Abandoned

Mark 15:33-39

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Yesterday we looked at the importance of being a faithful friend and what perseverance in a friendship means. Today we look at the devastating effects of being abandoned and hope for those who have been abandoned.

We need to look no further than Jesus himself to observe abandonment. During the previous three years Jesus found himself in community. Community with God, community with the twelve, community with Mary and Martha, and community with the people he served and loved.

At noon it became dark outside. Jesus was hanging on a cross, abandoned. The friends who were with him by the fire at night and the masses who listened to him from the hillside weren't there. He would have been all alone if it weren't for the people torturing him and mocking him. And then he died. Abandoned and alone.

You have been abandoned before and so have I.

It's not God's fault that we have been abandoned. Because of that day a few thousand years ago, God has experienced our pain and He understands our pain. He wants to help. When the world lets us down, God offers hope and restoration.

Jesus said: No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. -John 14:18

Three days later, a stone rolled from the tomb. With a limp, a man with scars on his body emerged. The broken was now blessed. The dead became resurrected. Jesus would live in community again. Here on earth and in heaven. He took a journey with two men on the road to Emmaus and their lives would never be the same again. And he sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

God is with us when we are abandoned and God remains with us and helps us become whole again.

Reflection

During your time of abandonment and being alone, do you blame or depend on God?

When you read that Jesus will not abandon you, how can you apply that to your life in the future?

Today's lesson is a continuation of yesterday's lesson on perseverance in friendship. How will you become a better friend based on the experience of Jesus being abandoned on the cross?

What in your life needs to be resurrected from the various relational deaths or injuries you have experienced or are experiencing?