1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
THOUGHTS:
This Psalm starts with words later uttered by Jesus while hanging on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Have you ever felt forsaken by God"
Does it ever feel like God is far away?
Today, we remember the Sabbath that Jesus spent dead ... in Hell according to some interpretations.
It's the epitome of being far away from God.
Today, we contemplate how Jesus (God incarnate) suffered complete separation from his own divine nature.
Our understanding is that Jesus did this so we wouldn't have to ... that in ways we can at best comprehend only abstractly, his death puts us into a better relationship with God.
Today, we allow ourselves to deal with our fear of being completely cut off from God. Yet, we are not overcome with despair because there is hope ... a promise of new life around the corner.
PRAYER (adapted from "Lutheran Book of Prayer" Concordia Publishing House, 1970:
Lord God almighty, we are silenced at the grave of your son. We confess that a great mystery confronts us. By faith we know that he who died is the one who unlocked the great secret of your love. His tomb is our tomb. He carried with him to the grave our sin and our death that he might break their hold on us.
Trusting in our Lord's promise to rise again, we come not to mourn, but to confess the sin that he would leave buried. Have mercy on us! Grant us the Easter faith that anticipates with joy the day on which, in him, we too come forth from the tomb to truly live. We pray in his name and for his sake. Amen.
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REMINDER: Carpool to worship with us (meet at SUB 1 room 207). Email lutheran@gmu.edu if you have questions.
4/12 - EASTER: Meet at 10:25am to carpool to a local Lutheran congregation for Easter worship!
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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University . Feel free to share them with your friends! For more information on our ministry and events, see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran
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