Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour

 

 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 sabachthani?" 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!"  

 

- Mark 15:33–39 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His trial before Pilate, they brought Jesus to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.  With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

 

  Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  The sixth hour to the ninth hour correspond to the hours between noon and three o'clock in the afternoon, the peak time of sun and heat.  My study Bible directs us to Zechariah 14:6-7; Amos 8:9.  These prophets write of the darkness that overcomes Israel.

 

 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" 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."  Here Jesus is praying Psalm 22; His words begin the first verse of the psalm.  Without reading the rest of the psalm, Christ's cry of "Why have You forsaken me?" could be misunderstood as a cry of despair.  But we should understand that, as Christ took on our human nature, He experiences our alienation from God in His humanity, knowing our suffering and distress, but He does not despair.  He speaks these words in the name of humanity, my study Bible explains, completely identifying with us in our condition.  In His divinity, however, He is never forsaken by the Father.  The whole of Psalm 22 is a vivid picture of the Crucifixion, but it ends with the note of salvation before the Lord.

 

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.   Christ's death on the Cross is voluntary to the very end, my study Bible says, for even on the Cross, His life could not be taken from Him against His will.  Jesus accepts death on the Cross neither to receive the Father's punishment on our behalf, nor to satisfy the Father's need for blood-justice (as if God would demand such things), but so that by entering death as the divine Son of God, He can destroy the last enemy -- which is death itself (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  My study Bible comments that Christ accepts human nature in order to sanctify human nature; He accepts our weakness in order to make us strong; He takes on our sin in order to free us from sin; He suffers in order to transfigure suffering; and He enters death in order to destroy it.

 

  Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  My study Bible comments that the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man.  Christ's death, it says, opens the way into the presence of God for all people, giving people access to that which is the most holy of all:  God Himself.  In many Orthodox churches, there is a curtain between the altar and the nave which is drawn open during liturgical services to emphasize that communion with God, which was at one time sealed off from humanity, is now available to all who approach in faith. 

 

 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!"  The centurion is a Gentile.  As he observes what happens, my study Bible says that he realizes that Jesus has dominion over nature, and therefore acknowledges Him as the Son of God.  In the tradition of the Church he is known as St. Longinos.

 

 This centurion, a Gentile (as my study Bible points out) is perhaps the first evidence we get of the appeal of Christ to the pagan Gentiles.  Although Christ Himself said that He was sent only to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," and He instructed His disciples similarly in their first missionary journey (see Matthew 10:6; 15:24), what we see at this juncture is the obvious appeal to one so representative of the Gentiles as this centurion.  He has eyes to see and ears to hear -- for him, as my study Bible says -- the effects of Christ at His death are obvious, so that he declares, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!"  The pagan centurion is able to see what those hard-hearted men in the religious leadership have steeled themselves against seeing.  He doesn't share their hatred or venom against One so truly graced and holy that all they can do is fight against Him so that He won't be recognized, and the people seek Christ instead of themselves as leaders.  St. Mark tells us something else that a Gentile perceives which others of the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" do not see, and that is Pilate's sharp awareness of motives among the religious leaders.  In Wednesday's reading, the text told us that Pilate "knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy."  Pilate is able to see what the people, stirred up against Jesus by the chief priests, cannot.  These are just hints in the Gospels of the times that are to come, when Gentiles, who have not hardened their hearts against the coming of the Lord in the Person of Jesus, begin to grasp the divine which is far beyond what their pagan faith can give them.  Perhaps it's true that, having been given so much, we are also free to reject so much, and refuse to open our ears and eyes to the manifestation and fulfillment of prophecy in a form we did not expect, and do not necessarily want.  Perhaps the darkness that was over the whole of the land as Christ begins to die is the dying of the light, manifest in nature.  It covers the land as the people sit in darkness, in a blindness to the light that is rejected here.  But as the light begins to dawn again, others begin to be enlightened, illumined with the comprehension of Christ.  And this, too, is the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah:  "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."   It is, after all, Jesus Himself who tells us, as reported in all four Gospels, that "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house" (Mark 6:4).  However, we should not discount the thousands of Jews who become His followers as well. See, for example, Acts 2, and the thousands who respond to St. Peter's sermon the day of Pentecost.  Perhaps the lesson we take from today's reading, sad as it is in certain very tragic ways for us, is that God's ways are not necessarily our ways, that God does not conform to our expectations, but it is we who always must be prepared for God, as a light that breaks through our own darkness.  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus tells Nicodemus that there are those who prefer their darkness to the light (John 3:19).  Let us be prepared for the light that comes in forms we don't expect, and to accept that God's ways are not always our ways (Isaiah 55:8), so that we might look around and truly see ourselves.  

