Daily Scripture: Mark 15:31 Likewise, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers made fun of him, saying to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” 32 and, “So he’s the Messiah, is he? The King of Isra’el? Let him come down now from the stake! If we see that, then we’ll believe him!” Even the men nailed up with him insulted him.
33 At noon, darkness covered the whole Land until three o’clock in the afternoon. 34 At three, he uttered a loud cry, “Elohi! Elohi! L’mah sh’vaktani?” (which means, “My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?”)[Mark 15:34 Psalm 22:2(1)]
Reflection Questions:
Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 (another “lament”) on the cross to express his agonizing sense of separation from God. In Psalm 22, we find a pattern of alternating feelings of despair and hope. We do not have to believe Jesus was literally reciting a whole 31-verse psalm (physically impossible on a cross) to think that the whole psalm, not just its first verse, framed his heart’s cry to God. After all, even when he felt forsaken, he spoke directly to God.
- In great pain, Jesus asked, as the psalmist did, as we do, “Why?” Scholar William Johnsson said, “No matter what ‘hell’ you’re going through, Jesus understands. He’s been there before you.” At what points in your life have you cried out to God, “Why?” How can it lessen your sense of aloneness to know Jesus has asked that question before you?
- Jesus held on through the darkness of the cross to commit himself into God’s keeping. John’s gospel recorded that, as his sufferings came to an end, he said (not as a statement of defeat, but a declaration of triumph), “It is completed” (John 19:30). Who have you known, or known about, who followed in Jesus' steps as an example of “triumphant suffering”?
Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you were God in the flesh. I struggle to grasp what it meant for you to submit to death on the cross. But I thank you that no matter how hard life gets, you’ve been there before me. Amen.
Insights from Angela LaVallie
![Angela_LaVallie[1]](http://gpsinsights.cor.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Angela_LaVallie1.jpg)
Angela LaVallie is the Worship Logistics Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees preparing the Sanctuary for worship, supports Vibe worship and volunteers in the Student Center, provides oversight for Holy Communion at the Leawood campus, assists with worship logistics at conferences, and oversees community events and meals.
Not that I have had a perfect life, but I have been blessed to not have had any truly dark times. There have never been times when I have felt deep despair or profound loneliness. There have, however, been times I have not walked closely with God, times I have gone through the motions of being a good Christian – attending worship, small group studies, saying the “right” things – but have pulled away from actually spending time with God in prayer and scripture. Even during these times I’ve questioned my faith, when my doubts came more from a logical standpoint than because of a crisis, I couldn’t not believe in a loving, powerful God.
I have been blessed throughout my life with great examples in my churches – both in Indiana and here at Resurrection – of people who had great faith in the face of dark times. I know people who have suffered from great illnesses, lost loved ones under horrific circumstances, and fell to addictions; when it would have seemed justified for these people to blame God and walk away from him, they instead chose to cling to him. When he didn’t heal their bodies, he healed their souls. When he didn’t bring back their loved ones, he held them close to him. He pulled them out of addiction into God-honoring lives.
I know that at any time, I could face a very difficult time, a time where I might be tempted to wallow in the bad emotions that will inevitably come, but I hope that a good foundation and relationship with God and the great examples (Jesus, others in the Bible, and those I have personally witnessed) of others who have clung to God even in the worst of circumstances will be a reminder and inspiration to me that I never have been and never will be alone.
Download the GPS App
Angela LaVallie is the Worship Logistics Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees preparing the Sanctuary for worship, supports Vibe worship and volunteers in the Student Center, provides oversight for Holy Communion at the Leawood campus, assists with worship logistics at conferences, and oversees community events and meals.
Not that I have had a perfect life, but I have been blessed to not have had any truly dark times. There have never been times when I have felt deep despair or profound loneliness. There have, however, been times I have not walked closely with God, times I have gone through the motions of being a good Christian – attending worship, small group studies, saying the “right” things – but have pulled away from actually spending time with God in prayer and scripture. Even during these times I’ve questioned my faith, when my doubts came more from a logical standpoint than because of a crisis, I couldn’t not believe in a loving, powerful God.
I have been blessed throughout my life with great examples in my churches – both in Indiana and here at Resurrection – of people who had great faith in the face of dark times. I know people who have suffered from great illnesses, lost loved ones under horrific circumstances, and fell to addictions; when it would have seemed justified for these people to blame God and walk away from him, they instead chose to cling to him. When he didn’t heal their bodies, he healed their souls. When he didn’t bring back their loved ones, he held them close to him. He pulled them out of addiction into God-honoring lives.
I know that at any time, I could face a very difficult time, a time where I might be tempted to wallow in the bad emotions that will inevitably come, but I hope that a good foundation and relationship with God and the great examples (Jesus, others in the Bible, and those I have personally witnessed) of others who have clung to God even in the worst of circumstances will be a reminder and inspiration to me that I never have been and never will be alone.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
____________________________
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment