Palm Sunday
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Written by Gemma Wildsmith
As an observant Jew, Jesus would have prayed with the psalms his whole life and known many of them by heart. It should be no surprise to us then that he chose the words of today’s psalm to pray when he was hanging on the cross.
Jesus was in communion with the Father, he lived to do the Father’s will, he knew that this had to happen, and yet he still cried out. This was a cry from the depths of pain, a pain that he had to endure alone.
I grew up as the youngest child in difficult family circumstances. I often felt overlooked, underappreciated, alone, forgotten, and abandoned. I ended up walking through life feeling like an orphan. I felt like no one was on my side, no one was there to fight my corner. I felt like no one really knew me, understood me, loved me, or cared about what I was going through.
In my faith journey there have been a few verses of the Bible that have followed me around for many years. They have really spoken to me and helped me along the way. One of these is from Isaiah 62:
You shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
You see, my feelings are valid, but they don’t always give me the whole story. I may feel abandoned, but I never actually have been abandoned. The truth is that God has always been with me, loving me, guiding me, comforting me. He chooses me and delights in me.
In those moments when I feel furthest from God, it becomes a choice to praise Him, and to continue worshipping and trusting in Him, just as the psalmist does at the end of today’s psalm. I choose to praise, even when I don’t feel Him, and especially when I don’t understand what He’s doing.
The truth is that there can be no resurrection without the crucifixion. But, unlike Jesus, we don’t have to carry our cross and experience our pain alone. He has already won the victory so that we never have to be separated from the Father again. We can walk through life thinking and feeling like we are alone, but really, we just need to invite God to come close to us and comfort us with His presence, and he will be there to meet us in a flash.
In what areas of your life do you need to know that God is with you and feel the comfort of His presence?
Gemma Wildsmith is a Catholic missionary based in St Albans, just outside London, England. Her passion is accompanying others on the journey of faith through spiritual direction, mentoring, writing, and speaking. She loves starting her day with a good cup of coffee, and taking long walks in the countryside. Follow Gemma on Instagram.
Pray with today’s psalm.