 

 

 

 

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened

 

 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" 

 

- Matthew 27:45-54 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus and the Roman soldiers they came out of the Praetorium to walk to the place of crucifixion, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear the cross of Jesus.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."  Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:  THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. 

 

 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.   Much of what comes to pass at the events surrounding the Crucifixion is found in Biblical prophecy.  Regarding this darkness, see Zechariah 14:6-7; Amos 8:9.  

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  Those who hear Christ misunderstand Him.  He is praying Psalm 22, which is a foretelling of the very details of the Crucifixion.  If we do not understand this prayer and the fullness of the psalm, then Christ's cry of "Why have You forsaken me?" can be easily misinterpreted as a cry of despair.  But the whole of the psalm tells a different story.  As Jesus took on our human nature, He experiences our alienation from God in His humanity, knowing our suffering and distress.  But Christ does not despair.  My study Bible notes that He speaks these words in the name of humanity, completely identifying with us in our condition, for in His divinity He is never forsaken by the Father.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  My study Bible comments here that Christ's death was voluntary to the very end, for even on the Cross, His life could not be taken from Him against His will.  Christ accepts death on the Cross neither to receive the Father's punishment on our behalf, nor to satisfy the Father's need for blood-justice (as if God would demand such things), but so that by entering death as the divine Son of God, He can destroy this last enemy, which is death itself (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  See also Christ's words reported at Luke 23:46, quoting from Psalm 31 (verse 5). 

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split . . .   My study Bible notes that the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man.  Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for all people, giving people access to that which is most holy of all:  God.  In many Orthodox churches, there is a curtain between the altar and the nave which is drawn open during liturgical services in order to emphasize this communion with God, which was at one time sealed off from humanity, and is now available to all who approach in faith.

. . . and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  That the resurrection of the saints from the Old Testament is reported signifies the completeness of the salvation won by Christ.   My study Bible says that this guarantees the promise given to Ezekiel that God can and will one day open the graves of all humankind (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  The saints entering the holy city is an icon of resurrected humanity entering the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 11:10, 12:22-23; Revelation 21:2-22:5).  

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"  My study Bible says that this Roman centurion, a Gentile, realizes that Jesus has dominion over nature, and therefore acknowledges Him as the Son of God.  In the tradition of the Church we know this soldier as St. Longinos.  

I am intrigued with the picture of the saints of the Old Testament walking through the holy city and appearing to many.  Surely it seems to give us a picture of the fullness of reconciliation between heaven and earth through Christ and His transfiguring death upon the Cross.  Just as the veil of the temple is torn in two, so that human beings may now more fully share in communion with God, so these saints appear visibly to human beings, as if heaven and earth are united in the same place.  Indeed, there are many who experience something similar at the death of a loved one, a glimpse or vision of the one recently passed, as if to reassure us that all live to Christ, and that our continuing prayers for those who have passed live also and are heard by God.  In Luke 20:38, Jesus explains to the Sadducees, who do not believe in resurrection, that God "is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."   The veil of the temple torn in two, and the "thinness" of what is often called the veil between heaven and earth, affirm for us in additional ways the transfiguring power of Christ's voluntary death on the Cross, and its effect of reconciling God and humanity, bringing us into closer communion and therefore healing.  If hell is a state of separation of human beings from God, and if the problems of evil in our world are representative of the effects of separation, then Christ enters into death as both fully human and fully divine in order to conquer death and separation from God, for all of us.  This was the understanding of the early Church, and remains our powerful symbol of God's transfiguring love in the Cross.  In the Incarnation, all things are drawn into God's purview, even the gruesome events of the Crucifixion, even Christ's death on the Cross, so that all may be transfigured in the light of Christ, and so that we might have that veil torn in two, the curtain lifted for our own deep experience of God's love for us.  For Christ teaches us that despite the separation from God in our world and the evil that we experience, God is with us and asks us into a communion of love.  The early saints surely understood this, for in their own martyrdom they joined Christ as those who would live His faith in this world and become also those who transfigure death and suffering for the kingdom of God.  If this seems like too great a paradox to you, consider that walking through a hard or evil time with faith simply means that we bring God's love into it, for we seek Christ's way through it, thus gaining a spiritual victory for the kingdom of heaven, for which He instructed us to pray ("Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven").  The Cross of Christ runs more deeply within the realities of this world than anything and everything that will touch our lives; and just so, for this is its power for us.