Truly this man was the Son of God!

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachtani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, he is calling for Elijah!" Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink, saying, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take him down."

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed his last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed him and ministered to him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

- Mark 15:33-41

Today is Good Friday, so I have chosen a reading that reflects the events commemorated today.

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. The evangelist tells us that from noon until about 3pm there was darkness everywhere. The darkening at noon, in the usually blinding brightness of this time of the day, tells us of a world turned upside down - creation, if you will, responds to the suffering of the Creator. My study bible notes, "When the Creator suffers, the creation suffers with him. The lights of heaven hide themselves and are darkened until the ninth hour as God hangs suspended upon a Cross." My study bible also refers to the prophecy of Zechariah 14:6,7 -- "It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord -- neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light."

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachtani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" This is a passage from Psalm 22, which is itself a reflection of the events of the Crucifixion. I will quote again a note from my study bible which I feel is helpful: "Taken by itself, without any consideration of what follows, his cry of My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? could be interpreted as an expression of despair. Since he appropriated our nature, Jesus experiences true separation from God in his humanity, knowing suffering and distress, and yet he does not despair. He speaks these words in the name of humanity, to put an end to the alienation of man from God. For as God he is never forsaken by the Father. With this cry humanity is accepted and saved." I would suggest that all those following this commentary read the full text of Psalm 22. Jesus' words are the first words of the Psalm. While it is clearly a reflection, a prophecy, of the Crucifixion, its resolution is hopeful, not despairing. The full text of the prayer is important. Jesus' words tell us of his understanding, his intention. In his humanity, however, Christ is forsaken. My study bible notes that he is forsaken "in, and with, and for us, who are forsaken and abandoned." His faith as Son does not diminish his experience as a human being, who suffered with us all that we can suffer in this world.

Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, he is calling for Elijah!" Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink, saying, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take him down." In yesterday's passage, on the Last Supper, we read Jesus' words when instituting the Eucharist, and taking the wine. "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." True to his word, Jesus refuses the wine offered to him at the Cross. The words about Elijah reflect the prophecy that Elijah would return. But Jesus has already spoken concerning Elijah's return, and so have the gospels, telling us that it was John the Baptist who was "filled with the spirit of Elijah."

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed his last. This Greek word for "breathed his last" or "expired" connotes a voluntary death. My study bible notes once again, "Jesus' death is that of the suffering Messiah, whose cry is not a defeat but a sign of the separation between the soul and the body, a turning point towards the triumph over death, the trampling down of death by death." Jesus' act of sacrifice on the cross is the death that will defeat death, once and for all. In the paradox of Crucifixion, and the will of the Father, the suffering servant dying his death upon the Cross, tramples the author of sin and death in this world, and serves as a testimony to that Judgment. We are witnesses to that Crucifixion.

Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Again, a helpful note from my study bible here: "The dividing wall of hostility separating man from God is symbolically represented by the veil of the temple, which was torn in two by the death of Jesus." The separation between God and man is torn in two by the suffering servant and his death on the Cross. Never again is the Law to be something that can be used for separation; the incarnation is complete in this act of suffering, and union, with us in all of our experience in the world. The Eucharist commemorates forever his union with us, his giving of his entire Person to us, and his remaining with us even to the end - and beyond. It reminds me, too, of the tearing of clothing that signifies grief in Jewish tradition, upon hearing of a passing. The temple is expressing grief, in this sense - and the holiest place is no longer veiled. A new covenant is born with this death, as in the cup of the Eucharist at the last supper.

So when the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed him and ministered to him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. A prophetic note here begins the moments immediately after Jesus' human death: who are the ones to recognize this man as Son of God? First it is the centurion, a man among those whom Jesus forgave on the cross, because "they know not what they do," one of the ones responsible for implementing Jesus' execution. And then there are the women, who, we are told, have been with Jesus and ministered to him and followed him through Galilee, and came up with him to Jerusalem. The centurion and the women prefigure the first who will see the resurrected Christ. Here, we are told by the evangelist of the faith that will enable this powerful message to be heard which we will celebrate on Sunday. It is the most powerful message of the gospel, the profoundest celebration of the year. Are you ready for it?

But first, we must go through crucifixion. That hour of darkness at noon, how much does it tell us about suffering, and death, and abandonment -- about rejection? If you suffer in your life, remember that He was there, too, just as he is with us for all time and in all time, at every moment of our lives. I have had an experience in my life of profound loss and abandonment, a moment of depression when, in blinding sunlight on a brilliantly lit day, the world seemed, literally, dark. I knew it was light, but my eyes just couldn't see it. It was as if there was a shadow over everything. I recall this abandonment of Christ, our Lord, who suffered for us so that the author of death - otherwise known elsewhere as the "father of lies" - can be judged, and death defeated, its power of separation lost. Give your moments up to Christ. Remember this darkness at noon, and the renting in two of the veil in the temple, and understand that even in that darkness, wherever you are, he reaches to you. At that Cross, on the place of the skull ("Golgotha"), he is there with us, with you, and we can call on him. Just as the crucifixion and resurrection demands of us faith, we still may need the eyes and ears of spirit, of faith, to understand how he will work for us through our darkest times. But he is there, he has been there, and will come for us when we call, at all times, in all places.