“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

            Doubt is a dirty word for most Christians—and in most churches.  When confronted with doubt, most Christians don’t know what to do or say.  We aren’t sure how to respond to someone who expresses doubts regarding their faith.  And, truthfully, Christians don’t get much practice in responding to someone who articulates doubt.  Most people who have doubts are reluctant to share them with Christian friends—or, in church contexts.  We are afraid that, if we share our doubts, we will be judged and condemned for being weak in our faith.  We fear that our church friends will exclude and avoid us because we are not really “true believers.” 

            Yet, for many, doubt is an integral part of their Christian faith.

            I realize that this is a very bold claim to make about the Christian faith.  Nonetheless, we have the words of Jesus on the Cross in support of my claim:

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ ~ Mark 15:  33-39

In his very words from the Cross, Jesus seems to proclaim his own doubt and sense of abandonment.  Jesus words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” are a direct quotation from Psalms 22:2.  Psalm 22 is a psalm of lament.  As with most laments in the Bible, it ends on a note of joy and hope.  Some Biblical scholars have argued that, when he uttered these words on the Cross, Jesus intended for us to remember and supply the ending words of vindication and hope.  However, this seems like a stretch to me and I do not find it persuasive at all.  Instead, it seems more prudent to hear Jesus’ words as he uttered them and to avoid adding nine more verses from Psalm 22, which are not spoken. 

It is hard to overstate the significance of Jesus’ concession.  Here is the Messiah, the Son of God, proclaiming that he has doubts and feels abandoned.  At the brink of completing his mission to bring salvation to human persons and all of Creation on planet Earth, Jesus utters his doubts, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  With these words, Christ models the reality of doubt as an integral component of faith.

Later, after Christ’s Resurrection, Thomas the doubting disciple, denies the Resurrection until, “I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side…” (John 20:25).  As we know, a week later, when the resurrected Christ appears again to the disciples, he invites Thomas to put his finger in the mark of the nails and his hand in Jesus’ side where the soldiers thrust the spear (John 20:26-29).  For our purposes, what is interesting is how Jesus responded to Thomas’ doubt.  Jesus did not respond with anger, or with condemnation, neither did Jesus banish Thomas from the band of disciples.  Instead, Jesus accepted Thomas’ doubt and provided Thomas with the evidence Thomas had demanded. 

During the Lenten season, my proclamations are examining "Jesus’ Words from the Cross.”  These are the sayings of Jesus during his crucifixion, as recorded in the four Gospels.  As we reflect on these sayings of Jesus from the Cross, our central question is this:  “What do these sayings teach us about Christian discipleship in the twenty-first century?” What can we learn about contemporary Christian discipleship from these words of Jesus on the Cross?

Jesus said:  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  It seems clear that these words indicate that we should accept doubt as an integral component of faith for many Christians.  Even though doubt can be a harsh, painful, anxious, lonely process, many Christians have experienced profound spiritual growth through struggles with their doubts. 

For example, in his book, Stride Toward Freedom, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. recalls a “dark night of the soul,” when he experienced doubt that he was called by God to lead the Civil Rights movement.  Dr. King recalls sitting at his kitchen table, pouring out all of his doubts to God.  Then, he describes how God spoke to him and strengthened his faith and conviction:  “At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced God before.  It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying:  ‘Stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.’  Almost at once my fears began to go.  My uncertainty disappeared.  I was ready to face anything.”

Currently, the fastest growing religious group is the “nones,” those persons who check “None,” when asked to identify their religion.  In surveys and interviews with “nones,” sociologists have found that this cohort tends to reject Christianity and the Church because of a perceived Christian intolerance for questions and doubts.  Perhaps we in the church should get started sanitizing the word, “doubt”?  Wouldn’t it amaze “nones,” if Christians reassured them that in having doubts and questions they were actually sharing in an important characteristic of Christ and one of his closest disciples?

If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place of worship, then I invite you to come and join us this Sunday, March 19th, at Christ United Methodist Church, as we explore what it means to become a community of faith, where it is safe to share and examine our doubts, as well as our certainties. Our church is located at 4530 A Street.  Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone—especially doubters—is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.