GOD WHO GROANS

| Sermon Thought by Racheeta Nayak |

Mark 15:34 says ,“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? This translates to "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Was Jesus literally forsaken by God? This word ‘Forsaken’ is a strong word, its synonyms being 'abandoned' and 'deserted'. Google definitions say 'A person is known to be Forsaken when he /she is left forever or permanently'.

Jesus was Truly Man and Truly God even on that cross. He definitely knew he would rise up from the dead, but at that moment, when the whole world's sin was upon him, he was so much a human that he accurately enacted the response of a human going through suffering. The emotions are so heightened that he says words like forsake instead of leave.

Many a times we humans use the word ‘Never‘ in an argument with God; e.g. You never listen to me, you never do this or that. This is an incorrect exaggeration. When I pondered on the word ‘forsake’ used by Jesus, I understood the depth of emotional pain he went through. In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

This is the same Jesus who was famished, spat on, beaten mercilessly, humiliated and crucified. He suffered all this alone FOR us, not along WITH us and here we are taking his sacrifice for granted as though we played no part in his death.

Romans 8:26 says, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words". Some of us have known the Holy Spirit as just a helper sent by God, but NO, He is the HOLY SPIRIT GOD. The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Have you noticed this... When the intensity of your emotional pain is at an extreme and you cry out to God, there is breathlessness, tears running down like there’s no end, it feels like the pain is choking you, it’s difficult to use words - you just groan and groan till you feel the warm blanket of God’s love covering you . Have you cried like this when someone else is hurt? Have you experienced this level of empathy? It’s rare.

Our Holy spirit God intercedes for us in this manner and yet recently I had the audacity to ask God ,”How does it feel to watch your daughter cry like this? Are you just sitting on your throne and doing nothing about it?" Our pain blinds us so much that we can’t see him holding us, it deafens us so much that we can’t listen to him cry along with us.

The sermon topic on Sunday was ‘where is God during hard times ? My answer is He is right there with us in the suffering, empathising with us and giving us hope.