann says “a “community that regularly voices lament is a community that acknowledges present pain and that anticipates transformation” . Do you agree ? If so why ? If not why not ?
- Jesus quotes Psalm 22. Psalm 22 has voices of lament, remembering who you are, and God is, cries for help, a decision to praise, and a looking forward to what God will do. Which of these sing to you ?
- How do you lament ?