MGB:_Jesus’ adherence to the Hebrew scriptures is a double-edged sword. Some claim that where details were not known, the Gospel writers filled them in from scriptural sources. It is up to the reader to decide which view is correct. I prefer to read the Passion narratives as one. It allows for a fresh perspective which goes beyond the Hebrew canon.
All of the protagonists save one, Jesus, forgot about the Resurrection and even Jesus did so for that one brief moment after he told his mother that he was dead to her and his disciple that he should care for Mary rather than make new disciples. That moment of despair allowed him to feel our hopelessness so that we can bring it to him for our salvation. We are all at the cross, every day of our lives. Jesus allows us to come down by going up to get us.
The disciples had Jesus in their lives on a daily basis and could not believe what was coming until after the Resurrection. We have the benefit of the whole story but we only find him in the words of scripture and in Communion. We have not seen, but we believe. The challenge is whether we use the Cross for self-justification or to bring mercy to others. Do we believe in St. Anselm’s bloody ransom or a Christ who feels the despair we feel and how does that impact our view of sin?
My God, My God, Why have you abandoned me! is the key to our understanding of Good Friday and Holy Week. The key is why he said it. Was he simply fulfilling Psalm 22 like an actor repeating his lines? I used to think that, but that view makes the passion a sterile ritual. Was Jesus complaining about his lot? If so, he is fighting back against St. Anselm’s punishing God and being a bit of a cry baby. No, his feelings of despair must be real, because their purpose was to feel what we feel when apart from God by sin and blame. The clue to their reality comes in John’s Gospel, when toward the end he gives his mother, who first told him of his divine origins, unto John’s care, telling her he was dead to her and thus giving up that story, and at the same time giving up his mission to save the world by commissioning John (or Lararus) to care for Mary, not baptize the world. His entire psyche being shattered, he calls out to God in despair, just as we do.
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